Berlin, March 1 (BUS): Despite Stuttgart’s struggles in the German Bundesliga, American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo has no doubts that the club is on the right track.
Matarazzo’s side have not won any of their last nine league matches and are second from bottom in a direct relegation spot with 10 rounds remaining. But the New Jersey native firmly believes it’s only a matter of time before this shift, The Associated Press reports.
“When we win, we’ll start rolling. Guys on board, we’re working hard. We’ve got enough quality in the team,” Matarazzo said late on Monday on a video call with reporters. next one.
Late goals have cost his team important points in recent games.
Stuttgart were winning five minutes from the end of the game, then conceded two goals to lose to Hoffenheim on Saturday, while the team conceded an injury-time equalizer against Bochum the previous week.
“My approach is to never call it luck. It’s always about investing more. Only a 2 per cent increase,” said Matarazzo, whose next team will face Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday.
Matarazzo was a former defender who played for the lower league teams in Germany before training with the Nuremberg reserve and youth team. He was assistant coach of current Bayern Munich Julian Nagelsmann when they were both at Hoffenheim in 2018 and arrived in Stuttgart in December 2019. He led the club to the Bundesliga on the first try and led them to a commendable ninth place with their first top spot. Flying season.
The club extended his contract in February last year.
This season got off to a rough start with the coronavirus and the lengthy dismissal of important players such as Austrian striker Sasha Kalajdic, who scored 16 goals last season.
“It was just a constant shake-up of the team with a lot of players squabbling,” Matarazzo said.
Stuttgart has one of the youngest teams in the division, as a result of the club’s decision to invest in and develop youth as a way to preserve its future. Matarazzo is fully committed to the strategy, saying it “makes sense” at a time when transfer fees for advanced players are making it out of the reach of smaller clubs whose finances have been further constrained by the impact of the pandemic.
“We have seen huge jumps in the market value of our players in the team, and that is what we do. That is our job,” Matarazzo said. “The focus at the moment is to develop the players by staying in the league. So, if we play in the second division next year, every player will have a lower market value.”
Italian football fans
Matarazzo and his family grew up in New Jersey, were fans of Napoli, watching Serie A on a small TV in his father’s bedroom.
“At some point it became bigger TV,” he said, still remembering the goals Maradona scored. “We watched all the goals and we watched the free kicks he used to score and we celebrated every goal he scored. After a few days of having big family meals, we would go to the park and I would be Maradona or Dad Cecon (Brazilian striker) Carreca. We used to pick different players and live that fantasy and that passion.” He was definitely a big part of us.”
Matarazzo also recalled that he loved Italian striker Roberto Baggio and American players Tab Ramos, Marcelo Balboa and Tony Muola, “He is also a player from New Jersey … When my brother played the goalkeeper it was also Tony Muola.”
Although Germany made it home after more than 20 years in the country, Matarazzo remains in constant contact with his family in the US, even if they tease him on occasion.
“The worst thing for me was when I came home for the last time. And my aunt said, ‘Hey Reno, you have an accent when you speak English.’ I said what? No, I don’t. That’s right, I think in German, I have an accent when I speak English, and that A bit embarrassing.”