Sociedad’s Matarazzo: The American coach who studied math at Columbia and grew up watching Maradona
Summary
Pellegrino Matarazzo, a 48-year-old American coach with a math degree from Columbia, led the Spanish soccer team Real Sociedad to win the Copa del Rey title in 2026. He took over the team when it was close to being relegated and helped them improve to win the trophy in just a few months.Key Facts
- Pellegrino Matarazzo is an American soccer coach originally from New Jersey.
- He studied mathematics at Columbia University.
- Matarazzo grew up watching soccer legend Diego Maradona play for Napoli.
- He became Real Sociedad’s head coach in December 2025, when the team was near relegation.
- Under his leadership, Sociedad won the Copa del Rey in April 2026 by beating Atletico Madrid in a penalty shootout.
- This was Matarazzo’s first title as a coach.
- His family is of Italian origin, and Italian was his first language.
- Before coaching, Matarazzo tried to play professionally in Germany.
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