Pellegrino Matarazzo, at times, was left speechless in his first appearance. Without knowing it, he has become a hero in Gipuzkoa and his name is already part of a list of select coaches made up of Alberto Ormaetxea, John Toshack and Imanol Alguacil. “It’s difficult to say anything. It’s the daily work and the conviction that we all have for this club. Everyone is involved. It has been an incredible journey but my feeling is that it is just the beginning. This is real and it is happening. You always work and visualize success and you have confidence but until you reach the finish line you don’t feel that it is happening,” the American acknowledged. “That penalty… is pure joy for everyone,” he confirmed.
Despite his problems articulating words, perhaps due to existing nervousness, he has made many people happy. “I am aware of this and I am very happy. In my case, it is probably the best day in terms of football,” Matarazzo said, “grateful” for everyone’s support. “Thank you —thank you in Basque— to all the fans who support us all this time, it has been incredible for the team all this time,” he assured.
A title, the fourth Cup title in the history of Real Sociedad, although the Royal Spanish Federation grants it one less. It does not validate what was achieved in 1909. More than anything it is a bureaucratic issue. And the team that won the Cup did not compete under the name of Real Sociedad, but as the San Sebastián Cycling Club. This was due to the fact that the Royal Society as such was not yet formally registered in the corresponding federation, a necessary requirement at that time to be able to participate in official competitions. To overcome this obstacle, the San Sebastian players joined the Cycling Club, an entity that did meet the administrative requirements. For this reason, although within the club and among its fans there is often talk of four Cups – including the one from 1909 -, for official purposes Real Sociedad has three titles recognized by the Federation, the last of which came this Saturday.
Matarazzo had very nice words for all of his people, without personifying too much, but evidently Marrero was the topic of the day. “Unai… MVP or not… this goes for everyone. There was no promise that he would play, but I decided that he would play. I trust him, I like to give them confidence,” the coach said about his decision to bet on Azpeitia.
Regarding the game, he gave a lot of importance to the team’s way of recovering after the setback suffered, when there was little time left for the 90 minutes to expire. “It was important to ensure that there were no counterattacks. Defend with 11 men. It was not perfect, we had to suffer but that also defines this team, the ability to return to the games, we saw it in extra time,” he wanted to make clear.
He closed the intervention with a clear reflection on his time at Real and how important it is for him. He was right in the step he took to reach Donostia, but he wants more. He knows that he has made history at the club, like other well-remembered great technicians. “I am very grateful to be the coach of this club. And to be part of its history now is very great,” he concluded.
Unai Marrero: “I still don’t believe it”
for the title achieved. “I still don’t believe it,” the goalkeeper acknowledged, at first. “I trusted myself, so did my teammates and the fans. The dream that a child had of succeeding with Real Sociedad has come true. I am very happy for all the fans. Like Real, I don’t think there is another team,” said the goalkeeper of the blue and white team, who has shown himself to be a very valid goalkeeper when it comes to stopping maximum penalties. and tonight, in the final against Atlético de Madrid, he did it again. “I had a chop and I also had intuition on penalties,” said the goalkeeper who also had time to calm down Pablo Marín, author of the last shot. “I told him to be calm, to trust him. I was very calm.”
He also did not want to forget Mikel Oyarzabal, captain, who on this occasion was not the protagonist from the eleven meters. “Mikel is a great guy. He takes great care of Zubieta’s kids. He told us to believe, that we were going to get it,” Marrero concluded.
