Reports: Hoffenheim have Matarazzo replacements lined up
More German footballing media sources are confirming a report surfacing in Kicker Magazine earlier in the week about TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's plans to sack head-coach Pellegrino Matarazzo should the American trainer fail to get a result against Hertha this weekend.
Kicker, Sky, and German tabloid "Sport Bild" have all reported that Matarazzo was never the preferred candidate of club owner Dietmar Hopp. The club's majority shareholder may be preparing to install his favored choice, and possibly sack his sporting director.
Kicker, Sky, and German tabloid "Sport Bild" have all reported that Matarazzo was never the preferred candidate of club owner Dietmar Hopp. The club's majority shareholder may be preparing to install his favored choice, and possibly sack his sporting director.
| Kenan Koçak | Sven Mandel CC-BY-SA 4.0 |
Multiple German footballing media sources, including the three noted above, have reported that club majority shareholder Dietmar Hopp was never keen on bringing in the New Jersey native to replace the sacked André Breitenreiter. Hopp is said to have acceded to the idea of his also under-fire sporting director Alexander Rosen in going the Matarazzo route.
Former Waldhof Mannheim, SV Sandhausen, and Hannover 96 gaffer Kenan Koçak is widely reported to have been Hopp's preferred candidate. The 42-year-old is currently working with former Germany U21 trainer Stefan Kuntz at the Turkish national team. Hopp will obviously want to seal a deal with Koçak before the international break.
"Sport Bild" also links former Hoffenheim trainer Markus Gisdol with the position. Gisdol was the head-coach Hopp brought in the last time he opted for a full administrative housecleaning in the spring of 2013. After coaching die Kraichgauer for two-and-half years, the former TSG youth trainer had stints with Hamburger SV and 1. FC Köln.
Gisdol resigned his position with Lokomotiv Moscow in protest of the Ukrainian invasion last spring. He's been unemployed for just over a year. No sources other than the tabloid report on this connection.