Matarazzo with VfB Stuttgart in 2020
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | November 28, 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Wayne, New Jersey, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Real Sociedad (head coach) | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1999 | Columbia Lions | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2001 | Eintracht Bad Kreuznach | 39 | (6) |
| 2001–2003 | SV Wehen | 58 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Preußen Münster | 23 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | SV Wehen | 18 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | SG Wattenscheid 09 | 31 | (1) |
| 2006–2010 | 1. FC Nürnberg II | 62 | (1) |
| Total | 231 | (9) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2011 | 1. FC Nürnberg II (caretaker) | ||
| 2019–2022 | VfB Stuttgart | ||
| 2023–2024 | TSG Hoffenheim | ||
| 2025– | Real Sociedad | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Pellegrino Matarazzo (born November 28, 1977) is an American soccer coach and former player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Sociedad.
He was previously a youth coach of 1. FC Nürnberg and TSG Hoffenheim.[1] In December 2019, Matarazzo was appointed head coach of VfB Stuttgart.[2]
Early life
Matarazzo was raised in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants. He has three younger brothers: Leo, Frank, and Antonio, all of them were in a Napoli fanclub at the time Diego Maradona played there. Leo and Antonio also played at Columbia. He played several sports growing up, including basketball and volleyball due to his height, but saw the most success in soccer, being a four-year varsity starter for Fair Lawn High School, leading them to the state tournament as a senior for the first time in nearly twenty years. He went on to play at Columbia University, where he earned a degree in applied mathematics in 1999.[3]
Playing career
After his graduation from Columbia, Matarazzo decided to go for a career as a professional soccer player. After failed trials at Serie B club Salernitana based in his mother's hometown, Salerno, and Serie C club Juve Stabia in Italy, he signed in Germany's fourth division with Eintracht Bad Kreuznach. Between 2001 and 2005, Matarazzo played for SV Wehen with a year at Preußen Münster for the 2003–04 season, as well as SG Wattenscheid 09 and 1. FC Nürnberg's reserve team. Later, Matarazzo served as assistant coach while playing for Nürnberg II at the same time.
Coaching career
Matarazzo worked many years at Nürnberg's academy, coaching the B and A juniors. In 2015, Matarazzo started the German coaching training at the Hennes-Weisweiler-Akademie, where he shared a room with Julian Nagelsmann. Later, Matarazzo joined Nagelsmann's coaching staff at Hoffenheim in 2017, becoming youth coach there. In 2018, Matarazzo became Nagelsmann's assistant and interfaced between the first team and academy, and stayed there with Alfred Schreuder as head coach. In December 2019, Sven Mislintat signed Matarazzo as first team coach of VfB Stuttgart.[4][5] He was sacked in October 2022.[6]
On February 8, 2023, Matarazzo returned to TSG Hoffenheim, this time as manager of the first team. He signed a contract until June 2025, replacing André Breitenreiter.[7] In November 2024, he was sacked.[8]
On December 20, 2025, Matarazzo was appointed as manager of La Liga club Real Sociedad, signing a contract until June 2027.[9] On April 18, 2026, he secured the Copa del Rey title following a penalty shootout victory over Atlético Madrid in the final, becoming the first American coach to win a major trophy in one of Europe's top five leagues.[10]
Managerial statistics
- As of matches played 18 April 2026
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| 1. FC Nürnberg II (caretaker) | 12 April 2011 | 30 June 2011 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 14 | +3 | 28.57 | [11] |
| VfB Stuttgart | 30 December 2019 | 10 October 2022 | 100 | 31 | 29 | 40 | 149 | 151 | −2 | 31.00 | [12] |
| TSG Hoffenheim | 8 February 2023 | 11 November 2024 | 67 | 23 | 15 | 29 | 112 | 116 | −4 | 34.33 | [13] |
| Real Sociedad | 20 December 2025 | Present | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 52.63 | [14] |
| Total | 193 | 66 | 53 | 74 | 315 | 310 | +5 | 34.20 | — | ||
Honours
Manager
Real Sociedad
- Copa del Rey: 2025–26[15]
Individual
- La Liga Manager of the Month: January 2026[16]
References
- ^ "American Exports: Nurnberg U-19s boss Pellegrino Matarazzo working his way up coaching ladder". MLSsoccer.com. Major League Soccer. February 11, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- ^ "Pellegrino Matarazzo appointed VfB head coach". vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- ^ Rae, Derek (December 11, 2020). "In Stuttgart's Matarazzo, U.S. soccer already has a coach in charge of one of Europe's great clubs". Columbia Athletics. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ Farrell, Sean. "A Bergen County native will make soccer history in the German Bundesliga this weekend". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
- ^ "Matarazzo schwärmt von Nagelsmann: "Ich habe von Julian viel gelernt"". One Football DE (in German). Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ "Der VfB Stuttgart stellt Pellegrino Matarazzo frei". vfb.de. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- ^ "Pellegrino Matarazzo to coach TSG Hoffenheim". tsg-hoffenheim.de. February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ "TSG Hoffenheim part ways with Pellegrino Matarazzo". tsg-hoffenheim.de. November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ "Pellegrino Matarazzo, new Real Sociedad coach". Real Sociedad. December 20, 2025. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
- ^ Hindle, Tom (April 19, 2026). "American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo claims major honor as Real Sociedad win Copa del Rey final in Atletico Madrid shootout". Goal.com.
- ^ "1. FC Nürnberg II: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "VfB Stuttgart: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- ^ "TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ "Matches Pellegrino Matarazzo, 2025–26 season". BDFutbol.
- ^ "Atletico Madrid 2–2 Real Sociedad". BBC Sport. April 18, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ^ "Pellegrino Matarazzo, LALIGA EA SPORTS Manager of the Month for January". La Liga. January 28, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
External links
- Pellegrino Matarazzo manager profile at BDFutbol
- Pellegrino Matarazzo at Soccerway.com
- Pellegrino Matarazzo at WorldFootball.net
- Pellegrino Matarazzo at kicker (in German)
- Pellegrino Matarazzo at the German Football Association
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