The assertion that the signature of any player can quite literally change the identity of a club is so often hyperbole. However, is there a case for saying John Aldridge's arrival at Real Sociedad in the September of 1989, having found his first-team opportunities at Anfield limited by the emergence of Ian Rush and Peter Beardsley as Kenny Dalglish's preferred front two for Liverpool, did just that?
After all, prior to his £1 million arrival La Real was seemingly something of a closed shop for those without a trace of Basque in their blood for the preceding thirty years, but there was perhaps a sense that this was more hindrance than help as they looked to challenge at the top of La Liga. And it could be said that the decision to break with tradition paid off, as Sociedad finished fifth with Aldridge top scorer on sixteen goals in his first season- which also left him fourth in the running for the Pichichi (league's top scorer) award! Vindication for president Inaki Alkiza, whose motion for change passed with 75 votes in favour from his fellow club members, with the caveat that while foreign players were now acceptable, non-Basque Spaniards were still off the table.
And it wasn't exactly without controversy, as you might expect. These Football Times can provide a little more background- another Anfield old boy in the dugout as John Toshack made Aldo one of his last signings for the Txiri- Urdin (White and Blues) prior to his departure for Real Madrid. This came after having delivered the Copa Del Rey in 1986/87, with victory over Atletico Madrid, and a runners-up position in the league the next season.
These Football Times can provide a more in- depth background...
“For many years, La Real – in a similar vein to neighbours Athletic Club – had adopted a policy of only signing Basque players. The policy, a source of great pride for the fans, had brought the club some success, especially in the early 1980s when the side won back-to-back Liga titles, in 1981 and 1982.
The rest of the 80s, however, with the exception of a Copa del Rey win under Welsh manager John Toshack in 1987, were not as kind to the Gupizkoa-based outfit. By the end of the decade, the club were struggling to compete with their financially stronger rivals Athletic in the small fishing pond that is the Basque transfer market.
In addition to this, clubs like Athletic and Barcelona often poached Real Sociedad’s best players.”
Though actually, as a dip into the history books will tell us, the British influence at the Anoeta Stadium goes as far back as the club's very founding in 1909. Students and workers heading home from good old Blighty founded San Sebastian Recreation Club as a sort of precursor in 1904, competing in the following season's Copa Del Rey and entering again as Club Ciclistia De San Sebastian in 1909. They won it thanks to a 3-1 victory over Club Espanol De Madrid, the opening goal coming courtesy of a sort of proto- Aldridge in the form of George McGuinness, a Scouser who had arrived in Spain only the previous year and had been teaching goalkeeper Pedro Bea, the man responsible for encouraging him to join the team, his own mother tongue!
Indeed, it wasn't long before King Alfonso XIII bestowed royal patronage on what was then known as the Sociedad De Futbol following another run to the cup final, only to lose 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao in a Basque derby of a final before McGuinness returned to England. He played his last game in a Sociedad shirt on December 2nd 1910 before taking up a teaching post and playing considerably more locally for Harrowby.
Compare and contrast with Aldridge's initial reception upon his arrival!
“On the way to his first training session he encountered graffiti stating ‘No Foreigners Allowed’, while on a separate occasion, a man spat in his direction during a walk through the streets of Donostia. Later, the leader of a prominent Peña (supporters group) declared that he would rather see his club in the third division than see a foreigner pull on the blue and white strip.”
His first two goals mere weeks later, in a 2-2 draw with Barcelona, marked the start of a turnaround, though he would last two seasons before handing in a transfer request- his family struggled to settle, and so he left for Tranmere for £250,000.
However, the unhappy ending to his stint as a sort of successor to George McGuinness, after forty goals from seventy-five games, didn't deter Real from looking to what was in a sense the fatherland of their club for a replacement. The late Dalian Atkinson arrived in time for the 1990/91 campaign via Sheffield Wednesday and in so doing also became the first black player to pull on the blue and white shirt.
Twelve goals from twenty-nine league games was his return before a £1.6 million move to Aston Villa after racial abuse from away fans, El Txipiron (The Squid) subsequently remembered by former team-mate Luis Dadie as perhaps his club's first superstar. Kevin Richardson had also arrived at roughly the same time from Arsenal to bolster the defence and followed Atkinson to Villa after their one season together at the Anoeta.
“People were wild for him (Atkinson). It was like he was our first superstar. We’d had players like Arconada, Zamora, Satrústegui, López Ufarte: imagine what they meant to this city. Well, Atkinson provoked three times the passion. People were crazy about him, he was very special on and off the pitch. I haven’t seen the fans get off their seats like they did with Atkinson.
It was absolutely marvelous watching him. He left us open-mouthed. Dalian was a modern player: direct, so fast, he could run with the ball, carry it, take people on. It was incredible. In our age, we hadn’t really seen players like that. These days, that would be pure gold.”
And not long after those departures Toshack was back in the dugout, from 1991- 94, following his sacking by Real Madrid. He returned for a third stint, between 2000-2002, before another Welshman, Chris Coleman followed in his footsteps upon a recommendation from Tosh, but only lasted between July 9th 2007 and his resignation on January 16th 2008.
Interestingly enough a similar-ish fate would befall David Moyes, the Scot no doubt having hoped to rebuild his career following an unsuccessful stint with Manchester United. Appointed in November 2014 to replace Jagoba Arrasate, he would be sacked after roughly a year despite a famous win over Barcelona. His Anoeta career got off to the best possible start with a Carlos Vela hat-trick helping his new charges to a 3-0 win over Elche following a 0-0 draw at Deportivo La Coruna.
In a nice bit of circularity, they're been under the management of a former team-mate of both Aldridge and Atkinson, Imanol Alguacil, for the past, largely successful, seven years (which culminated in another Copa del Rey triumph in 2021, for the covid-delayed 2020 final). That being said, having cut his teeth managing the Sociedad B team under Moyes, Alguacil recently announced that he will be standing down at the end of this campaign.
They currently sit eleventh in La Liga with one game left this season. Basque club captain and forward Mikel Oyarzabal, has the top scorer spoils with nine league goals, whilst Japanese winger Takefusa Kubo is rather poetically next highest with five. Alkiza's quashing of the Basques-only rule and the embracing of foreigners continuing to pay off for Sociedad…