SAN SEBASTIAN // David Moyes was relaxed as he sat in the bar of his temporary home in the elegant Maria Cristina hotel on Thursday evening, enthusing about his new job as coach at Basque club Real Sociedad.
He had spent the day in this northern Spanish city in a training session, a meeting with media and smiling for photos while wrapped in a blue-and-white scarf from his new club.
Club president Jokin Aperribay, whose family deal in armaments, had been with him much of the time, pleased that the man he had courted heavily in London, France and the Basque country had finally signed a contract.
Moyes seemed to enjoy the spotlight and said he was feeling welcomed and glad to be back in team management.
When The Royal Society Football Club of San Sebastian broke with tradition, in 1991, and dispensed with using only Basque players, Basque nationalism initially dictated that any outsider should not be a Spaniard.
Instead, they opted for a mustachioed Liverpudlian, John Aldridge, who had not heard of the beautiful, beach-flanked city, which has more Michelin star restaurants per square metre than any other, let alone understood the intense local politics.
Aldridge arrived to see “Foreigner Go Home” graffiti, but 40 goals in 75 games later, the criticism had vanished. Goals, it seems, are a global currency.
Points are also for taking to the bank and Moyes will be judged primarily by how many his team, who are 15th in La Liga, pick up.
The Scotsman received a fine welcome from his new hosts and left the hotel for a dinner with locally born golfer Jose Maria Olazabal.
The former Manchester United manager has worked on his own golf handicap in the past six months but concedes time for such leisurely pursuits will be limited now he has started his new job.
He wants to integrate, to live by the sea in the centre of the city and go for morning runs along the famous beaches as he learns a new language and culture.
His family were impressed when they visited and wife Pam will join him in Spain.
They were also pleased to discover a direct flight between Bilbao and Manchester, close to the Moyes family home near Preston.
Real Sociedad have recently been a selling club, but the Scot, 51, has been assured that they have retained the bulk of the €70 million received from the sales of Claudio Bravo, Antoine Griezmann and Asier Illarramendi to Barcelona, Atletico and Real Madrid, respectively.
Finances have been earmarked for the redevelopment of the 32,000-capacity Anoeta stadium to rid it of its unwanted running track and boost the capacity to more than 40,000, which is ample for a club with an average attendance of 23,000.
“La Real” have seen rivals Athletic Bilbao build – and regularly fill – a new, 53,000-capacity stadium and do not want to be left behind, though there are dissenting Donostia voices claiming that Athletic, perceived as the Basque flagship club, receive more help from the public purse.
The biggest Basque clubs hail from one of Spain’s richest regions and, after financial problems in 2007, La Real’s president is proud of the financial turnaround that was boosted by Champions League qualification in 2013/14 where they met Moyes’s Manchester United.
“We don’t owe a penny,” Aperribay said. “We’re in a strong position. We don’t need to sell any players.”
Asked why he went for Moyes, the president said: “Moyes is a prestigious trainer who can elevate the level of our team. We met in London last week and spoke for four hours. He made a magnificent impression.
“We spoke about the philosophy of our club, our history and maintaining our identity. David is a winner and he can win here.
“Our team finished fourth and seventh in the last two seasons. We feel we should be finishing in a European spot.”
Real Sociedad needed a leader and Moyes is happy to fit the image of a strong disciplinarian.
He replaces Jagoba Arrasate, a young coach perceived as too passive and without sufficient character or charisma.
Moyes plans to speak to Arrasate, whose enthusiasm for helping the man who has replaced him is unknown.
“Arrasate had a terrible start to the season,” said Mikel Recalde, a reporter who covers all Real Sociedad matches.
“Losing to Krasnodar in the qualifier when people were still on holiday in August was a disaster, which was hard for the fans to take.
“The Champions League was too big for Real Sociedad but we hoped we could do well in the Europa League and when we didn’t even qualify against a team nobody had heard of, that became a problem, especially as people here think we have the best team since winning the league in 1982.
It is true that Moyes turned down Premier League jobs before deciding on Spain.
“But he has come and people are happy, they think he’s a good trainer who can change the mentality of a good team who have been playing badly,” Recalde said.
Moyes wants to soak in as much information as possible. The job he did at Everton impressed and Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s former La Real player, who flourished under Moyes at Goodison, told him he was fortunate to be placed in charge.
“Mikel told me I was a very lucky man to be coming to a beautiful city, a great football club and was very positive about everything to do with La Real,” Moyes said.
“He only had good things to say: great things to say about the city, the club. Talked very highly of the youth set-up. He was very positive.”
Moyes will be expected to tap into that youth talent and he was also pleased to receive calls from Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti and his English assistant Paul Clement.
Moyes plans to meet Clement, who is thriving in Madrid, when he brings his family to San Sebastian for a short break.
Such is the city’s beauty, he will have no shortage of visitors to see a team in a league he considers to be the best in the world.
“Look at the Champions League final, which in the past has been English teams,” Moyes said.
“But you look at the finals, at the Europa League finals, even just recently some of the European ties; it makes you realise the quality of the teams here in Spain.”
For now he is alone, intending to use Spanish coaches and bring his own men in.
He also said that plenty of players have shown interest in playing for him in Spain.
He will make changes and saw immediate areas for improvement at the training ground, and not only to the talent on it.
“I see the players being better than what they have shown,” Moyes said.
“My job is to get the maximum from them and I think there is more. The first thing is to make sure that we are not in any danger of relegation.
“My personal expectations are high. I want to get a winning team as quickly as we can, demanding that the way we play is entertaining, good to watch, enjoyable to see.”
Few will argue if he can turn around the team’s current dismal form.
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