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Not in the same mould as Barcelona and the Spanish national team, Sociedad have not knocked the ball around their players meaninglessly for minutes together. A 51% possession average for the season hardly seems flattering for a top-four team, and neither does a pass completion of 78%, both numbers eclipsed by other sides lower than them on the league table.
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The side has not looked for a star to carry them through times of trial either, with their top scorer lying in joint ninth in the overall La Liga goalscorers’ table. Instead, they have built a ‘team’ in every sense of the word, with their inverted wingers and deep-lying forwards running at opposition defences at pace and the defence looking to release the attackers with long diagonal balls, a good reason for them having the joint-highest average pass length in the league.
Understandably, therefore, have the likes of Vela shown their reluctance to move away from Anoeta in search of a bigger paycheck. The Mexican, who could be bought back by Arsenal for a measly fee of €4 million thanks to a clause in his contract, suggested that the creative freedom and environment afforded at Sociedad would easily allow him to turn a deaf ear to Arsenal’s calls, if they came looking.
“It could happen at any time, but I don’t want to think about it,” said the 24-year-old. “My life is here, and it’s wearing this shirt that I want to discover European football next year.”
Similar thoughts are echoed by defender Inigo Martinez, who shot to fame after providing consistent displays at the back through the season, and scoring from beyond the half-line twice in two months against Athletic Bilbao and Real Betis. Despite being wanted by the brighter lights in European football at the age of 22, he wants to stick on to the club where he came through the ranks as a youth.
“Of course I will stay at Real Sociedad next season,” Martinez said. “I will not miss the party of playing for La Real in Europe for anything in the world. I am very happy there, that is the club of all my life, they backed me from the beginning. Now it is my turn to return that confidence. I have a contract until 2017 and am only thinking about staying.”
The season had not started very well for Sociedad, as they were hammered 5-1 on the opening day of the season by a Barcelona team looking to avenge their defeat to Real Madrid in the title race the previous term. Montanier’s side were left languishing in 17th place after 10 weeks of football, having won only three and lost six, with the Frenchman then odds on for the sack. However, a massive change in fortunes saw them drop to only two more defeats for the remainder of the season, clinching a top-four berth and defeating Barcelona and drawing with Real Madrid on the way.
With a qualifying round in Europe yet to play and no guarantee of a return to the Champions League fold in a year’s time, given the exertions of continental football, there is no doubt that there are challenging times ahead for the Basque club. However, the summer represents the crack of dawn for la Real, and with the future bright, there certainly could be sunny times ahead in the coming years at Anoeta.
