 Matarazzo withVfB Stuttgart in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1977-11-28)November 28, 1977 (age 47) | ||
| Place of birth | Wayne, New Jersey, United States | ||
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1999 | Columbia Lions | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2001 | Eintracht Bad Kreuznach | 39 | (6) |
| 2001–2003 | SV Wehen | 58 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Preußen Münster | 23 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | SV Wehen | 18 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | SG Wattenscheid 09 | 31 | (1) |
| 2006–2010 | 1. FC Nürnberg II | 62 | (1) |
| Total | 231 | (9) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2011 | 1. FC Nürnberg II (caretaker) | ||
| 2019–2022 | VfB Stuttgart | ||
| 2023–2024 | TSG Hoffenheim | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Pellegrino Matarazzo (born November 28, 1977) is an American professionalsoccer coach and retired player.
He was previously a youth coach of1. FC Nürnberg and1899 Hoffenheim.[1] In December 2019, Matarazzo was appointed head coach ofVfB Stuttgart.[2] He has lived in Germany since 2000.
Matarazzo was raised inFair Lawn, New Jersey to Italian immigrants. He has three younger brothers: Leo, Frank, and Antonio, all of them were in aNapoli fanclub at the timeDiego Maradona played there. Leo and Antonio also played at Columbia. He played several sports growing up, including basketball and volleyball due to his height, but saw the most success in soccer, being a four-year varsity starter forFair Lawn High School, leading them to the state tournament as a senior for the first time in nearly twenty years. He went on to play atColumbia University, where he earned a degree in applied mathematics in 1999.[3]
After his graduation from Columbia, Matarazzo decided to go for a career as a professional soccer player. After failed trials at Serie B clubSalernitana based in his mother's hometown,Salerno, and Serie C clubJuve Stabia in Italy, he signed in Germany's fourth division withEintracht Bad Kreuznach. Between 2001 and 2005, Matarazzo played forWehen with a year atPreußen Münster for the 2003–2004 season, as well asWattenscheid andNürnberg'sreserve team. Later, Matarazzo served as assistant coach while playing for Nürnberg II at the same time.
Matarazzo worked many years at Nürnberg's academy, coaching the B and A juniors. In 2015, Matarazzo started the German coaching training at theHennes-Weisweiler-Akademie, where he shared a room withJulian Nagelsmann. Later, Matarazzo joined Nagelsmann's coaching staff at Hoffenheim in 2017, becoming youth coach there. In 2018, Matarazzo became Nagelsmann's assistant and interfaced between the first team and academy, and stayed there withAlfred Schreuder as head coach. In December 2019,Sven Mislintat signed Matarazzo as first team coach ofVfB Stuttgart.[4][5][6] He was sacked in October 2022.[7]
On February 8, 2023, Matarazzo returned toTSG Hoffenheim, this time as manager of the first team. He signed a contract until June 2025, replacingAndré Breitenreiter.[8] In November 2024, he was sacked.[9]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| 1. FC Nürnberg II (caretaker) | April 12, 2011 | June 30, 2011 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 14 | +3 | 028.57 | [10] |
| VfB Stuttgart | December 30, 2019 | October 10, 2022 | 100 | 31 | 29 | 40 | 149 | 151 | −2 | 031.00 | [11] |
| TSG Hoffenheim | February 8, 2023 | November 11, 2024 | 68 | 24 | 15 | 29 | 113 | 116 | −3 | 035.29 | [12] |
| Total | 175 | 57 | 47 | 71 | 279 | 281 | −2 | 032.57 | — | ||
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