Being the first American to coach in La Liga has brought some inevitable headlines for Pellegrino Matarazzo.
Before he brought his Real Sociedad side to Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium last month, Spanish paper AS called him the ‘Ted Lasso of Zubieta’, nodding to the Emmy-winning TV show.
“I’ve never seen Ted Lasso,” Matarazzo smilingly tells The Athletic in La Real’s state-of-the-art Zubieta training facility in the rolling hills above the Basque city of San Sebastian.
“I’m aware I’m the first American coach in La Liga. I was also the first American coach in the Bundesliga. I’m just doing my thing, continuing to look for success and development. Regardless of my nationality, I just want to be the best I can be.”
Despite his successes in Germany, leading Stuttgart to Bundesliga promotion in 2020 and Hoffenheim into the Europa League in 2023, not many Real Sociedad fans knew much about Matarazzo before he arrived in December.
The New Jersey-born son of Italian immigrants was hired for a rescue mission. After just four wins during the first five months of the season, La Real sat two points above the relegation zone, and with a real doom and gloom around the club.
Matarazzo quickly changed the mood. His debut was a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid. Wins over Getafe, Barcelona and Celta Vigo then sealed Spain’s manager of the month award for January.
The phenomenal start has continued with dramatic progress to the Copa del Rey final against Atletico Madrid in Seville on Saturday.
No American coach (spoiler: not even Ted Lasso) has ever led a team to a major trophy in one of Europe’s top five football countries. Below that level stands Jesse Marsch’s consecutive domestic doubles with Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg in 2020 and 2021.
“I don’t think many people would have expected this when we first began,” Matarazzo says. “Jokin (Aperribay, club president) and Erik (Bretos, sporting director) trusted in my ability to deal with the situation. We’ve managed to find very good solutions to bring this team back into a winning mentality, and a winning path.”
Recent times have seen numerous examples of new coaches being unable to convince players of their ideas, with Xabi Alonso’s short spell at Real Madrid and Rubin Amorim’s issues at Manchester United among the most high-profile.
Matarazzo, 48, says there was no resistance to his instructions from La Real’s squad, while the quick improvements in the team’s play and results in his early games helped build confidence.
“I had a tendency in the past to overload players with information,” Matarazzo says. “I’ve learned to select and individualise, so the players can invest energy without thinking too much.
“Creating clarity in how we want to play is very important, whether it’s the verticality in our game, how we want to break lines, our positioning, our pressing triggers, or our general pressing principles. But if you’re up in your head, you can’t play football on an instinctive level.
“We have a team with enormous character and an immense work ethic, and with a squad leader like Mikel Oyarzabal and his values, which for me are a representation of the culture surrounding this club and the region.”
Real Sociedad are very proud of their roots in the 700,000-population northern Spanish province of Guipuzcoa. Some 13 of the senior squad, including national team centre-forward Oyarzabal, came through the club’s youth system.
Guipuzcoa is also renowned for producing top coaches. Ex-Bayer Leverkusen and Madrid coach Alonso, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Bournemouth’s soon-to-depart boss Andoni Iraola, Aston Villa’s Unai Emery and former Madrid and Spain coach Julen Lopetegui all spent formative years here.
Mikel Etxarri, head of coaching at the regional FA, told The Athletic that most coaches from the region aim to control games and avoid mistakes. Matarazzo, who picked up a degree in mathematics while being a two-time All-Ivy League pick at Columbia from 1995 to 1998, likes to take more risks. His first 18 games at Real Sociedad have brought 11 wins, four draws and three defeats — with 39 goals scored and 30 conceded.
“I prefer a more offensive and bold approach, which surely leads to conceding several more chances per game,” he says. “If we have a squad able to win games 4-0, then of course we prefer that. But if I have to choose, then I prefer the 4-2 match to the 1-0.”
Matarazzo and Flick before Real Sociedad’s victory over Barcelona in January (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Another La Liga coach with a Bundesliga background is Barcelona’s Hansi Flick. At former club Bayern Munich, and now at the Camp Nou, Flick has convinced squads full of stars to buy into his ideas. Barca won a domestic treble in his debut season last term, and are well set to retain the league title, despite losing to Matarazzo’s side in January.
“Hansi is doing a great job at Barcelona,” Matarazzo says. “He has a very clear idea of how to play, at high speed, with a lot of verticality and pressing. A good group of players are all following his ideas. We spoke before (January’s) game, but it was more difficult after, we shook hands. I’m sure we’ll find a moment in the future to reflect on the game and our time here in Spain.”
Between leaving Hoffenheim and joining La Real, Matarazzo worked as an analyst for broadcaster DAZN at last summer’s Club World Cup. He says he has noticed the increased focus on corners and throw-ins in this season’s Premier League.
“Football has gone in that direction,” he says. “We train set pieces several times a week, with a specialist coach in place (Jose Rodriguez, who previously worked with Emery at Villa). But we’re focused on each phase, whether our offensive transition, or build-up against a man-to-man press, or against a low block. It’s important to be very versatile in modern football, to have solutions for all problems. Set pieces are a big part of that, but not the only part.”
Matarazzo has experience of coming into new environments.
After studying and playing at New York City’s Columbia University, he left for Germany aged 22 to join fourth-division side Eintracht Bad Kreuznach. A decade as a midfielder across five lower-league German clubs was followed by a move into coaching, starting out at Nuremberg’s academy in 2010.
During his first four months in San Sebastian, Matarazzo has got to know the city, but football is never far away. His new neighbours made sure he realised the importance of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, when La Real faced local rivals Athletic Club of Bilbao.
“San Sebastian is very nice, the beach, the culinary experience, the quality of life,” he says. “It’s also a city that loves and lives football. My apartment is right smack in the middle of the city centre. Even at 6:30am, fans on the street would tell me we have to win against Athletic. When I went out to eat in the evening, they’d make sure to mention it too.”
Winning 1-0 home and away against Athletic set up today’s Copa final against Atletico, who eliminated Barcelona from the Champions League this week to make the last four.
Matarazzo has already played twice against Diego Simeone’s side: that 1-1 draw in his first game in charge, and a 3-2 La Liga defeat in Madrid on March 7, just after the Copa semi-finals. Atletico knocked out Barca from that competition, too.
Matarazzo pictured before March’s league match at Atletico (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
“Atletico are a very good team with a very clear identity and playing style,” Matarazzo says. “Simeone brings a certain emotionality. But they are not just a low-block team that counter-attacks. They can also play in a high press, break down low blocks with a very fluid approach, creating overloads in the last line, with a lot of movement and creating a lot of space. They’re a very fluid team with answers in many different situations. We have to have those variations as well.”
Winning the Copa would mean Real Sociedad playing in next season’s Europa League, while Champions League qualification via La Liga is also a possibility given how they have climbed the standings since January — if Spain is awarded an extra spot for fifth place. They are seventh in the table, four points behind Real Betis in fifth.
“If we had set goals too early, you’d be readjusting them by now,” Matarazzo says. “We’re not looking down the table any more. We’ll see. We’re very focused on the next match.”
That next match is huge for La Real, and for Matarazzo.
“For the entire city and the club, it’s a fantastic moment,” Matarazzo says.
“The last cup they won was in 2020, during Covid, when the fans could not be at the stadium. The last title before that was in 1987. So there’s a lot of excitement. We’re all looking forward to it.”
