Pellegrino Matarazzo arrived in December with Real Sociedad one slip away from danger and will take them into the Copa del Rey final on Saturday against Atletico Madrid in Seville. The first American coach in La Liga has turned a team that had won only four matches in the first five months of the season into one with a shot at silverware.
His early weeks changed the shape of the season. Matarazzo’s debut ended in a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid, then Real Sociedad beat Getafe, Barcelona and Celta Vigo in a run that earned him Spain’s manager of the month award for January. He said he was aware of the milestone attached to his hiring, but insisted he was simply focused on results and growth. He also said he had never seen Ted Lasso.
Real Sociedad were two points above the relegation zone when they hired Matarazzo, a drop from the level the club needed to be at to stay out of trouble. The move came after a difficult opening stretch that left little margin for error, and the club’s revival has given it a place in a final against Atletico Madrid rather than a fight to survive.
Matarazzo’s record before Spain already carried its own significance. He led Stuttgart to Bundesliga promotion in 2020 and later took Hoffenheim into the Europa League in 2023. He said he had been the first American coach in the Bundesliga as well, a label he has grown used to carrying without making it the point of the job.
Born in New Jersey to Italian immigrants, Matarazzo said he had once had a tendency to overload players with information. He said he has learned to select and individualise what he gives them so they can use their energy without thinking too much. For him, clarity matters in how Real Sociedad play: verticality, breaking lines, positioning, pressing triggers and general pressing principles. But, he said, if players are up in their heads, they cannot play football on an instinctive level.
That approach has helped bring structure to a squad he described as full of character and work ethic. He singled out Mikel Oyarzabal as a squad leader whose values reflect the club and the region, a reminder that the turnaround has been about more than tactics. No American coach has yet led a team to a major trophy in one of Europe’s top five football countries, which gives Saturday’s final a weight that goes beyond one club’s season.
For Matarazzo, the next step is as simple as it is rare: bring the same clarity to Seville that lifted Real Sociedad out of trouble, and see whether a fast rescue can become something lasting.
