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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2014 20 Sport SPORTTODAY David Moyes to take charge of Real Sociedad today David Moyes will take charge of his first training session with Real Sociedad today, before being officially presented as the Spanish side's new coach, the club have announced MOYES was named as the next Sociedad boss late on Monday night - seven months after he was sacked as Manchester United manager. The Scot, who was axed by Unit- ed in April following a dismal first season in charge at Old Trafford, has been handed a one-and-a- half-year deal with the Primera Division outfit and is due to land in Spain later on Tuesday. A Sociedad statement read: "The new Real Sociedad coach David Moyes will arrive in San Sebastian mid-afternoon, as such it will be the coaches of Sanse (Sociedad 's B team) Asier Santana and Imanol Alguacil who will be in charge of the first team for this afternoon's training session. "David Moyes will take training today and then will be officially presented. Full details will be an- nounced later in the day." Moyes, whose contract with So- ciedad runs until June 30, 2016, left United just 10 months into a six-year contract after being named as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2013. At the time of his departure, United, the defending champions, were seventh in the Barclays Pre- mier League and 23 points behind leaders Liverpool. Moyes also left the 20-time title winners with a host of unwanted records broken during his tenure, including failing to qualif y for the Champions League for the first time in almost two decades. Moyes, who became the third shortest-serving manager in the club's history, won 27, drew nine and lost 15 of his 51 games in charge of United. All that came after Moyes had enjoyed 11 critically acclaimed years at Everton, leading the club to five top-six finishes. The Tof- fees qualified for the Champions League for the first time under Moyes' stewardship - although they lost in the qualif ying stages of the competition - and he also took the Merseyside club to the FA Cup final in 2009. The former Preston boss takes over a Sociedad side who moved out of the Primera Division rele- gation zone on Sunday night with a 2-1 home win over champions Atletico Madrid. B team coach Santana was in charge for that match following last week 's sacking of Jagoba Ar- rasate. Arrasate was dismissed in the wake of a hugely disappointing start to the campaign which saw Sociedad - who finished fourth in 2013 and seventh last term - win just one of their opening 10 league fixtures as well as being eliminat- ed from the Europa League. Ex-West Brom and Real Betis boss Pepe Mel was also in the running to replace Arrasate, but Moyes was reportedly Sociedad 's first choice and La Real confirmed the Scot's appointment late on Monday night. Moyes' first game in charge is set to be the trip to promoted Depor- tivo La Coruna after the interna- tional break. Moyes becomes the fourth Brit- ish manager of the San Sebastian- based outfit, following in the foot- steps of Englishman Harry Lowe and Welsh duo John Toshack and Chris Coleman. David Moyes New Buffon deal a 'formality' THE long-serving goalkeeper's cur- rent deal with the Turin giants ex- pires next summer, but reports in the Italian press suggest that Buffon is set to extend his stay until 2017. "With regards to Buffon, we've al- ways said that he is a professional, a serious person and he loves Juve," Marotta told Gazzetta dello Sport. "He recently received a commemo- rative medal for making 500 appear- ances in the Bianconeri colours. "This is a further testimony of a relationship that has consolidated over time. "I believe that Buffon's renewal is simply a formality." Buffon moved to Turin from Par- ma in 2001 in a £38million deal, a record transfer fee for a goalkeeper. The 36-year-old has helped Juve win seven Serie A titles since then and will be hoping to skipper the Bianconeri to a fourth straight scu- detto this season. The World Cup winner is current- ly on international duty with Italy. Marotta is also hoping to tie Stephan Lichsteiner down to a long- term contract with the Switzerland international also becoming a free agent next summer. The 30-year-old defender, who is a reported target of Paris St Ger- main, has been a regular for Juve since joining the club in 2011 from Lazio. "With respect to Lichsteiner, we are holding talks with his repre- sentatives," Marotta said. "From our part, we want him to continue. "Of course, we have to take into account the financial parameters which we have to respect. "My hope is that we will also reach an agreement with him." Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta believes Gianluigi Buffon's contract extension is only a "formality" Gianluigi Buffon