The bulk of Real Sociedad's success this season can be traced to their outstanding off-season transfer window almost a year ago. Their signings of Brais Méndez and Kubo as well as their decision to make their loan signing of Alexander Sørloth a permanent one. have turned out to be masterstrokes.
Having left Celta after spending the first five seasons of his career in Galicia, midfielder Méndez is having a breakout season. Méndez has slotted seamlessly into Real Sociedad's midfield alongside Mikel Merino and veteran David Silva; his transfer fee of €14 million is starting to look like quite the bargain. Kubo, meanwhile, came to the Anoeta after spending three years on loan at other La Liga clubs from Real Madrid. The Japanese player looks like a player reborn after finally having found a permanent spot at a top-four La Liga club. At just 21, he has more than likely barely even scratched the surface of his potential and could go on to become one of the faces of Japanese football alongside compatriots Ritsu Dōan and Kaoru Mitoma.
Sørloth's level of play this season was not necessarily expected by most. Many would have thought that the Norwegian striker was simply not good enough for a club of this level, having managed just four league goals last season following an equally paltry result at RB Leipzig before that. Heading into the 2022-23 season, in three prior seasons at clubs in major European leagues, Sørloth had found the net just nine times over 79 league appearances. But this season, something clicked and he's now playing better than he has since his loan stint at Trabzonspor three years ago.
Ever since taking the position for the second time in the 2018-19 season, Real Sociedad head coach Imanol Alguacil has brought much stability and continuity to the club. Now helming the club for which he played for eight years, Alguacil has overseen the club's greatest period of success since its heyday in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Alguacil has turned this Real Sociedad team into one which would have a puncher's chance against just about anyone. The emphasis he has placed on possession and creation of high-quality chances is clearly generating results.
When the season began, there were questions about how Real Sociedad would fare due to the fact that Mikel Oyarzabal, the club's best player, tore his ACL near the end of the 2021-22 season. Real Sociedad's results fell off a cliff after Oyarzabal's injury - a somewhat ominous sign for this season. However, Real Sociedad have defied the critics and put together an impressive season which has somewhat gone under the radar. Furthermore, as is the case with the vast majority of players who have suffered a torn ACL, Oyarzabal has not been close to his prior level this season and quite possibly will never approach it again. In spite of this, Real Sociedad have adeptly overcome it to put together their best league campaign in a decade.
If Real Sociedad make the right moves in the coming off-season, it isn't out of the question that if things break the right way for them next season, they might challenge the oligopoly of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atlético as they push for a top-three finish. No club other than those three has finished in the top three of La Liga since Valencia in the 2011-12 season. What's more, since then every Spanish club which has risen to significant heights has fallen away soon after. It's too early to say, but perhaps Real Sociedad might be the team that breaks that streak.
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