New Jersey native Pellegrino Matarazzo is making history at Real Sociedad

Tom Weber

• Updated: 6 Mar 2026 11:50 CST
• 4 min read

News

Pellegrino Matarazzo has become the first American to lead a team from Europe's top-five leagues to a major cup final after reaching the showpiece of the Copa del Rey with Real Sociedad.

The Wayne, New Jersey native has been in charge of the LaLiga club since early January, when he replaced Sergio Francisco. The latter had struggled to make the step up from Real Sociedad's reserves to the first team after a tumultuous summer.

The Basque side endured an unusual amount of upheaval last year, when they not only lost superstar midfielder Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal but also long-serving head coach Imanol Alguacil and sporting director Roberto Olabe.

When Francisco was sacked, Real Sociedad were 16th in the table and at risk of being sucked into a relegation battle. Since Matarazzo arrived, however, the club's fortunes could hardly look more different.

The 48-year-old has only suffered one defeat so far - a 4-1 to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu - and has lifted Erreala to eighth in the LaLiga table. Incredibly, he is already on the verge of becoming a club legend.

Matarazzo leads Real Sociedad to the Copa del Rey final

On Wednesday, Matarazzo made history after Real Sociedad defeated local rivals Athletic Club 1-0 in their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg, having also won the first leg in Bilbao by the same scoreline.

He thus became the first American coach to reach the final of a major cup competition with a team from a top-five European league. His side will meet Atletico Madrid on 18 April to determine this year's winners.

Should the Basque side prevail, it would only be their third Copa del Rey title as Real Sociedad and fourth overall, including predecessor clubs. Along with their two LaLiga titles and one Supercopa, it would be their seventh major trophy.

Real Sociedad famously won the 2020 edition of the Copa del Rey, the final of which had to be played a year after it was initially scheduled to take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That title ended a trophy drought of more than 30 years.

While reaching the final is already a big deal - especially for an American coach - actually winning the cup would be a seismic achievement given the level of opposition.

Who is Pellegrino Matarazzo?

Matarazzo still goes somewhat under the radar across the pond, even though he has been coaching in Europe's top leagues for quite some time. It is perhaps because the American has spent his entire professional career in Europe.

Despite growing up in a Napoli-supporting family, Matarazzo has yet to work in Italy. After graduating from Columbia University, the former defender spent his playing days in the lower leagues of German football.

After his retirement, he worked his way through the youth academy of Nuremberg. He roomed with coaching prodigy Julian Nagelsmann - now in charge of the German national team - while doing his badges and eventually followed him to Hoffenheim.

In late 2019, he was appointed as the head coach of fallen giants VfB Stuttgart, who were battling for promotion from the second division at that point. Despite mixed results initially, Matarazzo managed to get the Swabians over the line.

Back in the top flight, his Stuttgart side were one of the biggest surprises of the 2020/21 season, finishing ninth. A marked decline would follow, with his team finishing 15th the following year and Matarazzo eventually getting sacked after starting the 2022/23 campaign with a nine-game winless run.

He returned to Hoffenheim in February 2023 and was immediately under pressure. He began his stint with five successive losses, which caused his relegation-threatened team to slip to the bottom of the table. However, he managed to turn things around and ultimately kept them up.

He managed to carry that momentum over into the new campaign, which ended with Hoffenheim qualifying for the Europa League by finishing seventh. However, he was sacked after a poor start to 2024/25.

Matarazzo has never been famed for his tactical nous, but he secures buy-in from his players with his personable demeanour as well as his language skills. He is fluent in English, German and Italian and is currently in the process of learning Spanish.

It is difficult to find a current or former player of his who does not speak fondly of Matarazzo's personality, so it should be no surprise that he can inspire teams to achieve great feats, even if there are shortcomings in other areas.

He is the first American to coach in LaLiga and, with nine wins from his first 13 games in charge of Real Sociedad, he is quietly putting together one of the all-time great seasons for a US-born coach in Europe - albeit this is admittedly not a high bar.

If he wins the Copa del Rey, he will attain legendary status in San Sebastian.

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