Key Takeaways
- Pellegrino Matarazzo took over Real Sociedad in December with the club two points above the drop zone; they now eye the Champions League and face Atletico Madrid in Saturday’s Copa del Rey final.
- The 48-year-old Italian-American gave up a Wall Street future after a Columbia University maths degree to play lower-league football in Germany before climbing the coaching ladder.
- Matarazzo credits Germany for his coaching badges but says Spain’s culture and La Real’s values drew him to San Sebastián, where fans joke opponents have been “Matarazzed”.
Pellegrino Matarazzo still laughs when he counts how many times he says “special” in one chat. Eleven, to be exact. Yet the word fits the coach who swapped New Jersey suburbs for Saturday’s Copa del Rey show-down in Seville.
Born to Neapolitan parents in Fair Lawn, the young Matarazzo spoke Italian at home, English at school and later mastered German. A degree in applied mathematics from Columbia University could have led to an investment-bank desk, but football won. After failed trials in Italy he grafted through German regional leagues, earning coaching licences while still playing.
Stints with Stuttgart and Hoffenheim followed, but a year out of work made him restless. “I wanted fresh borders,” he says. “La Real topped my list.” Talks began last autumn; by December he was in San Sebastián. The club had 17 points from 17 matches and sat two places above relegation. Today they are within touching distance of the Champions League and 90 minutes from only the fourth major trophy in their 117-year history.
Supporters have coined a verb for the turnaround: “Matarazzed”. Athletic Bilbao felt it in the quarter-finals, Barcelona in the league. Next target: Atletico Madrid. “The whole city is buzzing,” he says. “A final doesn’t come every season.”
His methods mix data with soul. Team meetings feature Turkish string music and Radiohead; training is detailed yet joyful. Players buy in, results follow. The coach, who once ran up Montevergine mountain while waiting for a trial, now eyes the summit of Spanish football.
Whatever happens on Saturday, Matarazzo has already proved labels don’t apply. Mathematician, musician, motivator – call him what you like, just don’t put him in a box.