The final act of the Copa del Rey, won by Real Sociedad against Atlético Madrid on penalties, was “signed” by Unai Marrero and Pablo Marín: the former saved two of the Colchoneros’ conversion attempts during the final lottery, while the latter took and scored the decisive penalty. Both Marrero and Marín were raised at Zubieta, the youth sector of the Basque club. Ander Barrenetxea and Mikel Oyarzabal, the scorers of the two goals scored by Real during regular time, also grew up in the youth academy of the San Sebastián team. It is no coincidence, one might say, Marca published an article with the unequivocal title: “Otro título más con Zubieta de protagonista”. No translation needed.
In reality, the decisive impact of homegrown players, looking at Real Sociedad, is nothing more than a consequence of the great work being done in San Sebastián on the youth sector. A work that has been ongoing for years and that, in fact, has led Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team to win its fourth Copa del Rey. There are no other possible definitions for a team that fielded as many as 13 players raised in its own academy in the eight matches played in the tournament: in addition to the aforementioned Marrero, Marín, Barrenetxea, and Oyarzabal, Jon Aramburu, Jon Martín, Jon Gorrotxategi, and Aritz Elustondo also participated in the final (the first two as starters, the other two as substitutes); in the rest of the tournament, Jon Karrikaburu, Beñat Turrientes, Aihen Muñoz, Álvaro Odriozola, and Igor Zubeldia also found playing time.
For Barrenetxea and Oyarzabal, this is the second trophy won with the team of their lives, after the Copa del Rey in 2021. The fact that only the two of them were present five years ago is another sign of the work being done at Zubieta, of how Real Sociedad continues to churn out talents continuously. In addition to those present in Matarazzo’s squad, there are quite a few great players who play for other teams after being trained in San Sebastián: think of Martín Zubimendi, one of the pillars of Arteta’s Arsenal, or even Antoine Griezmann and Iñigo Martínez. In short, the youth academy of Real Sociedad is one of the most flourishing in Spain and all of European football. And now there is a Copa del Rey in the trophy cabinet, the fourth in the club’s history, to demonstrate this incontrovertibly.