The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions. Today, Graham Ruthven endeavors to answer three of them
With his Copa del Rey winners medal around his neck, Pellegrino Matarazzo struggled to find the words to sum up his remarkable journey from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, via Italy and Germany to a historic triumph as Real Sociedad manager.
A lot of former players fall into the profession after retiring, but not Matarazzo. The Ivy League graduate could have entered the world of finance. He probably would have made more money that way, certainly in the early part of his career when he bounced around the German lower leagues.
From there, though, Matarazzo worked his way up the ladder, from his first coaching role at FC Nurnberg’s academy to his first top job in the Bundesliga to making history as the first US-born manager to win a major trophy in one of Europe’s “big five” leagues.
Is Matarazzo the managerial trailblazer American soccer has been waiting for? Where Bob Bradley and Jesse Marsch failed, the 48-year-old is succeeding, shaping Real Sociedad in his own image, guiding them to cup glory, pushing them up the La Liga table and shaking the Ted Lasso stereotype that dragged down many of his compatriots.
