From The Athletic (I've highlighted some relevant sections)
ASTON VILLA’S NEW SPORTING DIRECTOR ROBERTO OLABE: WHO IS THE MAN REPLACING MONCHI?
Roberto Olabe, who is set to join Aston Villa as the Premier League club’s new sporting director, is perhaps best known for his excellent recent work at Real Sociedad.
But he left that position at the end of last season, and it is far from the only role to have shaped him.
Olabe has extensive experience from more than two decades working in various different jobs at several La Liga clubs. The 57-year-old’s CV also includes time helping Qatar prepare for the 2022 World Cup, and guiding the development of Ecuador’s current ‘golden generation’ of players.
OVER HIS CAREER, the ex-goalkeeper [he] HAS ALSO WORKED CLOSELY WITH fellow former Real Sociedad figures now in top managerial posts across Europe, including Xabi Alonso, Mikel Arteta and VILLA BOSS UNAI EMERY — WHO OLABE HIRED AS ALMERIA MANAGER IN 2006.
Olabe had been under contract in San Sebastian until June 2026, but The Athletic revealed back in November that he would be leaving his post 12 months early. Back then, we spoke to around a dozen sources who know him and his work, all speaking anonymously to protect relationships.
They gave valuable insight into the character and working methods of man now set for a new big job at Villa.
Born in the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in 1967, Olabe began his playing career with third-tier Mirandes, spent time in the lower divisions with hometown club Alaves, then moved to Salamanca before joining Real Sociedad in 1995.
DURING FOUR SEASONS WITH REAL SOCIEDAD, OLABE WAS MOSTLY A BACK-UP IN A SQUAD THAT INCLUDED MORE THAN A DOZEN PLAYERS WHO WOULD LATER BECOME MANAGERS — INCLUDING EMERY AT ASTON VILLA, ex-Leeds, Valencia and Watford manager Javi Gracia, current Mallorca boss Jagoba Arrasate and former Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil.
After retiring as a player in 1999, Olabe coached Real Sociedad’s under-18 team to a national title. Midway through the 2001-02 season he was promoted to replace John Toshack with the senior side and guided them to safety after they were facing the threat of relegation.
Moving upstairs for three years as sporting director, Olabe put together a squad that almost won the 2002-03 La Liga title. A teenage Xabi Alonso became a first-team regular during this time, while a 22-year-old Arteta signed from Rangers.
There then followed short spells in different roles within Spanish football. DURING A YEAR AS ALMERIA SPORTING DIRECTOR HE APPOINTED EMERY AS COACH, signed 17 players and got promotion to La Liga. He had a spell working as a senior executive at La Liga leading various projects including the development of youth players and aiding the education of coaches in Central America. HE ALSO COACHED REAL UNION IN THE THIRD TIER FOR THE 2011-12 CAMPAIGN — NOW OWNED BY V SPORTS.
Olabe’s longest career spell outside of San Sebastian was four years as director of football at Qatar’s Aspire Group, where his remit was to develop the structures to prepare a competitive team for when the Gulf country hosted the 2022 World Cup.
“The proposal was to design the football department,” Olabe told The Athletic before that tournament. “Then developing a methodology for training, generating the right competitive mentality and changing the sporting culture. Everything was related to 2022. It was a challenge but also a great opportunity.”
Olabe began that project but in August 2016 he returned to Real Sociedad as sporting director. Within eight months, he left and was soon afterwards appointed as head of sporting strategy at Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle (who also had an official connection to Qatar’s Aspire). There, he helped build the youth system which has produced senior stars including Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo and Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie, now on loan at Arsenal.
On Olabe’s return to Real Sociedad in 2018 for a third spell as sporting director, long-serving club president Jokin Aperribay gave him wide-ranging powers, from youth development to transfers. The result was the team’s most successful period since the early 1980s.
Long-serving veterans Xabi Prieto and Imanol Agirretxe were treated honourably while being moved on. Bets on promising youngsters Alexander Isak, Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino paid off. Youth products Mikel Oyarzabal, Martin Zubimendi and Robin Le Normand became first-team pillars. Ex-Premier League veterans David Silva and Nacho Monreal brought experience and leadership. Coach Alguacil was promoted from the B team to the senior side and given time to work within a context he knew well.
Inside Spanish football, Real Sociedad were generally admired as a club that did things correctly and smartly during this time, as they overtook historically bigger rivals such as Valencia and Sevilla, where decisions were made more erratically.
For many observers, a key to Real Sociedad’s success was how everyone at the club — including president, sporting director, coach and senior players — were all very aligned in what they were doing. Steady progress culminated in a first trophy in three decades when eight home-produced players featured as the club beat Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao in the 2020 Copa del Rey final (played behind closed doors in April 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic).
Off the pitch, Real Sociedad were also progressing. Olabe had a central role as the club’s Zubieta training ground was expanded. A unified player development model was implemented across the men’s and women’s teams at all levels, with an emphasis on playing good technical football at a rapid pace. Alonso spent three years at Zubieta learning what he needed to become a top coach, before leaving for Bayer Leverkusen, and this summer joining Real Madrid.
“It’s very important that (all our coaches) understand our model of development, and that they are aligned with our model of play,” Olabe told The Athletic in 2021. “Then each is free to add their own finishing touches. Xabi maybe likes to be more stable, with his own profile, have more midfield play. Imanol maybe is more eclectic. But we are all very similar and they all understand they are part of this model.”
The 2023-24 campaign was Real Sociedad’s first in the Champions League in a decade, the result of stability and long-term planning. Alguacil’s well-drilled team topped a group with Inter Milan, Benfica and Red Bull Salzburg, but hit a ceiling against the much richer Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16.
“We want to be the best Real Sociedad possible, not to copy anybody else,” Olabe told The Athletic before that PSG tie. “We know it is very difficult to win trophies, very few teams do. What makes us better is to be the best version of ourselves every day. To try, with this identity, to take on the challenges that are put in front of us. That will make us stronger and better.”
Real Sociedad’s progress was built on profits in transfer dealings during Olabe’s most recent spell. While head of scouting Erik Bretos did a lot of the work in identifying targets, market sources say Olabe was a tough negotiator who “does not suffer fools” and always looks for an advantage for his club.
Isak was sold to Newcastle United for €70million (£61.7m, $82.6m) in 2022, having arrived from Borussia Dortmund for €10m three years earlier. Merino cost just €12m from Newcastle United in 2018, and brought in €32m from Arsenal last summer after impressing at Euro 2024 for Spain. Another of that Euros-winning squad, centre-half Le Normand, was sold to Atletico Madrid for €34.5m.
However, those departures led to an ‘end-of-cycle’ feeling. Not all recent signings have worked out — Japan playmaker Takefusa Kubo for €6.5m was a hit but Nigerian striker Umar Sadiq for a club-record €20m has not been so far. The relationship between former team-mates Olabe and Alguacil — both intense characters — also had its strained moments. The sporting director’s relationship with the dressing room was characterised by one source as “cordial and professional”, with president Aperribay a warmer figure with the players.
Real Sociedad finished 11th in La Liga last term, also reaching the Copa del Rey semi-finals and the Europa League last 16, losing to Manchester United.
EMERY AND VILLA FIRST CONSIDERED BRINGING OLABE TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE IN SUMMER 2023, BUT IN THE END MONCHI WAS HIRED FROM SEVILLA AS THEIR SPORTING DIRECTOR.
Some who know him well see him more as a manager or implementer of a general strategy and philosophy throughout a club, rather than solely scouting or signing first-team players. He is used to working with wide autonomy and power to make decisions, within a well-defined structure.
Such conditions are not often found at top Premier League clubs with rich owners (whether individuals or nation states). Another industry source wondered whether his breadth of experience would make him a good fit for owners implementing a multi-club model across leagues or continents.
Others who have followed his career closely say he is sensitive to criticism and does not always enjoy the media spotlight. He is most comfortable when given time and space to do what he thinks is the correct thing over the long term — not always the conditions available at the very top level in football.
One thing for sure is he will be missed at Real Sociedad. Back in November, when news of his departure was confirmed, one former team-mate said he was sad, but was sure that Olabe would be a success whatever his next step.
“Firstly, I’d like Roberto Olabe to stay many more years at La Real as he is doing great work there,” he said.
“To speak of Roberto Olabe is to speak of responsibility, hard work, dedication, determination and great quality on a professional and personal level. He’s always been a very analytical and reflective person. He knows the market well and looks after the youth system. Wherever he goes, he would have no problem, with his experience and capability.”
