The Matarazzo effect

Somewhere in London they are applying the finishing touches to the latest series of Ted Lasso, the fictional television series about an American soccer coach who brings his unconventional methods to Europe.

In San Sebastián in the Basque Country, there is a real-life story of a football manager from the United States who is taking La Liga by storm.

At Real Sociedad they are calling it the "Matarazzo effect". Since taking over a relegation-threatened team, Pellegrino Matarazzo has overseen a nine-game unbeaten run which has lifted them up the table and to the verge of a cup final.

It's an incredible tale - right up there with the imaginary story of Ted Lasso at AFC Richmond.

The giant from New Jersey has transformed a club that looked stale, tired and facing a dire end to the season. His initiation was a tough one; he matched the mind of the longest-serving coach in the league, Diego Simeone, to draw with Atlético de Madrid on his debut. Then, he beat Barcelona in game three of his reign. This week, his legend grew as La Real beat their Basque rivals in the first semi-final of the Copa del Rey.

Unlike the Lasso character - who succeeds by bumbling his way through - Matarazzo brings intelligence and experience to the role.

He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in applied mathematics. That's impressive. I was once offered a footballing scholarship at the Ivy League college, but was honest enough to admit that I couldn't meet the high-level academic requirements - and I certainly wasn't looking at applied mathematics!

He's not an overnight success. Matarazzo has been in Europe for a quarter of a century. Initially as a lower league player in Germany. He's worked his way up the coaching ladder, learning from the likes of Julian Nagelsmann.

Nevertheless, his appointment at Real Sociedad was a surprise; he'd been out of work for a year after losing his job at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. It was a big ask of the first American to coach at the top level of Spanish football.

Bob Bradley was the first from the States to coach in Europe. A relative success in Norway, he lasted just three months in the Premier League with Swansea; he was cruelly labelled "Brad Bobley" and parodied.

Jesse Marsch earned a reputation after doing a double-double with RB Salzburg, but his spells at Leipzig and Leeds were short lived. He'll lead Canada at the World Cup this summer

Matarazzo is different. Clearly, his personality has lifted the club. At 6'6" he fills the room with his presence. Yet the difference is his tactical acumen; he's found a way to maximise the talents in the team: Brais Méndez, Goncalo Guedes and Carlos Soler looked like players who were surviving on past reputations; now they're flying. Captain Mikel Oyarzabal is rattling in goals and is regarded as the best Spanish footballer not playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid. A listless team is now a joy to watch, and a nightmare to play against.

These days, I'm commentating on La Liga for an American audience on ESPN. The man from New Jersey is doing as much for soccer in the States as the Wrexham documentary and the fictional Lasso.

Ted Lasso returns to our screens this summer. Who knows? This could be a sequel to a real-life coach winning a cup final; "It's the hope that kills you."