VfB Stuttgart fires American head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo

• by Daniel Wighton , Oct 10, 2022

VfB Stuttgart fired 44-year-old American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo late on Monday afternoon.

The New Jersey native took over Stuttgart when it was in the second division halfway through the 2019-20 season, bringing it back to the top flight with a second-placed finish.

Stuttgart narrowly avoided relegation in 2021-22 on goal difference and sits second to last this campaign. With no wins after nine games, Stuttgart is the only Bundesliga team without a victory.

Stuttgart lost 1-0 at home to first-place Union Berlin on Sunday. German media speculated Matarazzo would be given one last chance against last-place Bochum next Saturday, but ultimately club management decided the coach's time had come.

In a statement, Matarazzo thanked fans for the "intense and beautiful years with many incredible moments and memories that will last forever. VfB is something special that you only understand if you are a part of it. I wish this team, this club and these fans, all the best."

Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat, who was previously employed in the same position at Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, thanked Matarazzo.

"We started the new season with high hopes. Unfortunately, the results so far have not fulfilled these hopes. We are now at a point where we are convinced that [the firing] is inevitable."

The New Jersey-born coach played for 10 years in the Bundesliga's lower divisions, before working with teams in Germany's youth divisions and as an assistant coach at FC Nuremberg and Hoffenheim.

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© Agence France-Presse