"Pellegrino Matarazzo stood there, still and composed. Brown pants. Black sweater. Arms crossed, one hand to his chin and grey beard. The New Jerseyan looked less like the manager of Real Sociedad, a club that placed in La Liga's top six for five straight seasons before last year, than a math professor. That's what he well might have been, had his life taken only a slightly different turn; he graduated from Columbia University with a degree in applied mathematics, after all."
"Instead, he was there on Saturday, at the Anoeta Stadium, calmly coaxing his side past Elche, 3-1, pumping a single fist when La Real scored, occasionally waving those arms to push his side further upfield. As if Matarazzo's being there, as if his team taking yet another lead, was all just a matter of course. Just a big-time manager at a big-time club, doing big-time things."
Pellegrino Matarazzo has quickly transformed Real Sociedad since his appointment on 20 December, guiding the club from 16th to eighth with four wins in six La Liga matches. The team has gone unbeaten in that span, drawing with Atletico Madrid and Athletic Club and defeating Barcelona, which had won 11 in a row going into that match. They have also advanced through two rounds of the Copa del Rey and won the first leg of the semi-final against Athletic Club. Real Sociedad have now won as many league matches in Matarazzo's seven weeks as in the previous 17 rounds.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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