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Pellegrino Matarazzo, 'Rino'. EFERob Palmer, Commentator ESPN
Friday, 24 April 2026, 11:20
Given the "hire them and fire them" trend of many top clubs this season, you'd think that decision makers are just using random methods to hire coaches.
At Real Sociedad, the President admits to using ChatGPT to complete his research on Pellegrino Matarazzo. Luckily, he didn't take the advice of the AI chatbox.
It appeared to be the most left-field of appointments when the American with an Argentinian-sounding name of Italian ancestry was appointed in December. Spin forward five months and it was one of the most-inspired decisions in the club's history.
The people of San Sebastián have been celebrating all week after winning the Copa del Rey. They did in the Spanish FA Cup in 2021, but it was delayed by 350 days from 2020 and fans weren't allowed into the stadium.
This was the full unadulterated version, and it was won the hard way: on penalties against Champions League semi-finalists Atlético Madrid.
La Real do things very differently to their Basque neighbours Athletic Bilbao. They took the brave decision to drop the all-Basque policy in 1989 when signing John Aldridge from Liverpool. It was unpopular and led to a revolution amongst many fans. Aldo won them over with an average of a goal every other game.
Since then, the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Isak have made their names at the club.
The essence is still local produce. When David Moyes was manager, he confided in me that he'd selected his second-choice centre-forward to keep the balance of the starting eleven to six Basque and five non-Basque.
For Pellegrino, it is an easy choice to make. The club has one of the most thriving academies in Europe: ten of the cup final squad graduated from the youth team.
The star is undoubtedly Mikel Oyarzabal. He's reached double figures in all but one season since making the first team. He also scored in Spain's Euro'24 final win against England. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for his club, he picked up a horrible injury before the 2022 World Cup. He missed the showcase which would undoubtedly have brought him to the consciousness of all the top clubs.
He skippers a side built on home-grown stars. The remit has been to sign experienced players to compliment them. Until this season it had worked. They were desperate when the president used AI to check the resumé of coach Matarazzo. Two points from relegation, the football was stale and the fans were losing faith.
"Rino", as he's known, has galvanised the club. He revitalised the senior players who looked shot. Gonçalo Guedes and Carlos Soler once more resemble the players who moved to PSG for millions in their younger days. Brais Mendes looks like he could get a recall to the Spain national team at the age of 29.
It's fairytale stuff. The penalty-saving goalkeeper, Unai Marrero, was the back-up and the penalty-taking hero, Pablo Marín, is a former ball-boy.
All inspired by a coach who is so smart, he graduated from Ivy League Columbia University with a degree in Applied Mathematics. It didn't appear smart to choose life as a lower league footballer in Germany and a long road to the top in coaching. Until now.
I suspect there will be quite a few club owners and presidents asking their phone to "Get me a coach like Rino Mataazzo".