<a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/sc-freiburg-defeated-vfb-stuttgart-in-bundesliga-20/" title="SC Freiburg defeated VfB Stuttgart in Bundesliga 2:0″>Pellegrino Matarazzo jumped sideways along the line of his coaching zone. The TSG Hoffenheim coach gave instructions with gestures before turning away. What, with a little imagination, looked like a somewhat awkward balancing act followed by a pirouette on a balance beam was actually an expression of tension.
At the end of Sunday, Matarazzo’s contribution fit into the overall picture at TSG. The effort could not be denied to Hoffenheim, but the result was once again manageable due to the 0-0 draw at FC Augsburg. With nine points from ten league games, Matarazzo’s team remains stuck in the basement of the Bundesliga. Whether that’s not enough for his superiors or whether they see the draw against FCA, who are strong at home, as stabilization will become clear during the international break.
“Unfortunately, the final impact was missing. When it comes to commitment and passion, you can’t blame the team at all,” said Matarazzo’s new boss Andreas Schicker, the TSG’s sporting director, at DAZN, “I’m happy with that.” This expressly does not apply to the points tally. Schicker announced talks for the coming days.
Matarazzo has been described as an escape artist because he has managed to free himself from awkward situations several times during his term in office since February 2023. On the other hand, the image of a Pellegrino Houdini doesn’t seem entirely consistent because they didn’t want to keep him at TSG recently. Important people in the club have been said to be skeptical of the 46-year-old for some time, including long-time patron Dietmar Hopp.
SZ Plus ExclusivePellegrino Matarazzo in Interview
:“That was a shock for all of us”
Coach Pellegrino Matarazzo is experiencing great unrest at TSG Hoffenheim. He talks about the expulsion of manager Rosen, unsettled players, the rumors about Sandro Wagner – and he thanks Dietmar Hopp.
Matarazzo seemed increasingly annoyed recently. Like before the game when asked whether the game was one of the most important of his term or even a final. “Come on, stop. Stop, just please stop asking this question,” said Matarazzo and countered: “How often was it the most important game? How often has it been a decisive game? How often was it a key game? And how many times have we gotten out of there so far? Every time.” Matarazzo even ventured a forecast for the season, he said: “There is no question that we will achieve at least a stable midfield position.”
In Augsburg, Hoffenheim once again didn’t appear like a team playing against the coach
Matarazzo’s situation is somewhat reminiscent of that of a tightrope walker who has been on the verge of falling several times with his balancing pole. But whenever the balancing bar tilted dangerously far to one side, it was brought back into balance to some extent. For example, before the recent international break at the beginning of October with the 2-0 win against Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League and the surprising point win in Stuttgart (1-1). Or like last Thursday, when after a lost lead and a late deficit against Olympique Lyon, the very late 2-2 was achieved.
In Augsburg, Hoffenheim once again didn’t appear like a team playing against the coach. Initially, FCA set the tone and had the better chances with shots from Arne Maier and Alexis Claude-Maurice. But later Hoffenheim were superior and got closer to the lead thanks to attempts by Umut Tohumcu and Andrej Kramaric. In the final phase, Hoffenheim’s goalkeeper Oliver Baumann had to make a desperate save, first against Steve Mounié, then against Samuel Essende and Mert Kömür. So in the end it was a shaky point. That also fit into the picture of Matarazzo’s balancing act.
