Getafe clash a reminder of when Imanol's Real Sociedad empire began to crumble
As La Real prepare to face Getafe, we look back at the 3-0 defeat that marked the beginning of the end for Imanol Alguacil's once-promising project.
Real Sociedad return to face Getafe this Friday, the team whose 3-0 hammering at Anoeta last season marked the beginning of the end for Imanol Alguacil’s once-successful reign.
When it all started going Pete Tong
Cast your mind back to last season. La Real were flying - barely a defeat in five months across LaLiga, Copa del Rey and Europa League. They’d finished the first half of the league campaign sitting pretty in seventh with 30 points, just two behind Villarreal and Mallorca in the European spots.
Then came that Getafe match. The visitors arrived in San Sebastián with relegation concerns, sitting just a point above the drop zone. What happened next sent shockwaves through Anoeta - a comprehensive 3-0 defeat that raised the first serious questions about whether Imanol’s project had run its course.
The downward spiral
That Getafe defeat wasn’t just a bad day at the office - it sparked a proper nightmare run:
- Four more defeats in the next six league matches
- A plummet down to 11th position
- Just five victories in their next 17 matches after the Getafe hammering
The decline continued beyond Imanol’s tenure. Following his departure and the exit of key midfielder Martín Zubimendi, the slump has only deepened. The current season’s record makes for grim reading:
- Just four wins from 18 matches in 2025-26
- A relegation-worthy total of nine wins from their last 35 games
Matarazzo’s mission
Friday’s trip to Getafe represents new boss Pellegrino Matarazzo’s first away day in charge of the txuriurdin. Victory would pull them level with Getafe on 21 points and potentially be the turning point they desperately need.
After securing a decent point against Atlético Madrid, three points at the Coliseum would be just the ticket to kickstart a recovery mission and put some distance between themselves and the relegation trap door.
For Real Sociedad fans, this fixture brings back painful memories of when their bread and butter started going stale. Matarazzo will be hoping it can instead mark the beginning of a fresh chapter.