Matarazzo: “I’m a critical spirit”

Pellegrino Matarazzo came to the photo shoot for the first SPIELFELD issue of the 2023/24 season on his Vespa. The flag of Italy, his parents’ country of origin, adorns his helmet. A piece of home in his adopted homeland. Matarazzo enjoys the quiet in the Kraichgau; he already built a house here before he became the head coach in Hoffenheim.

The Kraichgau is a stark contrast to New York City, where the 45-year-old studied applied mathematics at the renowned Columbia University. He finished the programme despite his footballing ambitions, because Matarazzo’s motto in life is: “I always see everything through.” Even in his student days, he decided that he wanted to try his luck as a professional footballer in Europe. But when the tall American couldn’t work his way above the fourth division here, he did his coaching licence. “My plan was to do the licences and return to the US as soon as things stopped progressing.” But things did progress consistently – and now he is a coach in the Bundesliga.

After beating the drop last term, Matarazzo wants to continue developing his team. He does not shy away from any potential conflicts. “A coach is allowed to be dissatisfied and show it. I have a critical spirit in me and want everything to be optimal and perfect where possible,” said the 45-year-old: “My instinct is that addressing problems head on is good for the boys at the moment. In the development process, friction provides the necessary energy required to change things and achieve more.”

However, he does not see the new season as a new start. “We’re not starting from scratch. There are many topics that we’ve already worked on with the team,” remarked Matarazzo, who has also learned lessons for the future from his difficult first months in charge. “It’s advantageous that we experienced this difficult situation and now have the opportunity to fall back on these elements.”

Matarazzo also used pre-season to further foster a sense of solidarity within the team in addition to working on the philosophy of play. “The team should be able to manage themselves in games, because as a coach you’re limited during the 90 minutes,” said the American, who continued: “It’s important to me to establish an attitude towards matches and training that becomes the foundation for success. A new season always offers a new opportunity.”

The SPIELFELD magazine, which will be published with a revised design and some exciting new sections for the new season, will also include the following content: Florian Grillitsch clears up some clichés regarding his homeland of Austria, Pavel Kadeřábek chats about the best goal of his career and Kevin Vogt speaks about his desire to score his first competitive goal for TSG. In addition, there’s a feature on the U23s’ trip to the USA, a profile of “academic” Max Moerstedt and a lookback on 60 years of Bundesliga history. The 104-page club magazine also contains many other exciting insights about TSG.