TSG Hoffenheim: Matarazzo explains Kevin Vogt’s change freak

After a slap in the face

After the late defeat of TSG Hoffenheim in Augsburg, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo explained the extreme frustration of his defense chief Kevin Vogt when he was substituted. “He wanted to go back in, I wanted that too,” reported Matarazzo after the 0-1 draw for the Kraichgau team, who were in danger of relegation, on Friday evening.

However, after the previous head hit at Vogt, the team doctor sent information about a change. The 31-year-old was briefly dazed and had to be treated on the field. “That had already been communicated to the referee and then it was pretty clear that he wasn’t allowed in anymore. Because he was headbutted and it was decided it was dangerous to send him back in,” Matarazzo said.

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At the supposed Augsburg goal by Ermedin Demirovic shortly after the break, attacker Kelvin Yeboah caught opponent Vogt in the scramble for the ball with his hand in his face. Referee Patrick Ittrich watched the scene on the advice of the video assistant and recognized a foul instead of a goal. Ittrich explained his decision after the game: “Upstairs there was a hand hit in the face. The intensity made the whole thing. It was a hit.”

Vogt was substituted after Yeboah’s impact hit to his annoyance. The former Augsburger tore his shirt off in frustration in front of the Hoffenheim substitutes’ bench and then took a seat cursing.

Matarazzo still saw his second winless game as coach after Fredrik Jensen’s late goal in Augsburg as progress compared to his 3-1 debut against Leverkusen. “You saw a step. We now have a long week where we can work very hard,” he said. And then you will “see the second step” in the home game against Borussia Dortmund. After the eleventh game without a win, Hoffenheim are still in free fall.

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