"Erik told me Matarazzo, and I asked the AI if he was a good coach for Real Sociedad — it said no." Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay told Cadena Ser that on Monday, two days after Pellegrino Matarazzo lifted the Copa del Rey.
The American, raised in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, guided the Basque club to a penalty shootout victory over Atletico Madrid on Saturday — less than four months after his appointment. In doing so, he became the first U.S.-born manager to win a major trophy at a club in a top-five European league. Not a bad return on a hire the algorithm rejected.
From relegation scrap to Copa kings
Context matters here. When Matarazzo arrived, Real Sociedad had 17 points from 17 league games and were bumping along the bottom half of La Liga. The situation was bleak enough that no one would have blamed the board for a cautious, defensive appointment. Instead, sporting director Erik Bretos pushed for a German Bundesliga coach with zero Spanish football experience.
The numbers since tell their own story: 25 points from 14 league games, and a Copa del Rey title. Real Sociedad are now seventh in La Liga, four points behind Real Betis in fifth — and Champions League qualification is a genuine conversation.
Aperribay admitted his first meeting with Matarazzo changed his mind before the AI could. "He knew everything about everyone. He had an amazing analysis of Real Sociedad." That forensic preparation is a hallmark of coaches who've come through the German system, and it clearly landed.
A postscript worth savoring
After Real Sociedad knocked out Athletic Club in the Copa semi-finals, Aperribay went back to the AI. This time it told him Matarazzo was "an excellent appointment." The algorithm had updated. The president had already moved on.
Seventh in La Liga with seven games left and a cup in the cabinet — Bretos trusted his read over the machine, and it paid off. Real Sociedad's Champions League odds are worth a second look right now.
"Thank goodness I trusted Erik," Aperribay said. That line deserves to be on a wall somewhere in San Sebastián.
