In their short spells with Real Sociedad three players left an indelible mark, as former teammates recall
The day John Aldridge turned up at Real Sociedad’s Zubieta training ground in September 1989, he was confronted by graffiti saying foreigners weren’t welcome. A year on, he had been so good that they welcomed two more of them, this time with open arms. For almost 30 years, la Real didn’t have a player from outside the Basque Country; now they had three, and all from Britain and Ireland.
They were in San Sebastián together for only a season and not even a particularly good one, la Real finishing 1990-91 in their lowest position since returning to the first division 22 years earlier, but Aldridge, Kevin Richardson and Dalian Atkinson left an indelible mark, says Jon Andoni Larrañaga. “I have lovely memories of all three,” the then club captain adds. Whoever you ask there is warmth. No one scored more goals than Aldridge or Atkinson and only Larrañaga played more games than Richardson.
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