Could the U.S. men’s national team be closing in on its new head coach?
That appears to be the case, per two reports out of Germany that strongly link Hoffenheim’s Pellegrino Matarazzo to the vacant position.
According to Kicker, Matarazzo has been offered the USMNT head coaching job and is still undecided, though he is open to to the position.
Bild was more emphatic, reporting that Matarazzo has already informed Hoffenheim that he wants to leave to take the USMNT job.
The time may be right for Matarazzo to seek out a change, as Hoffenheim is currently in the midst of some upheaval that has recently seen the club sack managing director for sport Alexander Rosen.
Matarazzo was born and raised in New Jersey before he moved to Europe for a playing career spent in Germany’s lower divisions. After retirement, Matarazzo began a coaching career that saw him earn his first head coaching role in 2019 with Stuttgart.
The 46-year-old impressed with his work at Stuttgart, and just guided unfancied Hoffenheim to a seventh-place Bundesliga finish and a European place.
Matarazzo even expressed his interest in the USMNT position last year when it was vacant, saying: “At some point, I do feel like it’s time to give back to soccer in the States but when that time will be we’ll see.”
The USMNT position has been vacant since Gregg Berhalter was dismissed last month in the wake of the team’s stunning group-stage exit at the Copa América.
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