Eusebio Sacristan is adept at steering a ship along its due course. The former Barcelona coach has his ideas, his methods and the principles required to watch a team develop and absorb his philosophy, but things have gone stale. After a Europa League finish last term, which ensured Real Sociedad would be playing in three competitions once again in 2017/2018, the demands were high.
Not only were there sure to be heightened expectations of performing at a higher level compared to the previous campaign, but there were to be certain physical questions asked of a shallow squad. While La Real can boast a strong starting XI, with some effective substitutes to boot, there is a lack of quality outside of the same 14 or 15 faces each week. On the surface, they are an aesthetically pleasing team playing with a youthful naivety while backed by a coach with the utmost, steadfast confidence in them.
This resolve and faithfulness, however, appears to have left the Basque club to run on fumes in San Sebastian. A failure to pad out their squad, whether it be to maintain the harmony in the dressing room, or simply a lack of foresight to predict the rigours of a congested fixture list, has seen Eusebio’s side go stagnant, without a huge pool of alternatives to rotate and man the defibrillator.
The start of their campaign saw the likes of Mikel Oyarzabal and Alvaro Odriozola pick up the headlines, but the former has since faded. Geronimo Rulli, their usually trustworthy shot-stopper, has lost confidence, with the club’s defensive record duly taking a plunge. When one player falters, there is rarely a worthwhile replacement to pick up the slack. Juanmi has shown he can make a difference from the bench, with Raul Navas a solid deputy at centre-back. Young Igor Zubeldia is a utility man who has a place in this Real Sociedad squad.
Aside from that, if you scratch beneath the starting line-up’s surface, there is little comfort to be found. Right-back Carlos Martinez is often injured, leaving young Andoni Gorosabel to be thrown in at the deep end if called upon - as he was against Levante earlier on in the season. The young full-back was terrorised by Jose Luis Morales, and hasn’t featured again in La Liga since. At left-back, Albert de la Bella fills in behind Kevin Rodrigues, but there is a similar lack of inspiration there.
Jon Bautista is no competition for Willian Jose up top, and Imanol Agirretxe has also struggled to keep himself fit as a striking alternative. Ander Guevara and Jon Guridi have featured on the bench as rotation options in midfield, while Ruben Pardo looks the shadow of the player that he was once tipped to be. A failed loan spell at Real Betis has been followed up by him lingering in the shadows at Anoeta. For a club who started the season battling on both domestic and European fronts, the lack of depth is astounding.
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Adnan Januzaj was purchased for around €10m euros from Manchester United during the summer, with centre-back Diego Llorente brought in on a permanent deal from Real Madrid after catching the eye on loan at Malaga last season. Aside from that, there was no further provision to plan ahead for the January departure of Carlos Vela to MLS, nor to bolster the club’s striking or midfield options further. While Eusebio trying to keep the faith with all of the personnel he has in-house is a nice gesture, it appears naive.
In terms of style, Real Sociedad lack a secondary plan. They like to keep possession, take risks, and throw plenty of bodies forward to join the attack. Inevitably, it leaves them susceptible to counter-attacks, but this comes with the territory. Eusebio wants his team to play in the same way - without fear - in the hope that creativity and chances will carry La Real to victory. Unfortunately, such a free-flowing and positive style relies heavily on confident players.
Januzaj and Oyarzabal had strong spells in the early months of the season as part of their front three, but have since gone off the boil somewhat. Eusebio wants his forward options to play with freedom and creativity, but when a young player isn’t moving with confidence, he would benefit from a more rigid role to get himself a solid footing to kick on from. The issue lies in the fact that Real Sociedad are left to wait around and pray for a spark from somewhere, an upturn in form from some key offensive individuals that can push their risky strategy into their favour.
There isn’t a great deal of options to shuffle the pack with, as their summer’s distinct lack of reinforcements illustrated. Eusebio and Real Sociedad have been a harmonious coupling, but boos rang out after their defeat by Celta Vigo at the weekend.
Celta were in Real Sociedad’s position last season. Asked to balance a strong Europa League run with La Liga’s calendar, they quickly put their eggs in the continent basket and finished the domestic campaign in domestic fashion. Real Sociedad, similarly, are wallowing in 15th place and have won just one of their last nine league matches.
If La Real can’t add to their ranks - and quickly - they will lose the luxury of battling on both fronts. A choice must be made. It will be mightily difficult, however, to explain to their fervent supporters why this perfectly predictable eventuality wasn’t prepared for in the first place.
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