Late April, after a painful 1-0 defeat at Mendizorroza, what began as a standard post-match debrief took an unexpected turn. Imanol Alguacil, Real Sociedad’s long-standing coach and compass, announced he would not be renewing his contract. For many watching, the timing felt sudden. Alguacil’s reluctance to renew amid La Real’s turbulent season clearly showed that he had serious doubts, but just two weeks earlier, reports suggested progress in renewal talks. Internally, the club believed they were close to sealing another chapter with their most successful manager in recent history. Instead, they got closure.
Alguacil’s decision wasn’t driven by public fallouts or internal ultimatums. The relationship with sporting director Roberto Olabe and the rest of the club management had its ups and downs over the years, but the club understood and respected Alguacil’s importance. Management was very willing to renew his contract.
However, it seems Alguacil refused to renew because he couldn’t fulfill the standard he set for himself. He explained this during the press conference where he announced his decision:
“I’m leaving with sadness, and I wanted to renew, but I’m ambitious, and I wanted to win more. And even if we qualify for Europe, which I really hope we do, for me, it’s not enough. And those are the reasons, so don’t try to look for other reasons.”
When a coach this closely identified with a club chooses to walk away, it’s rarely about a single bad season. It’s usually about knowing when the cycle has run its course.
How the Caretaker Became the Cornerstone
Imanol Alguacil’s appointment in March 2018 wasn’t supposed to change the club’s history. He was a temporary patch, a trusted internal figure brought in to steady the ship after a rough spell. In December of that year, he was appointed full-time coach after the dismissal of Asier Garitano, and the rest is history. Six years later, Real Sociedad has reestablished itself as a top-tier La Liga side, qualified for Europe five times, lifted a long-awaited Copa del Rey, and developed a distinct tactical identity, all under his watch. Alguacil leaves as the most influential Real Sociedad coach of the 21st century, and one of their best coaches ever.
While his team was initially seen as an attacking, possession-oriented side, their success over the years came more from control and compactness. They suffocated opponents with off-ball structure, won second balls, and delayed transitions with tactical fouls.
More than any tactical wrinkle, though, Alguacil’s biggest impact was cultural and philosophical. He represented better than anyone the club motto of “Be the best from Monday to Friday. ” Be the best in your process from Monday to Friday, and the results on the weekend matchday will take care of themselves.
Kieran Tierney, a man who grew up in an intense, hard-tackling football culture, was impressed when he arrived at the club and witnessed the intensity of Real Sociedad’s training, as he shared in an interview with The Athletic:
“No one was holding back, everyone was running into challenges. There was no going at 85 per cent as we’ve got a game coming up. People think about Spain and tiki-taka but this group is about winning through hard work.”
“The way they compete is unbelievable. It comes from the manager. Everything is about winning your duels. If you don’t, you’ll know about it.”
And this culture shift worked. La Real developed one of Spain’s most consistent cores with Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Robin Le Normand, Alex Remiro, and Mikel Oyarzabal. The project also attracted and developed high-profile attacking talent: Martin Odegaard’s brief but brilliant loan, David Silva’s graceful twilight years, Alexander Isak’s electric development. All flourished in Alguacil’s ecosystem.
A Season of Frustrations for Alguacil
After five seasons of consistency and top-six finishes, the cycle seems to be reaching its natural endpoint this season. The team sits in eleventh place, and European qualification is still very much a possibility, but the performances have been disappointing. La Real’s season has been defined by one glaring deficiency: goals.
Despite Le Normand’s departure, the defensive structure continues to work. Their xG conceded and goals allowed remain close to last season’s levels. Up front, however, they are the fifth-worst attack in the league with 32 goals.
This decline stems from a steady erosion of attacking talent. Over the last six years, players like Merino, Odegaard, Isak, and Sorloth have come and gone. Silva retired, and injuries turned Oyarzabal into a different, less impactful player.
Their successors – Brais Mendez, Sergio Gomez, Luka Sucic, Arsen Zakharyan, Ander Barrenetxea, Sheraldo Becker, and a carousel of inconsistent strikers – have yet to reach a similar level. Each departure chipped away at La Real’s offensive bite, and this year, they’ve hit a new low. Takefusa Kubo has been the attack’s most consistent performer, yet his output alone isn’t good enough to drag the team back into European contention.
Faced with this talent drain, Alguacil has struggled to find new solutions, and as results slip, frustrations are mounting. After a painful loss in the Basque Derby in November, he fumed: “If I could have substituted all eleven players, I would have.” Captain Mikel Oyarzabal defended the players and fired back: “Maybe we need to take a look at how we set it up (the game),” a clear jab at Alguacil’s tactics.
The Future is To Trust the Process
With both Imanol Alguacil and sporting director Roberto Olabe stepping down, one would assume Real Sociedad is due a big reboot. However, the club seems to trust its process enough that its solution is simply to promote from within. Sergio Francisco, the current manager of the B team, will take the reins of the first team this summer, while Erik Bretos, the Head of Scouting, will take over the sporting director role. No drama, no searching and hiring outside the club.
Francisco has followed a similar path to Alguacil: a former player, long-time Zubieta insider, and respected figure in the academy structure. He’s worked closely with the current generation of young talent and understands the club’s DNA. In that sense, the appointment suggests continuity rather than revolution.
It also invites skepticism, however. Francisco has never coached at the top level of Spanish football. Thanks to the successes of the Alguacil era, the standards and expectations are much higher than when Alguacil took over in 2018. The expectation is that this team should rebuild while staying competitive in the top half of the league.
One could also think that this appointment is a way to lower internal expectations. Maybe this is the club’s way of telling fans to temper their expectations. That the glory years of weekly European nights might take a backseat to development and stability.
However, I believe that the club’s faith in their internal process is just that strong. The club believes that betting on continuity and familiarity is the right bet, even if it carries some risks. This time, there is no element of surprise like there was in 2018, and the expectations are higher.
Still, if there’s one thing La Real has taught us under Alguacil, it’s that with a disciplined and clear process applied consistently from Monday through Friday, the results will come. Now, it’s Sergio Francisco’s turn to prove it.
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