Another day, another USMNT head coach candidate.
Pellegrino Matarazzo linked to USMNT head coach position
The U.S. men’s national team is not slowing down their hunt for a new coach and has contacted American and current TSG 1899 Hoffenheim manager Pellegrino Matarazzo about the possibility of taking the United States’ vacant head coach position, according to multiple reports.
Matarazzo, 46, is currently under contract with the German Bundesliga club until 2025, but has reportedly notified Hoffenheim about the USMNT’s interest and the ongoing talks.
⚪️ Pellegrino Matarazzo, one of the top favorites to become the new U.S. men's national soccer team!
The 46 y/o, currently under contract at TSG Hoffenheim until 2025.Matarazzo has informed TSG about the interest. After that, talks with him have taken place. There is… pic.twitter.com/Rkt5pGYwmQ
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) August 3, 2024
Kicker reporting the USA want Hoffenheim coach Pellegrino Matarazzo as their next men‘s coach. Club currently in an uncertain period following the departure of Alex Rosen. But does Matarazzo (contract until 2025) want to leave a place that has become home, for the unknown? #USMNT https://t.co/hrNWcSxCZS
— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) August 3, 2024
Matarazzo would be highly interested in the opportunity of coaching the United States, especially to lead the country into their co-hosting of the 2026 World Cup.
The Italian-American led Hoffenheim to an impressive seventh-placed league finish in the previous Bundesliga in just his first season in charge — their highest placement since the 2019/20 campaign.
Matarazzo, born in Wayne, New Jersey, played his entire professional player career in Germany with multiple stints across the country’s lower-tier competititons.
After retiring, Matarazzo started his professional managerial career alongside current German national team coach, Julian Nagelsmann, as his assistant manager with Hoffenheim in 2018.
After a pair seasons with Hoffenheim as second-in-command under multiple managers, Matarazzo received his first opportunity as head coach with VfB Stuttgart in 2019, managing the club for three and a half seasons until 2022.
In 2023, Matarazzo returned to Hoffenheim.
