Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Real Sociedad coach Pellegrino Matarazzo was elated after his side defeated Atletico Madrid to win the Copa del Rey on Saturday, making him the first American coach to claim a major trophy with a club from Europe’s top five leagues. La Real triumphed 4-3 in the shoot-out following a pulsating 2-2 draw after extra-time, to win the trophy for only the fourth time in the club’s history.
When Matarazzo was appointed in December, the Basque team were hovering above the relegation zone, but he has driven them up the table and now to cup glory. “It’s probably the first (major trophy) for an Italian-American,” said Matarazzo, a New Jersey native born to Italian immigrant parents. Matarazzo said it was not until Pablo Marin’s decisive penalty in the shoot-out hit the back of the net that he could really begin to take anything in.
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“That was the moment where I realised this is real. It’s happening,” said the coach. “You visualise success and you believe in it and you trust the players, but until you cross the finish line you don’t really have the feeling that what is happening (is happening), and then it happens. And with that penalty, it took a couple of moments to realise, but it’s just pure joy.”
Matarazzo insisted the team’s success over the past few months was not just down to him but the daily work that everyone put in, and the quality of the players he has available. “We have fantastic players, unbelievable players on this squad with unbelievable character,” he said. “(Behind the success is) the daily work and the commitment that we all have to this team and for this club.”
Real Sociedad’s players, many of them who came through the club’s youth system, were also overjoyed. “I’ve never walked on water but it has to be like this,” said Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored a penalty to put his team 2-1 up before half-time. “It’s tricky to win a trophy with the team of your life. After this my career is complete and I can die happy.”
– ‘Leave my mind blank’ –
Oyarzabal netted from the spot in the 2020 Copa del Rey final to win it for his club but it was without fans in the stadium because of the global pandemic. This time around it was Pablo Marin who converted the decisive penalty in the shoot-out. “I tried to leave my mind blank, calm and serene,” he said. “To be able to live through this with these wonderful people is incredible.”
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, who last led his team to the Copa del Rey in 2013, rued the opportunities his side wasted to win the game before penalties. “The chances didn’t want to go in,” said the coach. The Rojiblancos still have a chance to lift a trophy this year — they face Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals, a competition they have never won.
However, Simeone said he needed time to absorb the defeat in Seville. “I’m not thinking about Arsenal, what happens today hurts me a lot. We needed to win and we couldn’t win,” said Simeone.
© 2024 AFP
