Real Sociedad in European football

Real Sociedad is a football club from San Sebastián, Basque Country. They have entered European competitions representing Spain's La Liga on 20 occasions.

Real Sociedad in European football

Anoeta Stadium prior to a UEFA Champions League fixture, 2013
Club	Real Sociedad
Seasons played	20
First entry	1974–75 UEFA Cup
Latest entry	2024–25 UEFA Europa League
Titles
Champions League	0 (Best: Semi-finals)
Europa League	0 (Best: Quarter-finals)
Cup Winners' Cup	0 (Best: Second round)

Summary

The club have never appeared in a European final. Their best performance was in the 1982–83 European Cup when they reached the semi-finals, losing narrowly to eventual winners Hamburger SV.^[1][2][3]

La Real have thrice competed in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. In 2003–04, they qualified directly as runners-up in the previous season's domestic league, and progressed from the group before being beaten by Lyon in the first knockout round.^[4] Ten years later, in 2013–14 – having played no other European football and spent three years in the second division in the interim – they were again paired with Lyon, this time in the playoff round, and gained revenge by eliminating them,^[5][6] but subsequently finished bottom of the section.^[7] They returned to the competition after a decade in 2023–24, and progressed past the group stage for the second time.

In 2017, the club competed in the UEFA Europa League groups for the first time after gaining entry directly to that stage, having fallen in the last qualification round three years earlier.^[8]

In 2020, La Real appeared to be heading out of the competition at the group stage in the 90th minute of the last matchday, before a goal in stoppage time against SSC Napoli earned them a point, while a goal at almost the same moment in the other fixture meant defeat and elimination for AZ Alkmaar who had been set to go through.^[9]

Overall record

Accurate as of 20 February 2025

Competition	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win%
European Cup / Champions League (5)	34	11	9	14	32	35	−3	032.35
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1)	4	1	3	0	3	1	+2	025.00
UEFA Cup / Europa League (14)	80	37	18	25	116	101	+15	046.25
Total	118	49	30	39	151	137	+14	041.53

Source: UEFA.com
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference.

Results

Key

1R: First round 2R: Second round 3R: Third round QF: Quarter-final SF: Semi-final 3Q: Third qualifying round PO: Play-off round

a.e.t.: After extra time p: Penalty shoot-out Round or group progressed Round or group eliminated

Matches

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1974–75	UEFA Cup	1R	Baník Ostrava	0–1	0–4	0–5
1975–76	UEFA Cup	1R	Grasshopper	1–1	3–3	4–4
		2R	Liverpool[a]	1–3	0–6[b]	1–9[c]
1979–80	UEFA Cup	1R	Internazionale	2–0	0–3	2–3
1980–81	UEFA Cup	1R	Újpest	1–0	1–1	2–1
		2R	Zbrojovka Brno	2–1	1–1	3–2
		3R	Lokeren	2–2	0–1	2–3
1981–82	European Cup	1R	CSKA Sofia	0–0	0–1	0–1
1982–83	European Cup	1R	Víkingur Reykjavík	3–2	1–0	4–2
		2R	Celtic	2–0	1–2	3–2
		QF	Sporting CP	2–0	0–1	2–1
		SF[d]	Hamburger SV[e]	1–1	1–2	2–3
1987–88	Cup Winner's Cup	1R	Śląsk Wrocław	0–0	2–0	2–0
		2R	Dinamo Minsk	1–1	0–0	1–1
1988–89	UEFA Cup	1R	Dukla Prague	2–1	2–3	4–4
		2R	Sporting CP	0–0	2–1	2–1
		3R	1. FC Köln	1–0	2–2	3–2
		QF	VfB Stuttgart	1–0	0–1 (a.e.t.)	1–1 (2–4 p)
1990–91	UEFA Cup	1R	Lausanne Sports	1–0	2–3	3–3
		2R	Partizan	1–0	0–1 (a.e.t.)	1–1 (3–4 p)
1992–93	UEFA Cup	1R	Vitória de Guimarães	2–0	0–3	2–3
1998–99	UEFA Cup	1R	Sparta Prague	1–0	4–2	5–2
		2R	Dynamo Moscow	3–0	3–2	6–2[f]
		3R	Atlético Madrid	2–1	1–4	3–5
2003–04	Champions League	Group D	Juventus	0–0	2–4	2nd
			Galatasaray	1–1	2–1
			Olympiacos	1–0	2–2
		Round of 16	Lyon	0–1	0–1	0–2
2013–14	Champions League	PO	Lyon	2–0	2–0	4–0[g]
		Group A	Manchester United	0–0	0–1	4th
			Bayer Leverkusen	0–1	1–2
			Shakhtar Donetsk	0–2	0–4
2014–15	Europa League	3Q	Aberdeen	2–0	3–2	5–2
		PO	Krasnodar	1–0	0–3	1–3
2017–18	Europa League	Group L	Zenit Saint Petersburg	1–3	1–3	2nd
			Rosenborg	4–0	1–0
			Vardar	6–0[h]	3–0
		Round of 32	Red Bull Salzburg	2–2	1–2	3–4
2020–21	Europa League	Group F	Napoli	0–1	1–1	2nd
			AZ	1–0	0–0
			Rijeka	2–2	1–0
		Round of 32	Manchester United	0–4	0–0	0–4
2021–22	Europa League	Group B	Monaco	1–1	1–2	2nd
			PSV Eindhoven	3–0	2–2
			Sturm Graz	1–1	1–0
		Knockout play-offs	RB Leipzig	1–3	2–2	3–5
2022–23	Europa League	Group E	Manchester United	0–1	1–0	1st
			Omonia	2–1	2–0
			Sheriff Tiraspol	3–0	2–0
		Round of 16	Roma	0–0	0–2	0–2
2023–24	Champions League	Group D	Internazionale	1–1	0–0	1st
			Red Bull Salzburg	0–0	2–0
			Benfica	3–1	1–0
		Round of 16	Paris Saint-Germain	1–2	0–2	1–4
2024–25	Europa League	League phase	Nice	—	1–1	13th
			Anderlecht	1–2	—
			Maccabi Tel Aviv	—	2–1
			Viktoria Plzeň	—	1–2
			Ajax	2–0	—
			Dynamo Kyiv	3–0	—
			Lazio	—	1–3
			PAOK	2–0	—
		Knockout play-offs	Midtjylland	5–2	2–1	7–3
		Round of 16	Manchester United

Notes

1. Liverpool were the eventual winners
2. worst defeat (single match)
3. worst aggregate defeat
4. furthest progression
5. Hamburger SV were the eventual winners
6. joint-best aggregate victory
7. joint-best aggregate victory
8. biggest win (single match)

References

1. "Memorable European Confrontations, Part 10: 1983–SV Hamburg vs. Real Sociedad". Soccer Nostalgia. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
2. "La Real Sociedad apeada de la final de la Copa de Europa por un error arbitral" [Real Sociedad misses out on the European Cup final due to a refereeing error] (in Spanish). Europa en juego. 19 October 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
3. "El día que la Real Sociedad tocó el cielo con las manos" [The day Real Sociedad touched the sky with their hands] (in Spanish). Mis Futboladas. 20 April 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
4. "Lyon 1–0 Real Sociedad". BBC Sport. 9 March 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
5. "Antoine Griezmann, Real Sociedad Start Champions-League Goal Fest With Stunning Strikes (GIFs)". New England Sports Network. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
6. "Vela continues hot streak with two goals against Lyon". Goal.com. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
7. "Shakhtar forge on as La Real hopes end". UEFA.com. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
8. "La Real Sociedad se olvida del fútbol y de Europa" [Real Sociedad forgets football and can forget Europe] (in Spanish). Marca. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
9. Real Sociedad progress in Europa League with last minute drama at Napoli, Football Espana, 10 December 2020

External links

• Official website (in Spanish, English, and Basque)
• Real Sociedad at UEFA (in English and Spanish)
• RSSSF European Cups Archive
• Club profile at BDfutbol (match reports in each season)