VfB Stuttgart is looking for a successor to Pellegrino Matarazzo. His assistant coach Michael Wimmer has taken over the training – and could be on the sidelines against Bochum.
A bit of Matarazzo will stay with VfB Stuttgart for the time being. Michael Wimmer, the ex-coach’s assistant, will be the interim coach until a new head coach is found. Pellegrino Matarazzo probably even helped to find this solution himself and put in a good word for Wimmer over the rumored glass of whiskey to say goodbye to sports director Sven Mislintat.
Wimmer possibly coach during English week
How long Wimmer will lead the team in a responsible position is open. It is possible that he will be in charge of the team throughout the English week with the Bundesliga games against Bochum and Dortmund and the cup game against Bielefeld. Perhaps a successor for Matarazzo has already been determined before then.
Plenty of Bundesliga experience
Michael Wimmer came to VfB for the 2019/2020 season and began as an assistant coach under Tim Walter. After 20 games in the 2nd division, Walter had to leave, but Wimmer kept the position even under Pellegrino Matarazzo. Before that, the 42-year-old was an assistant coach at FC Augsburg under Manuel Baum and Martin Schmidt. So Wimmer has plenty of Bundesliga experience and the working methods of four different coaches must also have shaped him.
Football teacher license since 2021
In a responsible position, however, Wimmer has so far only worked in youth teams. From 2013 to 2018 he managed the U16 and U17 teams at 1. FC Nürnberg and worked hand in hand with Matarazzo, who was in charge of the U19s at the time. While working at VfB Stuttgart, Wimmer also completed the DFB football teacher training course and successfully completed it in May 2021. The formal requirements for coaching in the Bundesliga are therefore met.
Unusual role in the limelight
How big his own ambitions are to slip into the chief role as a coach is not yet known. Should Wimmer actually have to lead the team for several games, he will inevitably become the focus of public attention. Maybe by the end of the next week he will know more precisely whether he likes the job in the limelight or whether he would like to continue working as an assistant trainer. Whether that will be the case at VfB, however, depends on the preferences of Matarazzo’s successor.
