Real Sociedad take on Cadiz CF in La Liga on Friday with the chance to move a provisional four points clear of Atletico Madrid in fourth place as the race for UEFA Champions League qualification remains tight. AS Roma will be the Basque Country outfit's Europa League opponents later in March, but the priority right now is remaining within sight of Real Madrid and Barcelona domestically.
These are not unscaled heights for La Real who won two consecutive top-flight titles between 1980-82 and also finished second in 2002-03 under Frenchman Raynald Denoueix. However, fourth in 2012-13 was their best showing of the last 10 years until now under Imanol Alguacil who led the San Sebastian-based side to Copa del Rey glory in 2019-20.
Despite eight top half of La Liga finishes over the past 10 seasons, though, Athletic Club remain the most easily identifiable Basque club because of their legendary policy of only signing and fielding players of the region. In the face of such strong identity, though, Real Sociedad do not consider themselves any less Basque than neighbors Athletic and relish their "friendly and respectful" rivalry which adds great color to La Liga.
"First of all, Athletic Club is a great club," La Real executive Andoni Iraola told CBS Sports in a media roundtable hosted by La Liga. "Our connection institutionally is good despite our differences. Each one has their own model, their own way of doing things, and their own way of addressing things. Neither one is better than the other. We have completely different takes on how this talent should be developed. We also differ in how we present ourselves and display the Basque identity to the world.
"We have an absolute respect for each other. The Basque derby is a wonderful model as it is like a celebration. Of course, when the match starts, you have to win, and congratulate them when they win and enjoy the feeling if we have won. We are different models. Obviously, we compete with each other, but we do not have to look at ourselves in the mirror of Athletic Club, We must do our own work. Real Sociedad has just over 100 years of history and we have proved that we can compete with them. In fact, we have had the better of it lately, but we absolutely respect them."
Three of the last five seasons have seen Athletic finish 10th or lower in La Liga so Iraola -- not the ex-Bilbao one as you might have gathered -- is right to point out that La Real have gotten their better of Lehoiak of late. That included a 3-1 home win back in January with vice-captain Mikel Oyarzabal scoring the hosts' third that day.
"The rivalry exists and it is a significant rivalry, but also a friendly one," the Spain international told CBS Sports. "When you are on the pitch, though, everyone is only there to win. That said, I think that everyone has at least friends in the other team and people that we have played with at different levels or internationally. I think that the atmosphere in and around the stadiums for those matches is lovely with both sets of fans expressing their support without any risk of danger. It is a beautiful rivalry and hopefully it is maintained for many more years."
Real Sociedad's current ranks boast a distinctive Spanish flavor with just five non-domestic senior players and two of those coming from neighboring France which is occasionally a source of Basque talent itself as was the case with Antoine Griezmann. On top of Robin Le Normand and Mohamed Ali Cho, there is also loanee Alexander Sorloth, as well as Japanese sensational Takefusa Kubo and Nigerian Umar Sadiq.
There has been a bit of a blip of late with La Real winning just one of their last six games so a victory over Cadiz would put them back on track ahead of what is shaping up to be an important month of March at Reale Arena. With trips to Rome and Mallorca coming up next, Alguacil and his men need to make the most of home comforts this week in their native Basque Country.
You can follow both legs of Real Sociedad's Europa League clash with Roma on Paramount+.
