Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (pronounced [reˈal soθjeˈðað] es ⓘ;[2] Royal Society) in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of Donostia-San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909.

Its youth academy subsequent to the all-Basque era has still been very successful in developing internationally renowned players, such as World Cup winners Xabi Alonso and Antoine Griezmann.

This team applied to enter the 1909 Copa del Rey, but complications over registration permits saw them compete as Club Ciclista de San Sebastián.

Sociedad applied to enter the 1910 Copa del Rey, but once again had to compete under a different name, Vasconia de San Sebastián, and once again they reached the final (UECF), where they were beaten by Athletic (0–1).

[7] In the same year, King Alfonso XIII – who used San Sebastián as his summer capital – gave the club his patronage, where it subsequently became known as Real Sociedad de Fútbol.

[8] After a 15-year hiatus, Sociedad reached the 1928 final, which was remarkably similar to their previous one since Barcelona again needed three games to beat them at El Sardinero.

The team has generally fluctuated between the Primera and Segunda divisions, in one period (during the 1940s) managing to be relegated and promoted seven times.

[10] This qualified La Real for the 1981–82 European Cup, where they were eliminated in the first round by CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria, who hosted and won the first leg 1–0.

[14] The club reached the semi-finals of the 1982–83 European Cup, defeating Víkingur of Iceland, Celtic and Sporting Clube de Portugal before losing 3–2 on aggregate to eventual champions Hamburger SV.

On 11 March 1987, Real Sociedad set a record for most goals in a quarter-final of the Copa del Rey after defeating Mallorca 10–1.

On 27 June 1987, Real Sociedad won its first Copa del Rey title, defeating Atlético Madrid 4–2 on penalties after drawing 2–2.

[20] In 1990, La Real signed an English striker, Dalian Atkinson of Sheffield Wednesday,[21] who therefore became the club's first black player.

[24] The third-place finish qualified La Real for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup, where it beat Sparta Prague and Dynamo Moscow before being knocked out in the third round by Atlético Madrid.

La Real's strikeforce combined the Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci with Yugoslav international Darko Kovačević.

[29] The team qualified directly for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League after finishing second; it was unbeaten at home, scored 71 goals in total and lost just six times.

[35] On 10 November 2014, Real Sociedad announced David Moyes as the chosen manager to replace Jagoba Arrasate, who was sacked following a series of poor results.

[36] Moyes became the sixth British manager in the club's history, however he was sacked 9 November 2015 after falling to 16th in La Liga.

[38] His contract was renewed in 2017, but Sacristán was ultimately dismissed after a string of poor performances left that 15th in the table and drawn into a relegation battle.

In 2013 Badiola gave an extended interview in which he accused José Luis Astiazarán's presidency of paying up to €300,000 to Eufemiano Fuentes to dope players on the team between 2001 and 2007.

[53] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.