Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart have fired their American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo, the club confirmed late on Monday afternoon.
The 44-year-old took over with the team in the second division halfway through the 2019-20 season, bringing them back to the top flight with a second-placed finish.
Stuttgart narrowly avoided relegation in 2021-22 on goal difference and sit second last this campaign. With zero wins after nine games, Stuttgart are the only Bundesliga team without a win.
Stuttgart lost 1-0 at home to table-topping Union Berlin on Sunday. German media speculated the manager would be given one last chance against last-placed Bochum next Saturday, but ultimately decided the coach’s time had come.
In a statement, Matarazzo thanked fans for the “intense and beautiful years with many incredible moments and memories that will last forever.”
“VfB is something special that you only understand if you are a part of it. I wish this team, this club and these fans, all the best.”
Stuttgart Sporting Director Sven Mislintat, who was previously employed in the same position at Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, thanked Matarazzo.
“We started the new season with high hopes. Unfortunately, the results so far have not fulfilled these hopes. We are now at a point where we are convinced that (the firing) is inevitable.”
The New Jersey-born coach played for ten years in the Bundesliga’s lower divisions, before working as a junior divisions and assistant coach at FC Nuremberg and Hoffenheim.
World Cup News
-
FIFA World Cup
/ 2 weeks agoSaudi oil giant Aramco agrees major FIFA sponsorship deal
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Aramco and world football governing body FIFA on Thursday...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 2 months agoSon scores but Thailand hold South Korea in World Cup qualifier
Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held 1-1 at home by Thailand in...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 2 months agoJapan-N. Korea World Cup game to stay in Pyongyang, JFA says
Japan’s World Cup qualifier against North Korea will be played in Pyongyang as planned...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 2 months agoGerman ex-FA bosses on trial over World Cup tax evasion
Three German ex-top football officials went on trial on Monday in a 13.7-million-euro ($14.8...
By AFP