VfB Stuttgart has reacted to the sporting crisis and released coach Pellegrino Matarazzo. The Swabians announced this after the ninth game without a win in the Bundesliga. A successor has not yet been determined.
Stuttgart lost 1-0 to 1. FC Union Berlin on Sunday. They are the only club not yet to win this Bundesliga season. In the table, VfB is penultimate with five points.
“VfB owes a lot to Pellegrino Matarazzo,” said CEO Alexander Wehrle. He had met sporting director Sven Mislintat and the club’s new advisor, Sami Khedira, at the club’s premises. “Ultimately, however, we have come to the conclusion that a change in the coaching position is necessary to reverse the trend after the negative results of the past few weeks.”
“Separation from Rino inevitable”
Matarazzo “not only met the expectations, he even exceeded them in many respects. Even in difficult sporting situations, we never questioned him because we were convinced that in him we had the best possible coach for us and our path.” said Mislintat. “We are now at a point where we believe that Rino’s split is inevitable.”
The hitherto largely unknown Matarazzo had taken over the position of the dismissed Tim Walter at VfB during the winter break of the 2019/2020 season and led the then second division side back to the Bundesliga the following summer.
“These have been intense and beautiful years with many incredible moments and memories that will last forever,” said Matarazzo. “I will be eternally grateful for the opportunity I was given here to gain a foothold in the coaching business.”
In the first season after the resurgence, the Swabians under the Italo-American inspired at times with courageous offensive football, played for international places until the end and ultimately finished ninth in the table. Last season, VfB, who were plagued by many injuries and corona worries, only managed to stay up in the league on the last day of the game thanks to a last-minute goal from Wataru Endo against 1. FC Köln (2-1).
Only three wins in calendar year 2022
Matarazzo was in office at VfB for more than 1000 days and thus symbolized the new path that the Stuttgart team had taken under sports director Sven Mislintat after relegation in 2019. Both in the previous season and in the course of the current season so far, Mislintat had repeatedly defended Matarazzo despite a lack of success.
The sports director finally wanted to ensure more continuity on the Swabian coach’s chair, known for many years as the ejection seat. After the bankruptcy against Union on Sunday, he had not given Matarazzo a new job guarantee.
Overall, VfB have only won three of their 26 league games in the 2022 calendar year. Ultimately not enough for Matarazzo to stay in office.