(FILES) This file photo taken on April 24, 2022 shows then Stuttgart s US head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo prior to the German first division Bundesliga football match Hertha BSC v VfB Stuttgart in Berlin. - American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo has been hired as head coach of Bundesliga side Hoffenheim until 2025, the club announced on February 8, 2023. Matarazzo re-joins Hoffenheim, where he was previously an assistant to current Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann, as well as a junior coach. (AFP)
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 Andre 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.
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