SINSHEIM, Germany (AP) — American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo was hired by Bundesliga club Hoffenheim on Wednesday, four months after he was fired by relegation rival Stuttgart.
The New Jersey-born Matarazzo spent just over two years at Hoffenheim as an assistant coach and youth coach from 2017 through 2019 before taking the Stuttgart job.
“Rino doesn’t just know our club, but also a large part of the team from his own experience. Likewise, we know him too and so we’re convinced that he’s the right man for the head coach position,” Hoffenheim sporting director Alexander Rosen said. “He didn’t just lead VfB Stuttgart to promotion, but also proved his qualities in the fight to stay in the Bundesliga. He can handle pressure and knows what’s needed in this situation.”
Matarazzo led Stuttgart to promotion back to the Bundesliga and kept the team in the top division for two seasons before being fired in October after a winless start to the season.
Hoffenheim fired André Breitenreiter on Monday after going nine league games without a win and slipping to 14th in the 18-team league. Stuttgart is 16th.
Matarazzo’s first game in charge will be against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports