Real Sociedad Football Club (abbreviated as "La Real", English name: Real Sociedad FC) was founded in 1909 and is a professional football club based in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain, nicknamed "The Blue and Whites". In 1931, with the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic, the club was renamed Donostia Club de Futbol.
La Real is one of the founding members of La Liga in 1929. In the 1980s, the team experienced its golden era: under the management of John Toshack, they won the La Liga championship in two consecutive seasons from 1980 to 1982, during a time when Real Madrid and Barcelona dominated the league. The team had many legendary stars at that time: Jesús María Zamora, Imanol Alguacil, Luis Arconada, and Juan Mari, among others. In 1989, they signed Irish star John Aldridge, becoming the first major Basque club to introduce a non-Basque player.
Real Sociedad had hopes of lifting the La Liga trophy for the first time in 20 years during the 2002-2003 season. They dominated the top of the league for a long time, but unfortunately, Real Sociedad suffered from controversial late goals and lost many points, ultimately being overtaken by Real Madrid and missing out on the La Liga title that season.