Real Sociedad was officially founded on 7 September 1909 in San Sebastián, the seaside city of the Basque Country. On 7 September 2027 the club turns 118. And yet it won its first trophy before it even legally existed.

A cup before the birth

Its roots lie in the San Sebastián Recreation Club, which was already playing football in 1903-04. In 1907 some of its members formed San Sebastián Foot-Ball Club, and those players wanted to take part in the 1909 Spanish Cup.

There was one obstacle, though: to enter, a club had to have legally existed for at least a year. So the team entered under the umbrella of a cycling club, as Club Ciclista, and won the trophy, beating Español 3-1.

In September of the same year those same players founded Sociedad de Foot-Ball de San Sebastián. Its first president was Adolfo Sáenz.

The king's "Real"

King Alfonso XIII spent his summers in San Sebastián, which served as Spain's summer capital. On 11 February 1910 he gave the club the title "Real", meaning "Royal", and so the name Real Sociedad was born.

When the Republic was proclaimed in 1931, monarchist symbols were banned. The club became Donostia, after the Basque name of the city, and only took back the "Real" in 1940.

Txuri-urdin: the city's colours

The Recreation Club originally wore green and yellow. In 1908 it switched to the colours of the San Sebastián flag, which is white with a blue square in the corner, with a white shirt and blue shorts.

The 1909 cup team kept the same colours, and Real have been identified with them ever since. Their nickname, txuri-urdin, means "white-blue" in Basque.

Over the years the blue and white stripes became the norm, with the blue gradually getting lighter. On some away kits the green and yellow has returned, as a tribute to the Recreation Club.

Basques only and a golden double

For decades Real played only with Basque footballers. The rule was broken in 1989 by the Irishman John Aldridge, who arrived from Liverpool and twice finished as the team's top scorer.

The golden era was the early 1980s. In 1981 Real won their first league title, level with Real Madrid on 45 points but ahead on head-to-head, and in 1982 they retained it, adding the Super Cup as well.

In goal stood Luis Arconada, who played 16 seasons for the club. Jesús María Satrústegui is still its all-time top scorer with 162 goals.

From Atotxa to Anoeta and new cups

For 80 years the team played at the Atotxa ground. In 1993 it moved to Anoeta, now called Reale Arena, which holds about 40,000 spectators.

Another Copa del Rey came in 1987, and the 2020 final against Athletic Bilbao, played in April 2021 because of the pandemic, gave Real victory in the Basque derby. In April 2026 they lifted the trophy again, beating Atlético Madrid on penalties in Seville.

Their academy has produced stars such as Xabi Alonso, Antoine Griezmann and Martín Zubimendi. Mikel Oyarzabal has made more official appearances than anyone in the club's history.

Celebrate with us

From a cup won under a borrowed name to the packed stands of Anoeta, Real Sociedad have stayed true to the colours of their city. Happy 118th birthday to the txuri-urdin, Aupa Erreala!

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Anoeta stadium in San Sebastián – Bhgh543bgf, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.