Pellegrino "Rino" Matarazzo, a 48-year-old American coach with a mathematics degree from Columbia University, has made history with Spanish club Real Sociedad.
Matarazzo led Sociedad to its fourth Copa del Rey title, securing a penalty-shootout victory over Atlético Madrid. This marks the coach's first career title. He arrived at the club in December, taking over when Sociedad was just two points above the relegation zone. In less than four months, he guided the team to safety and a championship run.
"Just the feeling you have of, ‘Wow, wow. This happened. We did it,’" Matarazzo expressed about the achievement. He attributed the turnaround to the players' talent and character.
Born in New Jersey to Italian immigrants, Matarazzo's first language was Italian. He developed a passion for soccer early on, inspired by watching Diego Maradona. Despite soccer's limited popularity in the U.S. during his youth, he pursued the sport professionally, eventually becoming a manager in Germany after an initial attempt to play in Italy. He holds a degree in mathematics from Columbia, which he believes aids his coaching approach.
Matarazzo's coaching career includes roles with Nuremberg's youth teams, as an assistant to Julian Nagelsmann at Hoffenheim, and head coaching positions at Stuttgart and Hoffenheim. After being let go by Hoffenheim in late 2024, he took the reins at Real Sociedad. He previously engaged in discussions with U.S. Soccer about the vacant head coaching position in 2024 but acknowledged the federation's need for a coach with a strong global profile to energize the sport domestically ahead of the 2026 World Cup.