Sport Bild lists Ralph Hasenhüttl and Pellegrino Matarazzo as potential candidates for Augsburg’s vacant head coaching position. The Bundesliga outfit has been searching for a permanent replacement for the sacked Sandro Wagner over the last two weeks. Hasenhüttl (Wolfsburg) and Matarazzo (Hoffenheim) were both active coaching in the German top flight last season.
The German tabloid reports that the Augsburg front office hopes to install a new head coach no later than Christmas. Augsburg academy director Manuel Baum has led the team over the last two games and will also remain on the bench for Augsburg’s final fixture of the 2025 calendar year against Werder Bremen this coming weekend. Baum himself let it be known that he believed his appointment to be temporary.
What speaks for and against Ralph Hasenhüttl?
The Austrian’s recent stint at Wolfsburg produced a 1.36 points-per-game average over the course of 44 competitive fixtures. Hasenhütll helped Germany’s green company team stave off relegation during the 2023/24 season and fashioned plenty of quality football out of Wolfsburg last year. Unfortunately, the fact that Wolfsburg failed to remain in the hint for Europe for the fourth consecutive season led to his dismissal with two matches remaining.
When Hasenhüttl returned to Germany, Wolfsburg – as was also the case recently – found themselves without a full front office due to sporting director Marcel Schäfer’s abrupt departure. Hasenhüttl was able to bring his experience from England (where head coaches are given a greater say in front office decisions as labelled ‘managers’) to help rehabilitate the squad.
Importantly, Hasenhüttl was also able to relinquish his ‘manager role’ once Wolfsburg got the front office staffing situation straightened out. Head coaches with extensive experience in English football very often have difficulty adjusting back to the German model. Hasenhüttl’s experience with RB Leipzig and FC Ingolstadt 04 nevertheless enabled him to do so.
There are still rumors linking Hasenhüttl with a move to Glasgow Rangers and the Augsburg supporters themselves seem keen to perhaps see Baum retain the position permanently. Augsburg’s summer attempts to re-brand itself as a sexier and more exciting destination for big names and riskier football hasn’t sat well with the UltraKurve.
What speaks for and against Pellegrino Matarazzo?
AS of this piece’s filing, the former Stuttgart and Hoffenheim head coach is being heavily linked with a move to Real Sociedad San Sebastian in Spain. A chance for the New Jersey native to once again coach in the Bundesrepublik may nevertheless give Matarazzo pause. Matarazzo spent his entire professional playing career in Germany and led the two Bundesliga clubs he coached to amazing heights.
Matarazzo helped Stuttgart attain promotion back to the German top flight at the end of the 2019/20 season and would later help the Swabians stave off relegation in dramatic style at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. Matarazzo engineered a remarkable turnaround that enabled Hoffenheim to escape the drop during the 2022/23 season before leading die Kraichgauer to Europe the very next season.
Some Bundesliga reporters consider Matarazzo to be the true architect of Stuttgart’s later success. Matarazzo’s German is so famously flawless that some German journalists mistake him for a native speaker. Matarazzo and Germany appear made for each other. The 48-year-old looks to return to Bundesliga coaching at some point in his career.
