MatthewElphinstone
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Hello ladies (if any) and gentleman! for those who didn't know I and a few others took part in a Pass The Parcel save with the club Real Sociedad. This seemed to be rather popular until my fellow players became uninterested in the save (my opinion not sure if this is true or not but it seemed they had become uninterested in the save!). I however couldn't get enough of it so now i will start again, this time on my own and try to bring the success we (me and the fellow lads) created!
The Club!
Real Sociedad de F?tbol, SAD, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (pronounced: [reˈal soθjeˈ?a?]), is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebasti?n, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909. Its home stadium is Anoeta, which seats 32,200 spectators. Real Sociedad won the La Liga title in 1980?81 and 1981?82, and last finished runners-up in 2002?03. The club play the Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao. Real Sociedad were founder members of La Liga in 1928, and their longest spell in the top flight was for 40 seasons from 1967 to 2007
[h=3]21st century[edit][/h]
Xabi Alonso was a key player as Real Sociedad finished second in the 2002?03 La Liga behind Real Madrid
After finishing 13th for three consecutive seasons, Real Sociedad were runners-up in the 2002?03 La Liga, their best finish since 1988. Their tally of 76 points was only beaten by Real Madrid's 78, and Sociedad had four more points than third-placed Deportivo La Coru?a. The club was managed by Frenchman Raynald Denoueix. Sociedad's strikeforce combined the Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci with Serbian international Darko Kovačević. The two were third and fourth top scorer in the league respectively, with 23 and 20 goals. The team also included Dutch goalkeeper Sander Westerveld, and Xabi Alonso in midfield. Alonso was the winner of the 2003 Don Balon award for the best Spanish player in the league, while Nihat was voted the best foreign player and Denoueix the best manager.
Key moments from that season came when Real Sociedad beat Real Madrid in April 4?2 at the Anoeta in San Sebasti?n. They kept first place in La Liga until the penultimate game of 38 when they lost 3-2 away to Celta de Vigo, while Real Madrid beat Atl?tico Madrid 4?0. This meant that Real Madrid secured first place two points clear of Real Sociedad for the last game, where Sociedad defeated Atl?tico Madrid 3-0 and Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao to gain the title. The team qualified directly for the 2003?04 UEFA Champions League by finishing 2nd, they were unbeaten at home, scored 71 goals in total, and were defeated on 6 occasions only.
Real Sociedad were placed in Group D of the 2003-04 Champions League with Juventus of Italy, Galatasaray of Turkey and Olympiakos of Greece. The team won two matches, drew three and lost away to Juventus to finish second and advance to the last 16. There they were knocked out after losing 1-0 in both games against Olympique Lyonnais of France, hosting the first game. 2003?04 La Liga saw a dramatic decline in the club's performance, slipping to 15th out of 20. Their tally of 46 points was only five more than relegated Real Valladolid .
Real Sociedad were relegated from La Liga in 2006?07, finishing 19th. On 9 July 2007, former Welsh international and Fulham manager Chris Coleman was appointed as the new club coach, on the recommendation of former Real Sociedad manager John Toshack, an important board member at the club. Coleman resigned on 16 January 2008.
On 13 June 2010, Real Sociedad returned to La Liga.
In 20 December 2012, each Sociedad player took the field against Sevilla in a La Liga match bearing the names of club members on the front of their shirts instead of paid advertising. Sociedad called the fan-appreciation initiative "We carry you on our shirts". It was hoped that, while not bringing in any real cash, the idea would encourage fans to sign up and become a member in order to earn the opportunity for their hero to carry their name on the front of the shirt.
In that same 2012-13 season, Real Sociedad finished in fourth place and qualified for the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2003-04 UEFA Champions League season, but in the play-offs, this time. In the play-offs, they re-encountered with Lyon of France, but they won both games 2-0, qualifying for the group stage. Now they are potted in Group A with Manchester United of England, Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine and Bayer Leverkusen of Germany.
The Club Looking Outside Basque Country
For many years, Real Sociedad followed the practice of their Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao of signing only Basque players. They abandoned the policy in 1989 when they signed Irish international John Aldridge from Liverpool. Aldridge scored 16 goals in his first season to be the club's top scorer, and fourth-highest scorer of the whole league as Sociedad finished fifth. In 1990, Sociedad signed another English league striker, Dalian Atkinson of Sheffield Wednesday, who therefore became the club's first black player. He scored 12 goals in his first season, second at the club only to Aldridge's 17. That was Aldridge's final season at Sociedad, and he returned to England to play in the lower leagues at Tranmere Rovers, while Atkinson left to top-flight Aston Villa.
Thanks for reading my totally not copied off of wikipedia (Cough, Cough) the recent history of Real Sociedad!
The Club!
[h=3]21st century[edit][/h]
Xabi Alonso was a key player as Real Sociedad finished second in the 2002?03 La Liga behind Real Madrid
After finishing 13th for three consecutive seasons, Real Sociedad were runners-up in the 2002?03 La Liga, their best finish since 1988. Their tally of 76 points was only beaten by Real Madrid's 78, and Sociedad had four more points than third-placed Deportivo La Coru?a. The club was managed by Frenchman Raynald Denoueix. Sociedad's strikeforce combined the Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci with Serbian international Darko Kovačević. The two were third and fourth top scorer in the league respectively, with 23 and 20 goals. The team also included Dutch goalkeeper Sander Westerveld, and Xabi Alonso in midfield. Alonso was the winner of the 2003 Don Balon award for the best Spanish player in the league, while Nihat was voted the best foreign player and Denoueix the best manager.
Key moments from that season came when Real Sociedad beat Real Madrid in April 4?2 at the Anoeta in San Sebasti?n. They kept first place in La Liga until the penultimate game of 38 when they lost 3-2 away to Celta de Vigo, while Real Madrid beat Atl?tico Madrid 4?0. This meant that Real Madrid secured first place two points clear of Real Sociedad for the last game, where Sociedad defeated Atl?tico Madrid 3-0 and Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao to gain the title. The team qualified directly for the 2003?04 UEFA Champions League by finishing 2nd, they were unbeaten at home, scored 71 goals in total, and were defeated on 6 occasions only.
Real Sociedad were placed in Group D of the 2003-04 Champions League with Juventus of Italy, Galatasaray of Turkey and Olympiakos of Greece. The team won two matches, drew three and lost away to Juventus to finish second and advance to the last 16. There they were knocked out after losing 1-0 in both games against Olympique Lyonnais of France, hosting the first game. 2003?04 La Liga saw a dramatic decline in the club's performance, slipping to 15th out of 20. Their tally of 46 points was only five more than relegated Real Valladolid .
Real Sociedad were relegated from La Liga in 2006?07, finishing 19th. On 9 July 2007, former Welsh international and Fulham manager Chris Coleman was appointed as the new club coach, on the recommendation of former Real Sociedad manager John Toshack, an important board member at the club. Coleman resigned on 16 January 2008.
On 13 June 2010, Real Sociedad returned to La Liga.
In 20 December 2012, each Sociedad player took the field against Sevilla in a La Liga match bearing the names of club members on the front of their shirts instead of paid advertising. Sociedad called the fan-appreciation initiative "We carry you on our shirts". It was hoped that, while not bringing in any real cash, the idea would encourage fans to sign up and become a member in order to earn the opportunity for their hero to carry their name on the front of the shirt.
In that same 2012-13 season, Real Sociedad finished in fourth place and qualified for the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2003-04 UEFA Champions League season, but in the play-offs, this time. In the play-offs, they re-encountered with Lyon of France, but they won both games 2-0, qualifying for the group stage. Now they are potted in Group A with Manchester United of England, Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine and Bayer Leverkusen of Germany.
The Club Looking Outside Basque Country
For many years, Real Sociedad followed the practice of their Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao of signing only Basque players. They abandoned the policy in 1989 when they signed Irish international John Aldridge from Liverpool. Aldridge scored 16 goals in his first season to be the club's top scorer, and fourth-highest scorer of the whole league as Sociedad finished fifth. In 1990, Sociedad signed another English league striker, Dalian Atkinson of Sheffield Wednesday, who therefore became the club's first black player. He scored 12 goals in his first season, second at the club only to Aldridge's 17. That was Aldridge's final season at Sociedad, and he returned to England to play in the lower leagues at Tranmere Rovers, while Atkinson left to top-flight Aston Villa.
Thanks for reading my totally not copied off of wikipedia (Cough, Cough) the recent history of Real Sociedad!
!