Berlin, Oct 10, 2022 (AFP) - Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart have fired their American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo, the club confirmed late on Monday afternoon.
The 44-year-old took over with the team in the second division halfway through the 2019-20 season, bringing them back to the top flight with a second-placed finish.
Stuttgart narrowly avoided relegation in 2021-22 on goal difference and sit second last this campaign. With zero wins after nine games, Stuttgart are the only Bundesliga team without a win.
Stuttgart lost 1-0 at home to table-topping Union Berlin on Sunday. German media speculated the manager would be given one last chance against last-placed Bochum next Saturday, but ultimately decided the coach's time had come.
In a statement, Matarazzo thanked fans for the "intense and beautiful years with many incredible moments and memories that will last forever."
"VfB is something special that you only understand if you are a part of it. I wish this team, this club and these fans, all the best."
Stuttgart Sporting Director Sven Mislintat, who was previously employed in the same position at Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, thanked Matarazzo.
"We started the new season with high hopes. Unfortunately, the results so far have not fulfilled these hopes. We are now at a point where we are convinced that (the firing) is inevitable."
The New Jersey-born coach played for ten years in the Bundesliga's lower divisions, before working as a junior divisions and assistant coach at FC Nuremberg and Hoffenheim.
