A reported 100,000 fans lined the streets to greet Real Sociedad’s victorious players on Monday evening, who paraded the Copa del Rey trophy through the streets of Donostia-San Sebastian. The Txuri-Urdin are celebrating their fourth ever Copa del Rey trophy after beating Atletico Madrid on penalties on Saturday night in Seville, following a 2-2 draw.
The Real Sociedad team returned from Seville on Sunday, and were given a hero’s welcome back in Gipuzkoa, as well as a day to recover before celebrating with the rest of the city. The party started at the town hall in the centre of the city, before an open-top bus took the trophy to Anoeta.
One of the stars of the show was manager Pellegrino Matarazzo, who gave a speech in Basque to the delighted crowd.
Celebrations were led by captain Mikely Oyarzabal and defender Aritz Elustondo, two of the veterans of the side that won the cup in 2021, but could not celebrate with the fans.
Elustondo told the fans Oyarzabal was the person that was most responsible for the good things happening to Real Sociedad. His captain returned the complement.
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“He’s a person who, when it’s not his turn, comes with the same smile as when it is his, and that in a dressing room is very important, he told the crowd, causing Elustondo to break down in tears.”
A final rendition of the sound of the Copa del Rey
According to MD, there were 40,000 people gathered in front of the town hall, and 60,000 lined along the route that the bus took.
The city itself has a population of 190,000, while the region of Gipuzkoa itself totals 700,000. There was also time for a final rendition of the song that accompanied the Copa del Rey journey, the Orri Oskarsson song.
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