Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
If you look at the trend of “hiring them and firing them” that has been observed in many clubs, it would seem as if decision makers are using random methods for hiring coaches.
Real Sociedad’s President admitted to using ChatGPT in order to finish his research about Pellegrino Matearazzo. Luckily, the AI chatbox didn’t give him any advice.
In December, the American with a name that sounded Argentinian and Italian ancestry appeared to be the most out-of-the-box choice. In five months, the decision was seen as one of most inspired in club history.
The people of San Sebastián have been celebrating all week after winning the Copa del Rey. In 2021 they won the Spanish FA Cup, but it was delayed by 350 calendar days and there were no fans allowed in 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 is very different from their Basque neighbours Athletic Bilbao. When they signed John Aldridge in 1989, the club bravely decided to end the all Basque policy. This was not popular and caused a revolution in many fans. Aldo was able to win them over by scoring an average of one goal in every two games.
Since then, players like Antoine Griezmann or Alexander Isak made their mark at the club.
Local produce is the essence of what we do. David Moyes confided that, as manager, he chose his second choice centre-forward so the balance in the starting 11 would be six Basques and five non Basques.
Pellegrino’s choice is easy. The club boasts one of Europe’s most successful academies: 10 of the squad that played in the cup final were graduates of the youth team.
Mikel Oyarzabal is the star. Since joining the first team, he has reached double figures every season except one. He also scored the winning goal in Spain’s Euro’24 Final against England. He suffered a terrible injury, which was unfortunate for him but fortunate for his club. He missed a showcase which would have made him a household name among all top clubs.
He is the skipper of a team that has been built from home-grown players. The aim was to add experienced players as a complement to them. It worked until this season. They were desperate when the president used AI to check the resumé of coach Matarazzo. The fans lost faith in the team, which was two points away from relegation.
He has galvanised his club. He revived the seniors who were looking tired. Gonçalo Guedes and Carlos Soler once more resemble the players who moved to PSG for millions in their younger days. Brais mendes could still be recalled to the Spain team at age 29.
It’s a fairytale. The penalty-saving goalkeeper, Unai Marrero, was the back-up and the penalty-taking hero, Pablo Marín, is a former ball-boy.
Inspired by a smart coach, who graduated with a degree from Columbia University in the Ivy League. It did not seem smart to choose a life in Germany as a lower-league footballer and a long journey to the top of coaching. Until now.
I am sure that many club presidents and owners will ask their phone “Get me a Coach like Rino Maazzo”.
