Before i begin my update i would like to offer my deepest sympathies to the family, friends and team-mates of Espanyol club captain Daniel Jarque who died after he suffered a heart attack following a training session yesterday. My thoughts are with them at this sad time.
Moving onto the title of this update only a couple of weeks ago hardly any Real Sociedad supporters would have heard of Antoine Griezmann since he was in the youth set up and yet to even make the step up to Sanse however with 4 goals in 2 pre-season friendlies he is the talk of San Sebastian.

In this update i would like to report on the latest recruits to join txuri urdin this summer so far.
Firstly the man to replace the departed Castillo in the left back position will be Alberto de la Bella who signed from Sevilla Atletico. The full back spoke this week of his surprise in San Sebastián at the passion the fans in the street have for the club and the fact the entire city has a massive desire to be in the top flight again.

After it seemed almost certain Xabi Castillo would be joining Racing Santander its been reported in the Spanish media that Xabi Castillo could make a sensational move to Athletic Bilbao and follow in the footsteps of Iñigo Díaz de Cerio. Athletic are looking for a left back and have been linked with Manchester City's former Real Sociedad full back Javier Garrido and Osasuna's Ignacio Monreal although from speaking to some Athletic fans the general opinion is Monreal would be the preferred option.

With not much in the way of news to report on today i thought i'd voice my opinion on the centenery strips for the coming season. To be blunt - i don't like them. The red away one is getting a very generous 6/10 but i'm afraid the home kit is getting 1/10. Now i realise no-one in San Sebastian will be losing any sleep over this revelation but part of my motivation for posting this is to see what others think because i'm sure i'm not alone.

Spanish newspaper Marca have reported new coach Martín Lasarte could make Carlos Bueno the man to fire Real Sociedad to promotion next season. Like Sebastian Abreu before him, Carlos Bueno is a Uruguayan International striker with 27 caps and 16 goals to his name. The forward currently plays for Peñarol in his native Uruguay netting 10 times in 14 games for the club he started his career with.

It was announced yesterday that star studded Real Madrid will visit Anoeta on 15th August to honour the centenary of Real Sociedad. It has also been revealed the visitors will not be charging a penny to play in a fantastic gesture to the cash strapped club and any much needed money raised will be kept by Real Sociedad.

Iñigo Díaz de Cerio was unveiled as a Athletic Bilbao player today after his Real Sociedad contract officially ended yesterday and has signed on for 4 years with a 50 million euro buy out clause. The player thanked Athletic Club for trusting him after having been sidelined for most of the 2008-9 season due to an injury.

A last minute winner from comeback kid Gorka Elustundo ended Real Sociedad's season on a high and gave Coach Lillo a good end to his tenure after the bitter disappointment of failing to get promotion. Incredibly the win means that txuri urdin finished with more points away from home than at the Anoeta - something that will need to change next season for sure.

Its yet to be officially confirmed but Millonarios left sided midfielder Jonathan Estrada will be heading to San Sebastian at the weekend to sign a season loan deal to join the club next season with an option to make the deal permanent after that. With Martín Lasarte not due to take the reigns until July 1st its clear he is already working in the background as he was coach of Estrada at Millonarios in 2007.

Real Sociedad were unable to give the home fans the victory they wanted as they bid farewell to coach Lillo and the players who were playing in their final tie at Anoeta before they move to pastures new. It turned out to be a very entertaining game with plenty of chances for both sides (see highlights below).

Regular followers of Real Sociedad news will be familiar with the ritual of me taking a few days to update a match after Real Sociedad have suffered a defeat but the fact its now Thursday reflects the pain i felt after the thrashing Rayo dealt out. Things didn't look good after only 3 minutes when Amaya gave Rayo the lead.

At a press conference this afternoon it was confirmed by President Aperribay that Coach Lillo will leave the helm at the end of June and the man to replace him is Uruguyan Martin Lasarte. Aperribay thanked Lillo for the "great work" he had done for the team but ultimately his failure to get into the top 3 has cost him.

Real Sociedad picked up a brilliant win at the weekend over Huesca to keep the club in the promotion hunt. A fantastic goal by Abreu in the 1st minute (see video below) was doubled by Aranburu in 31 minutes. Huesca pulled a goal back through Camacho but Real held on despite losing Markel to a red card in the 56th minute.

Real Sociedad missed out on a fantastic opportunity to close the gap on the leaders after Zaragoza and Tenerife played out a 1-1 draw. Real found themselves 2-0 down in the first half after goals from Dinei (7mins) and Ghil (38 mins). Real pulled a goal back on 59 minutes after Abreu slotted home a penalty after Peña had handled in the box.

Real Sociedad go into Saturdays game with Albacete knowing nothing less than a victory will do at Anoeta as they hope Zaragoza can slip up at home to Celta Vigo and close the gap on them to 5 points. Real have the same squad from last weeks 2-1 win over Alicante (see goals below) to call upon but one surprise is the call up to the first team squad for young midfielder Javi Ros.