Matarazzo successor
©IMAGO
What had already been announced in the past few days is now official: Christian Ilzer is taking over the coaching position at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and succeeds Pellegrino Matarazzo, who was released on Monday. The 47-year-old comes from Sturm Graz, where he celebrated the double last summer, and is signing a long-term contract in Kraichgau, according to consistent reports until 2027. According to “Sky” information, Ilzer costs 2.5 million euros.
In Hoffenheim, Ilzer meets his old acquaintance Andreas Schicker, with whom he had worked successfully for four years in Graz. At the beginning of October, Schicker took over the position of Sports Director from Alexander Rosen, who was fired in the summer. After Paul Pajduch, who acts as technical director at TSG, Ilzer is the third new addition to the sporting leadership from Graz in a short time.
Ilzer is also bringing his assistant coaches Dominik Deutschl and Uwe Hölzl with him to Sinsheim, as well as athletics coach Marco Angeler, who will only join TSG in December. Frank Fröhling and Benjamin Hübner will also remain on the coaching staff.
“I know and appreciate Christian through our collaboration and am convinced that he is the coach who ideally fits the idea that I have in mind for TSG Hoffenheim. His playing style stands for clarity and high intensity. This fits perfectly with the DNA of TSG. “He has proven in recent years that he is able to play attractive football with his teams and also develop individual players,” said Schicker.
Ilzer added: “For me, several things were crucial for the decision. On the one hand, Hoffenheim is a very exciting club that has great potential, just like the team itself. In addition, TSG also plays on the international stage, and last but not least, I have the special opportunity to work with a trusted person like Andreas Schicker again can. After turbulent days, I’m now really looking forward to the new challenge and can’t wait to get to know the players and staff.”
TSG Hoffenheim can look forward to “power football” under Ilzer
Before his move, Ilzer was on course to defend his title with the Austrian champions. After 13 matchdays, his team led the table by three points over Rapid Vienna. The situation looks different at TSG Hoffenheim, as the Europa League participant is in 15th place with nine points after ten games and is in the middle of a relegation battle. Second-placed RB Leipzig travels to Kraichgau for Ilzer’s debut.
With Ilzer, Hoffenheim gets a coach who only lets them play what he himself called “power football”. “In three of his stations he had incredible success – considering the general conditions – but at Wiener Austria he failed miserably,” explains Dorian Schuster, Area Manager Austria: “He took over TSV Hartberg as regional league champions and brought them straight into the league Bundesliga, he led relegation candidate Wolfsberg into the Europa League. And Sturm Graz was only number two in Styria in 2020 behind Hartberg. Together with Schicker he then formed what was only the second Graz double team.”
Ilzer prefers to play with a 4-4-2 diamond. Schuster says: “In contrast to many other teams, where the two wings are occupied by more defensively oriented midfielders, Ilzer lets ‘real’ offensive players act there. A striking example of this was Alexander Prass, who ideally held the position on the left of the diamond for three years and could do this again in Hoffenheim under Ilzer.” It is also typical of Ilzer football that “striker players are never good in the game Top scorer lists – the collective is responsible for scoring goals, there was never a single target player.
