Pellegrino Matarazzo guessed late on Sunday evening that their time together at VfB Stuttgart was coming to an end after almost three years. The head coach of the Bundesliga club sat in the press conference after the 1-0 defeat against leaders Union Berlin and announced almost casually that he was convinced that the team would win against bottom VfL Bochum on Saturday.
After a second’s thought, he added: “Regardless of who is on the bench.” After the courageous but unlucky performance against Berlin, had he already come to terms with the fact that his 100th competitive game for VfB will also be his last? No, Matarazzo said softly. He only meant by saying that it would not be about his person. He doesn’t worry about his future. “The most important thing for me is that the team succeeds, I wish them that with all my heart. These are great guys.”
These great guys will now get a new coach, that’s clear on Monday after hours of consultation between the club’s top management and CEO Alexander Wehrle, his advisor Sami Khedira and sports director Sven Mislintat. At 5:38 p.m., VfB sent out a press release with the headline: “VfB Stuttgart released Pellegrino Matarazzo”.
As is the case in such cases, the club wrapped the bad news in nice words. “The resurgence and the two-time relegation are closely linked to his name,” said Wehrle. In the case of Matarazzo, however, the farewell praise is not just said and done. The 44-year-old American really enjoyed everyone’s appreciation after he was promoted to the Bundesliga with VfB two years ago and then stirred up the league with enthusiastic attacking football.
“Ultimately,” Wehrle explained, “we came to the conclusion that a change in the coaching position is necessary in order to bring about a turnaround after the negative results of the past few weeks.” The results spoke against Matarazzo. After the defeat against Berlin, VfB not only slipped down to a relegation zone, after nine games they are still waiting for their first win of the season – longer than ever in VfB’s eventful history.
1000 days in office
On Sunday, after Paul Jaeckel’s goal (76th minute), the observers felt that something must have broken after almost 1000 days of working together. Suddenly it was eerily quiet in the stadium, so quiet that even in the arena, which was packed with almost 45,000 spectators, the dovecotes could be heard.
After the final whistle, the fans in the Cannstatter Curve said goodbye to the players with shrill, loud whistles, and when the team approached hesitantly and slowly, they even increased. It was the first time since the 2020 resurgence that the most loyal supporters demonstratively turned away from the professionals and the coach. Last season, when VfB played against relegation, the support was still frenetic and passionate, the calm in the club and in the environment was one of the reasons why VfB managed to stay in the league on the last day of the game.
Matarazzo showed understanding for the alienation, although the team had fought passionately in the 90 minutes before and was much closer to a goal than Berlin. “We are just as disappointed as the fans,” said Matarazzo, “we also want more.”
He and everyone at VfB had hoped for a quiet season in midfield after a grueling season, but now they’re stuck at the back again, collecting five points so far and winning just three games in all of 2022. The fact that Stuttgart defended well in their good moments this season and at times combined artful ball relays through midfield was of no use, because in football it is the results that count – and there has been a big gap to the actual performance in the game for weeks.
VfB are no worse than their opponents, they often have the better chances of scoring, as they did against Union, but the ball rarely finds its way into the goal. Against Berlin, one scene summed up the previous round very well. Shortly after conceding a goal, VfB had three chances to score within a few seconds, it was almost slapstick that the ball missed its target, Stuttgart shot on goal three times from close range, and the third attempt by Konstantinos Mavropanos landed finally hit the post – deflected by his own teammate.
Matarazzo will now see VfB’s next goal from afar. A formative time is coming to an end for him. “These have been intense and beautiful years with many incredible moments and memories that will last forever,” said Matarazzo. He came as an unknown and leaves as a seasoned Bundesliga coach who has earned a great reputation with his calm, level-headed manner and imaginative football. It is not yet clear who will follow him.
