Fresh start for Moyes and La Real

The decline of Real Sociedad this season has been so dramatic and unexpected that the club’s decision to dispense with the services of Coach Jagoba Arrasate had become a foregone conclusion. The arrival of Moyes at Anoeta was much less inevitable, but the appointment has a good chance of working out for both sides.

Arrasate’s predecessor Philippe Montanier left the Basque side in good order with Arrasate, the Frenchman’s No. 2, inheriting a team that had landed a fourth-place finish in La Liga in 2012-13 after a fine spell of late-season form that saw them reach the Champions League. Montanier’s protégé fared well in his maiden domestic season, steering La Real into the Europa League after finishing seventh and reaching the semi-final of the Copa del Rey.

The Champions League proved a bridge too far, however. After sailing through a play-off with Lyon, Real Sociedad were drawn in a group with Moyes’ Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk and Bayer Leverkusen. Registering just a single goal and a solitary point, they failed to progress any further.

La Real were handicapped before the current campaign had even begun as goalkeeper  Claudio Bravo joined Barcelona and talismanic French midfielder Antoine Griezmann left for Atletico Madrid. They started badly, both domestically and in Europe, where they remained tactically naïve. La Real crashed out of the Europa League to Krasnodar in the play-offs, losing 3-0 in Russia after a 1-0 first-leg home win.

Even without Griezmann and Bravo, few could have predicted such a nightmare beginning to the Primera season. The first ten games contained just one win, albeit an impressive one, 4-2 against Real Madrid, but when Malaga won 1-0 at Anoeta at the beginning of November, the club was forced to act and Arrasate was shown the door.

With Asier Santana and Imanol Sheriff in temporary charge, La Real produced a surprise second victory, 2-1 over Atletico. Club President Joakin Aperribay moved quickly to appoint a successor and the installation of Moyes, who appears to have been first choice all along, was announced soon afterwards amidst speculation that Pepe Mel and Thomas Tuchel were also in contention.

Aperribay has been quick and decisive in appointing the Scot, whose first game in charge will be at Deportivo La Coruna following the impending international break. Moyes will be the fourth British Coach in charge in San Sebastian, following in the footsteps of Englishman Harry Lowe in the early 1930s and, more recently, Welshmen John Toshack and Chris Coleman.

Radical surgery to the squad seems unlikely, at least in the short term, though defensive problems have been evident and Moyes might act quickly to acquire a goalkeeper as the void left by Bravo has yet to be filled. Despite Griezmann’s departure, however, enough of Montanier and Arrasate’s successful La Real remains.

Inigo Martinez, Sergio Canales, Imanol Agirretxe, skipper Xabi Prieto and Carlos Vela are all good players and form the core of a side that can be successful again. Moyes may also be the man to kickstart Alfred Finnbogason’s fortunes. The Icelandic striker, so prolific in the Netherlands with Heerenveen, has struggled for form and fitness in San Sebastian.

In the fierce tradition of Basque clubs, Real Sociedad is a well-run outfit and the choice of Moyes somehow feels right for the club and for Moyes himself. Good times for both could be just around the corner.

La Liga - Club News