Real Sociedad’s 439 European outings underline edge over debutants Bournemouth | OneFootball

Real Sociedad begin their Europa League campaign carrying hard-earned European nous, their squad combining for 439 continental appearances after years of steady progress, interrupted only by last season’s absence.

According to Diario Vasco, that total is almost double Bournemouth’s as the English side make their European debut despite heavy recent investment in experience and talent.

Counting the 25 players on List A plus Jon Martín on List B, the average stands at 17 European matches per player before tonight’s opener. Mikel Oyarzabal leads the way with 40 games and 12 goals, while Igor Zubeldia is on 37. Both have featured in six different editions, including 2017/18 when Salzburg knocked La Real out.

Alex Remiro has 37 European matches for Real, with Ander Barrenetxea on 28, Aihen Muñoz 25 and Beñat Turrientes 23. Others arrived with continental pedigree elsewhere, such as Guedes with 34 games and six goals, Sucic 34 with four, and Soler 26 with four. Of that trio, only the Croatian has already played in Europe for Real, scoring against Midtjylland two years ago.

Five List A players are yet to appear in Europe, namely Aitor Fraga, Luken Beitia, Jon Gorrotxategi, Alex Lebarbier and Job Ochieng, with debuts likely in the league phase. Further options from the B team, including Carrera, Marchal, Dani Díaz and Aguirre, can be named on List B.

Notably, 64% of those 439 appearances, 282 in total, were made in Real colours, built across trips to grounds such as Old Trafford, the Olimpico, the Juventus Stadium, Naples and Donetsk. Even so, they still trail giants like Milan on 774 and Benfica on 790, while Bournemouth have spent €628 million and recouped €539 million across the past five summers.

Source: Diario Vasco

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”