2010–11 Real Sociedad season

Real Sociedad
2010–11 season
President Spain Jokin Aperribay
Manager Uruguay Martín Lasarte
La Liga 15th
Copa del Rey Round of 32
Out of the competition.
Top goalscorer Antoine Griezmann
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours

The 2010–11 season is Real Sociedad's 65th season in La Liga. After spending 3 seasons in the second tier of Spanish football the Basque club obtained promotion by topping the table in 2010.

This article shows player statistics and all matches (official and friendly) that the club played during the 2010–11 season.

Season summary

In the 2010–11 season, Real Sociedad played in the top division of Spanish football for the first time since being relegated in 2007. Some additions were made to the squad that had obtained promotion. Among them Joseba Llorente stood out, having cost €2.5 million.

The season started with a home victory against Villarreal. During the first half of the season, the club got an unexpectedly high point tally. Relegation looked extremely unlikely and optimism reigned. Later in the season, the shortcomings in Lasarte’s approach became clear and the club was in free fall. On the last match day Real Sociedad faced Getafe, in a game where defeat would have meant relegation. An equalizer by Francisco Sutil prevented the drop and Deportivo La Coruña were relegated instead.

At the end of the season, Lasarte was dismissed on the grounds that he did not give enough of a chance to academy players and that his style of play was rudimentary and unattractive.

Players

Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Chile GK Claudio Bravo
2 Spain DF Carlos Martínez
3 Spain DF Mikel González
4 Spain MF Gorka Elustondo
5 Spain MF Markel Bergara
6 Spain DF Mikel Labaka
7 France MF Antoine Griezmann
8 Spain FW Joseba Llorente
9 Spain FW Imanol Agirretxe
10 Spain MF Xabi Prieto
11 Spain MF Mikel Aranburu (captain)
13 Spain GK Eñaut Zubikarai
14 Netherlands MF Jeffrey Sarpong
No. Position Player
15 Spain DF Ion Ansotegi
16 Norway DF Vadim Demidov
17 France MF David Zurutuza
18 Spain FW Borja Viguera
19 Spain MF Diego Rivas
20 Spain FW Raúl Tamudo
21 Uruguay FW Diego Ifrán
22 Spain DF Dani Estrada
23 Spain MF Francisco Sutil
24 Spain DF Alberto de la Bella
26 Spain MF Asier Illarramendi
30 Spain GK Toño

Start formations

Starting XI

Lineup that started most of the club's competitive matches throughout the season.

No.
Pos
Nat
Name
MS Notes
1 GK Chile Claudio Bravo 38
2 RB Spain Carlos Martínez 25
15 CB Spain Ion Ansotegi 32
3 CB Spain Mikel González 30
24 LB Spain Alberto de la Bella 28
19 MF Spain Diego Rivas 31
11 MF Spain Mikel Aranburu 27
10 AM Spain Xabi Prieto 37
17 AM France David Zurutuza 30
7 AM France Antoine Griezmann 34
20 FW Spain Raúl Tamudo 20

4–2–3–1 was the default formation during that season. Occasionally, Lasarte changed formation, ressorting to a back 5 (Santander away) or in some cases adding a second forward (Levante away). In some other games (Atlético Madrid Away) Lasarte played three center-midfielders. The preferred partnership in center midfield was that of Aranburu and Rivas. Alternative choices, such as Bergara or Elustondo, proving to be unsuccessful. Up front, Llorente began strongly but after his injury he was replaced by Tamudo, who would eventually start more games and play more minutes.

Player statistics

Summer transfers

Emilio Nsue and Carlos Bueno, who were instrumental to the club's promotion, returned to their original clubs, as did the less important Songo'o and Jonathan Estrada.

In the winter transfer window Agirretxe was close to being loaned to a second division club. However, a season-ending injury suffered by Joseba Llorente put an end to all speculation. Borja Viguera was loaned to Catalan second division club Nastic, due to lack of opportunities. After having played a handful of games his season ended when he suffered an injury.

The club acquired some new players in order to reinforce its squad. Most of the signings were arguably failures. Jeffrey Sarpong was bought from Ajax for €0.2 million and was mostly used as a substitute. Francisco Sutil, a free transfer, suffered a similar fate. Joseba Llorente, signed from Villarreal for €2.5 million, although impressive while fit, missed most of the season due to injury. Raúl Tamudo and Vadim Demidov were the most consistent signings that season. Finally, Diego Ifrán showed signs of his quality, despite coming back from injury much later than expected.

In

Player From Fee
Spain Joseba Llorente Spain Villarreal €2.5M
Spain Raúl Tamudo Spain Espanyol Free
Uruguay Diego Ifrán Uruguay Danubio €1.6M
Spain Francisco Sutil Spain Eibar Free
Netherlands Jeffrey Sarpong Netherlands Ajax €0.2M
Norway Vadim Demidov Norway Rosenborg Free player, winter signing.

Out

Player New Team Fee
Spain Asier Riesgo Spain Osasuna Free, end of contract
Spain Sergio Rodríguez Spain Logroñés Free, end of contract

Loan out

Player Team
Spain Iosu Esnaola Spain Real Unión
Spain Iñigo Sarasola Spain Real Unión
Spain Borja Viguera Spain Gimnàstic de Tarragona
Spain Alex Albistegi Spain Eibar

Loan return

Italics for players returning to the club but left it during pre-season

Player From
Spain Toño Spain Tenerife B

Loan end

Player To
Colombia Jonathan Estrada Colombia Millonarios
Uruguay Carlos Bueno Chile Universidad de Chile
Equatorial Guinea Emilio Nsue Spain Mallorca
Cameroon Franck Songo'o Spain Real Zaragoza

Club

Coaching staff

Position Staff
Head coach Uruguay Martín Lasarte
Assistant Coach Spain Alberto Iturralde
Fitness Trainer Uruguay Pablo Balbi
Goalkeeper Coach Spain Roberto Navajas
Technical Assistant Spain Karla Larburu

Source:

Pre-season

The club played a series of friendlies preparing for the new season. A brief stage in Austria allowed the club to play some foreign clubs.

Date Rival Place Result Scorers
30 July Elgoibar Mintxeta, Elgoibar 0–3 Llorente 18', Sutil 23', Agirretxe 58'
4 August Dinamo Tirana Bad Bleiber, Austria 4 – 2 Llorente 6', Agirretxe (2) 82', 85' Viguera 88'
6 August AEL Limassol Bad Bleiber, Austria 3 – 0 Viguera 55', Aranburu 63', Llorente 89'
7 August Bochum Bad Bleiber, Austria 1 – 1 Prieto 55'
12 August Eibar Ipurua, Eibar 1 – 3 Aranburu 52', Agirretxe 78', Alex Albistegi 78'
14 August Sporting de Gijón Asti, Zarautz 0 – 1
18 August Real Unión Txerloia, Azkoitia 1–1 Agirretxe 46'
22 August Osasuna Estadio Reyno de Navarra, Pamplona 0 – 1 Tamudo 78'

Liga BBVA

      Win       Draw       Loss       Postponed

Copa del Rey

As a result of losing on a 5–3 aggregate, Real Sociedad were knocked out

See also

External links

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