Tag: Stuttgart

Gio Reyna scored another winner off the bench — until Dortmund blew it

The USMNT forward continues to do more with less at Dortmund

Gio Reyna continued his habit of clutch goals off the bench for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, but what should have been a stoppage-time winner was only enough for a point after Stuttgart found a 97th-minute equalizer.

Reyna hadn’t seen the field in Dortmund’s previous three games as he battled illness, but he made the most of his chance after he was brought on in the 82nd minute against 10-man Stuttgart.

With the game tied 2-2 in stoppage time, Reyna collected a rebound from a blocked shot, took a composed first touch and then rifled home from 10 yards out to give Dortmund the lead.

The visitors looked to have collected a massive three points in the title race but just as the final whistle neared, some slack marking allowed Stuttgart to equalize at the death through Silas.

Dropping two points will be a bitter pill to swallow for Dortmund, which had a man advantage for more than a half after Konstantinos Mavropanos was sent off in the 39th minute.

Dortmund also missed a golden opportunity to go level on points atop the Bundesliga table with Bayern Munich, who only managed to draw 1-1 against Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Instead, the Bavarians maintained a two-point advantage in first place.

For Reyna, the goal continues a trend of doing more with less, as he now has four goals in his last seven Bundesliga appearances — only one of which has been a start.

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Pellegrino Matarazzo out at Stuttgart after nine-game winless run in Bundesliga

Stuttgart has started the season on a nine-game winless run

The list of Americans in the Bundesliga just got a bit smaller.

Pellegrino Matarazzo was dismissed by VfB Stuttgart on Monday, one day after a 1-0 home loss to Union Berlin pushed their winless start to the 2022-23 season to nine games. That poor start has left the club in 17th place with over one-quarter of the schedule played, and Stuttgart is the only Bundesliga club without a league win this season.

“Our journey together at VfB has come to an end,” said Matarazzo in a club statement announcing the move. “They’ve been eventful and wonderful years with a lot of incredible moments and memories, which will last forever. I’ll always be grateful for being given the chance to get my foot on the coaching ladder here. VfB are a special club, which you only understand once you’re a part of it. I wish this team, this club with these fans all the very best and the maximum success.”

Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat said Matarazzo “more than met our expectations, and even surpassed them in many respects,” but added that “(Stuttgart) started this season with high hopes. Results thus far have unfortunately not lived up to these hopes. We’ve now reached a point at which we believe that parting with (Matarazzo) is unavoidable.”

Club CEO Alexander Wehrle praised Matarazzo, saying that “I got to know him as a special person, which makes the decision to end our work with him even harder. Ultimately, though, we came to the conclusion that a change in the coaching position was necessary in order to bring about a turnaround.”

The 44-year-old New Jersey native was hired in December of 2019, having climbed rapidly into a role as the top assistant coach at Hoffenheim under Julian Nagelsmann and Alfred Schreuder. All in all, he lead Stuttgart for 100 competitive matches, leading them to promotion in 2019-20, and following that up with a solid finish in ninth.

Last season, Stuttgart barely survived the drop, needing a stoppage-time goal on the final day of the season to keep them in the Bundesliga.

Too many red cards, not enough goals

Stuttgart were not getting blown out or looking hapless this season, despite the lack of wins. They’d picked up five draws — including coming back for a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich  — and their -5 goal difference underlines that their losses were all close.

However, they scored one or zero goals in seven of their ten total competitive matches, with a 1-0 cup win over Dynamo Dresden on July 29 representing their only competitive victory on the season. Only Bochum, who are at the bottom of the table, have scored fewer than Stuttgart’s nine league goals on the season.

That DFB Pokal win came despite a red card for defender Waldemar Anton, which began an unfortunate trend for Stuttgart. In 10 total games on the season, Stuttgart has already suffered four red cards, including one given to Serhou Guirassy in what turned out to be Matarazzo’s final game in charge. Stuttgart has been down a man for 88 minutes already in their 2022-23 competitions, nearly 10% of the minutes they’ve played thus far.

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Stuttgart avoids relegation from Bundesliga with stoppage-time Wataru Endo goal

Wataru Endo’s 92nd minute goal on the final day of the season saved Stuttgart from relegations, setting off wild scenes as fans crowded the pitch to celebrate.

You couldn’t ask for more drama than the final day of the Bundesliga provided, with Stuttgart avoiding relegation thanks to a Wataru Endo goal deep into stoppage time.

Stuttgart entered their final match of the year in 16th place, with American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side three points behind Hertha Berlin, who occupied the final safe spot. Nothing but a win, paired with a loss for Hertha, would do.

By halftime, the cause seemed lost. While Sasa Kalajdic’s goal did see Stuttgart lead Koln, Hertha were up 1-0 over Borussia Dortmund. Things got even more dire in the 59th minute, as Anthony Modeste equalized for Koln. Stuttgart needed to find a winner of their own, but also needed major help from Dortmund, who entered the match guaranteed of finishing in 2nd place no matter what they did.

The help from Dortmund came first. Erling Haaland, in his final match with Dortmund before a move to Manchester City, equalized from the spot, before Youssoufa Moukoko notched an 84th minute winner.

Still, Hertha were safe unless Stuttgart could produce a goal without conceding. With the match entering the 92nd minute, Stuttgart sent everyone forward on a corner kick, including goalkeeper Florian Müller, and got the miracle they needed. Omar Marmoush’s service was flicked on to the back post, where amid a crowd of players crashing the goal, Wataru Endo dove onto the ball, heading it into the roof of the net. That set off wild scenes at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, with fans storming the pitch to celebrate.

While Stuttgart will be spending tonight in party mode, Hertha have a chance at salvation of their own. They’ll face the third-placed team from the 2.Bundesliga in a relegation playoff, and that may require more drama. Four different teams (Werder Bremen, Hamburg, Darmstadt, and St. Pauli) could all end up in that spot depending on results from the final round of second division matches on Sunday morning.

Watch Stuttgart avoid relegation with a miraculous late goal