Jorge Sampaoli’s team are on everyone’s lips at the moment following their humbling of Real Madrid and refusal to drop off and let Barcelona and Madrid battle it out for the LaLiga crown. I’d just like to say the praise Sevilla are receiving from around the world is completely justified, they have been fantastic, but to call them the most improved side in Spain would be incorrect. That crown belongs to another side: Real Sociedad.

Eusebio Sarcristan was hardly an obscure name plucked out of nowhere but he wasn’t the obvious choice to take over at Real Sociedad following David Moyes reign at the club either. Eusebio’s record as a manager doesn’t make for great reading having flopped at Celta Vigo and later underperforming when in charge of Barcelona’s youngsters. He’s fortunate to have been handed the job, that’s true, but since then he’s finally began to fulfil that promise so many expected from him.

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Moyes’ time at La Real was largely forgettable apart from that victory over Barcelona at Anoeta. On the outside it looked like a wonderful result, a tactical masterclass, but the reality is the Catalans have struggled up north for many years. Seven years, in fact, until this season when Barcelona finally banished the Anoeta hoodoo and recorded a 1-0 victory in the first leg of the Copa del Rey tie last week.

The one area where Moyes really fell down was his inability to get his ideas across. A lack of effort from the Scot meant players were left confused by what he wanted them to do. Some would say looking at the job he’s currently doing at Sunderland that maybe his ideas just aren’t very good. Either way, there was a wealth of talent at his disposal and while there was a brief upturn in form it soon became clear that he wasn’t the right man for the job.

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Sometimes football is about the simple things. You can have players do double training sessions and run themselves into the ground but if they don’t understand what you’re asking them to do, or feel you have no idea what each player’s individual strengths and weaknesses are, you aren’t going to succeed. At times you need to get to know your players, what makes them tick, what motivates them, and Moyes wasn’t capable of doing that.

Eusebio came in to very little fanfare. Fans were tired of the club’s direction, or lack of one to be more precise, and the grumblings of discontent towards club chairman Jokin Aperribay were growing with each passing day. After a solid but unspectacular start a run of four consecutive victories from the end of January to the end of February meant any lingering fears of relegation were behind them. Still, a club the size of Real Sociedad shouldn’t be anywhere near the bottom half of the table let alone a candidate for relegation.

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