Gotta share how I put together that Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad piece yesterday. Started like always—sat down at my cluttered desk, laptop open, coffee cold already. Ugh. Needed to dig up the real juicy stuff for this rivalry, not just the usual stats anyone could Google.
The Deep Dive Begins
First thing? Pulled up La Liga’s official archive site. Scrolled and scrolled… man, years blur together past 2010. Found a wild 2-2 draw from May 2008 first—Sociedad was already relegated but fought like crazy. Typed notes fast: “Drama! Heart! Underdog spirit!” Straight into my rough draft. But just one game? Nah, needed more classics.
Hopped over to an old football forum saved in my bookmarks. Threads about “best Madrid-Sociedad moments” popped up. Fans yelling about this insane 0-4 Sociedad win back in 2004. Forgot about that! Ramos red card, Soldado misses… chaos. Scribbled it down: “Must include. Embarrassment + shock factor.”
Research Tangents & Arguments
Tried to find videos next. YouTube hunt got messy—bad quality clips, wrong years labeled. Got stuck arguing with myself: Was that winner in 2010 or 2011? Even Wikipedia got it half-wrong. Ended up cross-checking three news reports. Settled on 2011 (Raúl Albiol header!) after wasting 20 minutes. Annoying.
Stumbled on a 1990 Copa del Rey match completely by accident. Googled “Butragueño hat trick Real Sociedad” for no reason. BOOM. Found it—5-1 thrashing by Madrid. Added fast: “Iconic. Old-school demolition. Show the dominance angle.” Sometimes luck beats planning.
Narrowing Down the Madness
Got too many now. List was bloated. Stared at my screen:
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- 2004 humiliation? Yes.
- 2008 relegation battle? Yes.
- 2011 controversy? Yes.
- 1990 cup rout? Absolutely.
- But what about last season’s thriller…
Scratched off two recent ones. Felt wrong but hey—classics need time to breathe, right? No recency bias here.
Putting It All Together
Typed up the final list sweating over descriptions. Wanted the grit in there—not just goals. Like how the 2008 game stank of rain and wet grass just reading reports. Or how Benzema looked ready to murder someone after a 2020 miss. Kept rewriting until it felt raw. Hit publish. sigh Coffee’s stone cold again. Always happens. Rivalries write themselves if you dig deep enough. Turns out football ain’t just about trophies—it’s about moments that stick in your gut.