Pellegrino Matarazzo (head coach) at Hoffenheim

his German is so fluent that you barely notice he's not a native speaker (it's certainly better than the German of most Germans ;-)
I seem to recall that his wife is half american
I always thought he's gonna cut his way and still think so; everything you need ;-) is there: “I got the positive thinking from the Americans and the belief that everything is possible. From the Italians the temperament, I can get very emotional. And from the Germans order, structure and discipline.”
but Stuttgart won only 3 out of 26 matches in 2022... they seldomly sucked but again and again just didn't brought the points home, often in an unfortunate way
pretty sure he's back in Bundesliga sooner or later

 

https://www.espn.com/soccer/tsg-hof...oach-pellegrino-matarazzo-hired-by-hoffenheim

So happy to see this. He did great at Stuttgart, getting them promoted and keeping them up for 2 years.

 

There's already a Matarazzo thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/pellegrino-matarazzo-head-coach-at-vfb-stuttgart.2016732/

 

Mods, feel free to delete. Since he was at Stuttgart, then fired, then a multi-month gap, I felt like it was OK to post as news.

 

I think he'd make a great USMNT coach, but let him prove himself yet again at Hoffenheim.

 

It’s good to share with a wider audience. I’m glad he’s getting another chance.

 

From a fan's point of view, I would have simply wished for a more exciting environment for him. Stuttgart to Hoffenheim is like Leeds to Bournemouth.

 

Thanks for the expert analysis!

 

It's a shame Frankfurt pulled off the draw today against Leipzig, because otherwise Hoffenheim would have finished 6th and qualified for the Europa League, which strikes me as a much more desirable tournament to compete in.

(In fact there was a small possibility that 6th could have even qualified them for the Champions League next season if Dortmund beats Real Madrid in the CL finals.)

 

Matarazzo and newly Brooksless Hoffenheim had their second friendly of the preseason today, beating second division Elversberg 3-1.

 

USMNT coaching interviewee Matarazzo coaching his way into extra time against Regionalliga side Wurzberger Kickers. ESPN+. Hoffenheim managed 1-1 in regular time on the back of an own goal.

 

Hoffenheim pulled it out via penalties. Rough one, honestly, but they're through.

 

Matarazzo and his boys start the season with a 3-2 win over Holstein Kiel after a Kramaric hat trick.

 

Just like at Stuttgart, Matarazzo is now caught in another internal power struggle again.

Just two weeks before the season started, Hoffenheim’s sporting director, the guy who brought Matarazzo to the club, was fired in the middle of the transfer window after long-standing conflicts with the board. Some key staff members followed him. There were fan protests by the ultras against their own club.

Matarazzo is doing his best to manage the situation, but Hoffenheim's poor performances on the field aren’t making it any easier. After the recent loss to Union, a journalist asked if the internal unrest was affecting his players. Matarazzo’s answer was simple : if he shared his real thoughts, it would only make the fire bigger.

Difficult situation for him. There were also rumors in German media about Hoffenheim contacting Julian Nagelsmann’s assistant coach as a potential replacement.

 

The situation gets more painful - Matarazzo and Hoffenheim run out to a 3-0 lead ... and then get a red card and eventuallyl lose 4-3. Just a terrible day that keeps them in the relegation zone.

Hopefully, he's done enough at these last two jobs to earn him looks elsewhere if he doesn't survive this. In my opinion, he has.

 

https://apnews.com/article/hoffenheim-pellegrino-matarazzo-9f2858849f9c56f083409d04ba9168a9

Matarazzo has left Hoffenheim. Happened at the beginning of the international break but I guess none of us mentioned it here.

Good track record overall and an interesting hire for someone, hopefully. He's always seemed a solid guy. The writing had seemed to be on the wall for a few months, unfortunately.

 

Nice interview. I'd like to see him get a shot with the USA when Poch leaves.