Real Sociedad Need a New Manager in December — What Went Wrong for Sergio Francisco?

Following the sacking of manager Sergio Francisco on Sunday after a 2-1 home defeat to fellow strugglers Girona, we take a closer look at what has gone wrong at Real Sociedad.

An alarming decline by Real Sociedad

Sociedad currently sit 15th in the LaLiga table with just 16 points from 16 matches (W4, D4, L8) — an average of only one point per game that has left the Txuri-Urdin fanbase increasingly frustrated.

If Mikel Oyarzabal had not seen a goal ruled out for offside against Celta Vigo earlier this season, the picture might look slightly brighter. Indeed, Sociedad are seven points better off in a hypothetical LaLiga table without VAR interventions.

Instead, the now managerless Basque side find themselves just one point above the relegation zone. Friday’s 2-1 defeat to Girona at the Reale Arena proved the final straw, with the club’s hierarchy wielding the axe two days later.

Despite scoring the seventh-highest number of goals in LaLiga this season (20), Sociedad have already conceded 24. By comparison, last season — when they finished 11th — they scored just 35 goals across the entire campaign while conceding 46.

Having already shipped more than half of last season’s goals conceded in just 16 matches, Sociedad appear to be on a worrying defensive trajectory. The summer departure of Martín Zubimendi to Arsenal for just over £60 million has clearly left a sizeable hole in midfield, with knock-on effects at the back.

Lack of European football has not helped Sociedad

Sociedad had been a regular presence in European competition — Champions League or Europa League — for five consecutive seasons prior to this campaign.

Last season’s 11th-place finish was a major disappointment after ending 2023/24 in sixth and qualifying for the Europa League, but the lack of continental football has not brought the domestic upturn some may have expected.

Defeats to Oviedo and Rayo Vallecano were fixtures that would have been pencilled in as potential three-point opportunities in pre-season. Instead, those matches ended in disappointment.

Losses to Real Madrid, Real Betis, defending champions Barcelona and Villarreal are hardly unexpected. However, the manner of those defeats — including a 95th-minute winner conceded against Villarreal — has raised serious concerns for a side that had previously established itself as one of LaLiga’s most consistent European performers.

A long time since Sociedad have seen the Segunda

Sociedad have not played in the Segunda División since the 2009/10 campaign — now 16 seasons ago.

Imanol Alguacil was in charge of the club for eight years before stepping aside last summer, allowing Francisco to take over at the Reale Arena.

Across those 16 top-flight seasons, Sociedad have only flirted with relegation once — during the 2010/11 campaign, when they were newly promoted.

By this stage last season, Sociedad had accumulated 24 points from 16 matches, winning seven games — eight points more than their current total.

Oyarzabal unable to save Francisco

Mikel Oyarzabal has been one of the few consistent bright spots during the 2025/26 campaign.

The club’s top scorer last season (nine goals) has already netted five times this term, while also contributing three assists.

Ander Barrenetxea is next best with six attacking contributions (three goals, three assists), while Brais Méndez follows with three goals and two assists.

Francisco — a former Sociedad striker — took charge on 1 July but lasted just five months before the club’s hierarchy decided change was unavoidable.

Who will succeed Francisco as Real Sociedad manager?

There is currently no active betting market on who will become Sociedad’s next permanent manager, although that is expected to change in the coming days.

Could Imanol Alguacil make a dramatic — and potentially much-needed — return from his current role at Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia?

That remains a genuine possibility, though Thiago Motta’s name has also been mentioned in the Spanish press as the club weigh up their next move.