Hoffenheim fire coach Matarazzo after bad start

German club Hoffenheim have fired their American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo with the team sliding toward the Bundesliga relegation zone after failing to score in their last three league games.

Matarazzo had been in charge since February 2023 and leaves with the team 15th place in the 18-team Bundesliga and mid-table in the Europa League.

The team's only win from the last six games in all competitions was against second-division Nuremberg in the German Cup.

It's a far cry from last season, when Matarazzo's team won praise for finishing seventh in the Bundesliga to qualify for the Europa League, and finished on a high by upsetting Bayern Munich 4-2 on the last day of the season.

The club had been in a relegation battle when Matarazzo took over and steered it to safety.

Sturm Graz coach Christian Ilzer is reportedly a candidate to take over.

Hoffenheim fired sporting director Alexander Rosen and technical director Bastian Huber in the off-season replacing them with Andreas Schicker and Paul Pajduch respectively, who came from Graz.