Imanol Alguacil has completely changed the face of Real Sociedad in the Cup. In just three years, the KO tournament has gone from being a kind of ordeal in the 1990s for a club like Donostia-San Sebastian, with a long cup tradition, to being a blessing that allows them to get excited about winning a title, as He did with the 2020 Cup whose final was played last year. So much so that since the arrival of Imanol Alguacil to the realistic first team, he has only lost one game in this competition in three years. The Oriotarra has changed the mentality in San Sebastián, and now he no longer rotates with the less usual, but goes for the Cup, to the point of becoming a goal of the season for being the most feasible option to add titles .
The data is very relevant. Imanol has directed Real in sixteen m Cup games, with an outstanding balance in this tournament of 13 wins, 2 draws and the defeat that left him out of the quarterfinals in the 20/21 season against the black beast of Alguacil, a Betis that needed an extension to leave out the San Sebastian. With Imanol, Real Sociedad has already forgotten its continuous setbacks against teams of a lower category, to the point that none has been able to eliminate the Blue and Whites with the Oriotarra, and has added two highly prestigious wins, such as the eliminations of Atlético de Madrid (2-0) this past Friday, and the victory at the Santiago Bernabéu (3-4), without forgetting my Cup final won against Athletic.
The reality is that it can be said that Real Sociedad has reconciled with the Copa del Rey. Because after linking 20 consecutive seasons (which is said soon) without reaching a Copa del Rey quarterfinal (between 1994 and 2013), now they have achieved it 4 times in the last 9 years (2014, 2017, 2020 and 2022 ), two with Imanol leading the first team. But it is that Imanol’s records in the Cup go further. Because he still doesn’t know what it’s like to lose at the Reale Arena in the KO tournament. La Real has played 6 Cup matches at Anoeta since it has no athletics tracks with the following result, achieving five wins and one draw, with no losses. And all the games have been against First Division teams, with the difficulty that this has.
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