VfB wants to protect themselves from the bottom
According to his own statement, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo is not yet concerned about his future if VfB Stuttgart are relegated again. “I am currently not concerned with relegation, but with staying up in the league. Everything is still there. What happens in summer happens in summer,” said the 44-year-old in an interview on “Bild TV” when asked if he would go back to the second division with the Swabians.
“It’s not just me. I have a few bosses who also have decisions to make,” said Matarazzo. “I’m fully here at VfB and I’m doing my job 100 percent. But first of all, the goal is to stay in the league.” The contract of the coach in Stuttgart is valid until June 30, 2024. VfB is in the Bundesliga with two games to go before the end of the season on the relegation rank.
As painful as it was in 2019, the relegation seems so attractive to VfB Stuttgart three years later. The Swabians’ belief in staying in the Bundesliga has fallen noticeably after the 1-1 (0-1) win against VfL Wolfsburg. The gap to non-relegation place 15 is four more, the lead to relegation place 17 is two more points. Instead of three, VfB only has two games left – the first of which next Sunday at the old and new German champions FC Bayern.
VfB Stuttgart and Matarazzo realistic: relegation now “the first goal”
“What we have in hand is relegation,” said Matarazzo after the draw against Wolfsburg. Therefore, this is now “the first goal”. Sports director Sven Mislintat is also primarily concerned with “covering yourself from below”. Possibly the penultimate Arminia Bielefeld has already passed VfB before they play in Munich – unlike in the past, the 33rd matchday will not be played at the same time on Saturday this year, Bielefeld will play in Bochum on Friday evening. The situation in Stuttgart is so dangerous that they increasingly see the possible knockout games against the second division third party as an opportunity rather than a burden. Three years ago, VfB failed at Union Berlin and were relegated for the second time in three years.
Magath close to top 5: Coach with the most Bundesliga wins
The fact that direct rescue is still possible was thanks to the late goals on Saturday. Chris Führich rewarded the efforts of the hard-working but largely harmless VfB against Wolfsburg in the 89th minute with a 1-1 draw. In the parallel game, Bielefeld equalized to make it 1-1 against Hertha. So the hope of staying in without a detour is still alive in Stuttgart. As small as she is. Because never before since the introduction of the three-point rule has such a large gap to the fourth-bottom Bundesliga team been made up at such a late point in the season. And VfB is still struggling with scoring goals.
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