Pellegrino Matarazzo, the American coach who stopped Lamine Yamal’s Barcelona

Real Sociedad hosted Barcelona this Sunday at their Estadio de Anoeta as part of Matchday 20 of the 2025–26 LaLiga season. At their home ground, under the guidance of their American coach, Pellegrino Matarazzo, Real Sociedad secured a 2–1 win bringing Lamine Yamal and company to a juddering halt.

Matarazzo, whose coaching education was forged largely in Germany, outmaneuvered the team led by Hansi Flick, a highly decorated manager who has enjoyed success at Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and with the German national team. The result was a statement win. Barcelona arrived on an 11-game winning streak across all competitions, sitting atop the league and fresh off lifting the Spanish Super Cup.

Matarazzo took over the Real Sociedad project less than a month ago, but in a short time he has already reshaped the team at Anoeta. He opened with a 1–1 draw against Atlético Madrid, followed by a 2–1 win over Getafe. Midweek, Real Sociedad advanced from the Copa del Rey round of 16 after a penalty shootout win over Osasuna, before capping the run by defeating Barcelona.

Three strong LaLiga results and one successful cup tie define the early record of the New Jersey native. Real Sociedad now sit eighth in the Spanish top flight and will learn their quarterfinal opponent in the Copa del Rey on Monday.

Matarazzo’s American roots

Matarazzo’s American background is a defining part of his story. Born in Wayne, New Jersey, and raised in Fair Lawn to Italian immigrant parents, he grew up immersed in both American life and a rich soccer culture at home, watching Italian Serie A games and developing a deep early passion for the sport. He excelled athletically in high school, leading Fair Lawn High School’s soccer team to its first state-tournament appearance in nearly 20 years, before attending Columbia University, where he was a four-year varsity starter and earned a degree in applied mathematics in 1999. After college, he pursued his playing career in Germany’s lower divisions.

Matarazzo in Germany

Matarazzo’s time in Germany includes several notable chapters. During his stint at Stuttgart, the 48-year-old took a side playing in the second division and guided it to promotion in the 2019–20 season. In 2020–21, he stabilized Stuttgart in the Bundesliga and finished ninth. The following year proved more difficult, with relegation battles defining the 2021–22 campaign, and he was dismissed early in the 2022–23 season.

He later took charge of Hoffenheim, a club fighting to stay up in 2022–23. After several months, he steadied the ship and avoided relegation. In 2023–24, Hoffenheim finished seventh and qualified for the UEFA Europa League. The trajectory underlines Matarazzo’s credentials as a capable coach with a track record of lifting European projects.