Kubo and Sucic Join Group Training as Real Sociedad Prepare for Aston Villa Friendly

By FootballGames10 News Desk

Real Sociedad completed their first training session on English soil this morning, moving to Aston Villa’s Bodymoor Heath complex after their 1-0 victory over Wolves in Walsall on Saturday. The session, which lasted more than 90 minutes, was marked by the return of two key players to group work: Takefusa Kubo and Luka Sucic both took part, albeit with different levels of involvement.

Training Session at Bodymoor Heath

The squad travelled from their hotel to the Aston Villa training ground, a facility that is not close to their accommodation. The session was the first of three planned in the Birmingham area before Tuesday’s friendly against Aston Villa. All players participated, with head coach Uli Matarazzo focusing heavily on tactical organisation and ball progression, particularly after the error that led to a goal in the Wolves match.

Reunions with Familiar Faces

The Real Sociedad delegation encountered several old acquaintances during their visit. Former Real Sociedad women’s team coach Natalia Arroyo, now in charge of Aston Villa, was training her own squad when the txuri urdin arrived. She exchanged greetings with Matarazzo and members of the Real Sociedad staff. Also present was Roberto Olabe, the former Real Sociedad sporting director who now leads Aston Villa’s football department. He watched the session alongside his former colleague Erik Bretos and warmly greeted players at the end of training.

Kubo and Sucic Progress

Takefusa Kubo, the Japanese winger who missed the Wolves game, completed almost the entire session with the group, only sitting out the final tactical exercise. During that part he ran separately with a reconditioning coach, indicating his return to full fitness is close. Croatian midfielder Luka Sucic, who was also not involved on Saturday, went through the entire training session without restrictions. The club’s video showed goalkeepers and players with fewer minutes—such as Goti, Fraga, Dani Díaz, and Kita—starting earlier to balance loads before joining the main group. Unai Marrero, Alex Remiro (who was not called up for the Wolves match), and the two added players (Kubo and Sucic) were also in the early group.

Tactical Focus

Matarazzo dedicated a significant portion of the session to improving the team’s build-up play from the back, a clear response to the mistake that gifted Wolves a goal. The head coach worked with the outfield players on positional structures and passing patterns under pressure. The intensity was high, with the coaching staff demanding precise execution.

Next Steps

Real Sociedad will hold a second training session at Bodymoor Heath on Monday at the same time (12:00 local time), the eve of the friendly against Aston Villa. The status of midfielders Pablo Soler and Sergio Gómez remains uncertain; they were among the players with fewer minutes and may be short of full fitness. The team will then face Aston Villa on Tuesday before returning to Spain to continue their pre-season preparations.

Key facts

Source: Mundo Deportivo Fútbol – https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/real-sociedad/20260726/1004210351/kubo-sucic-unen-grupo-entreno-birmingham.html