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Morning update

Morning update: Matarazzo at Hoffenheim, a look at LeedUSA vs. Man U, Tillman, & Atlanta United

ASN's Brian Sciaretta gives his thoughts on some of the top stories in American soccer for Thursday morning including: Atlanta United's upgrade, Pellegrino Matarazzo's new gig, plus a look at how the three Leeds United Yanks performned in a draw at Old Trafford. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
February 09, 2023
4:30 AM

IT’S THURSDAY and to kickoff your morning, we have some interesting news being made by MLS teams, one in the West involves a German American and the other in the East simply shows the arms-race for attacking talent. Meanwhile in Europe, the post-Marsch era began in Leeds with three Americans helping to earn a result in Old Trafford.

Here is the news.

 

Matarazzo lands Hoffenheim job

 

Pellegrino Matarazzo became the only American manager in Europe’s top five leagues when he was hired by Hoffenheim on Wednesday. The Fair Lawn, New Jersey native was fired by Stuttgart after three seasons in charge where he earned promotion to the Bundesliga and survived two seasons in the top flight (the last coming on a dramatic series of results on the final day). Despite being fired, he is still viewed positively at Stuttgart and it was only a matter of time before he was hired.

Hoffenheim recently fired Andre Breitenreiter after a disastrous run of results where the team crumbled defensively. The team has two draws and seven losses in its last nine Bundesliga games. They have conceded 23 goals over their last six games.

But Matarazzo made sense on multiple levels. First, he is used to taking a job midseason – like he did with Stuttgart during the winter break of the 2019/20 season. Second, he is very familiar with Hoffenheim. From 2017-2019, he was the assistant coach under Julian Nagelsmann and then again under Alfred Schreuder.

Hoffenheim’s situation isn’t quite dire. They are still three points clear of the relegation playoff zone and have the talent to stay up with a new direction. But Matarazzo’s focus should be on the defensive end which has two Americans – John Brooks and Justin Che. Brooks in particular could be of central focus. While he has struggled since his arrival he should improve under new direction. He has experience in relegation battles before and typically that is important when a new manager takes over in an emergency situation. Che, meanwhile, might find minutes difficult to come by as he has not played much and now is not the time managers like to break in new players.

But having Matarazzo back in the coaching ranks is good news and he is one of the most impressive American coaches at the club level.

 

Leeds draws Manchester United

 

While Leeds is no longer managed by Jesse Marsch, the relegation battle continues and three Americans are all expected to play a role in keeping the team in the Premier League. On Wednesday, Leeds battled to a 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford. While that would have been seen as an acceptable result in advance, Leeds is still disappointed to let the win slip away after holding a 2-0 lead in the second half.

The game marked the first time since Fulham in 2008 when three American players were on the field at the same time for one Premier League team. All in all, it was a good performance from each of the U.S. internationals who were all on the 2022 World Cup team.

Tyler Adams: Played 90 minutes and had a very good game. He was disruptive and tidy. As usual, he covered a lot of ground to make himself useful on both sides of the ball.

Weston McKennie: The Texan made his first start for Leeds United and played 89 minutes. He struggled early when a few sloppy touches led to costly turnovers, but eventually he grew into the game nicely and showed his worth. Once he gets adjusted, he will fit nicely into Leeds with his eagerness to battle defensively and quickly get the ball into the attack. One thing that was puzzling is why Leeds was having him sit deep on corners and set pieces. He should be among the best targets the team has on free kicks and corners. He’s shown that at the highest of levels.

Brenden Aaronson: After recovering from illness, Aaronson returned to the field as a substitute in the 63rd minute. In the 65th minute, his free kick hit the post – but was a great effort. While the end result was there for him on the day, he was lively and more effective than he had been since play resumed following the World Cup. It was a performance that will keep him involved with the team.

With the draw, Leeds remains just one point clear of the relegation zone.

 

Tillmann to LAFC

 

Doug McIntyre was the first to report the news on Wednesday that Timothy Tillman, the older brother of U.S. national team attacker Malik Tillman, is in California to finalize a transfer to LAFC. He has been with Greuther Furth since 2020. He helped that club earn promotion to the Bundesliga in 2021 although the club was quickly relegated in 2022.

This current season, Tillman, 24, has one goal and no assists in 15 2.Bundesliga games. His contract is set to expire in June and hasn’t made much of an impact as Furth sits in 10th place without much hope of promotion or a threat of relegation.

Over his career, Tillman has shifted positions. He was initially a center forward but switched to the wings, attacking midfield, and lately more of a central midfielder. For Tillman, he will get to play under Steve Cherundolo who is fluent in German and who should be well familiar with Tillman’s development although we don’t know what position Cherundolo will use him.

Internationally, Tillman has represented Germany at the youth levels. He was rumored to switch to the U.S. team at the U-20 level under Tab Ramos but instead continued to play for Germany. His last appearance for Germany came at the U-19 level in 2018.

For Tillman, this is a good lifeline to give his career a different look but playing time at LAFC is not easy as the club typically spends a lot for attacking and midfield players and is the current MLS Cup Champions. Internationally, Germany is obviously beyond Tillman’s reach even if Tillman has not filed for a switch. He certainly fill file for a switch now, especially with his brother now on the U.S. side of things, but the question for him is to get good enough to represent the United States. The performances he had in Germany the past few years weren’t good enough but perhaps a change of scenery will boost his level.

 

Atlanta signs Giakoumakis

 

Atlanta United made headlines on Wednesday after it signed Giorgos Giakoumakis, 28, for a reported $4.1 million. The Greek international (11 caps, 2 goals) has had a lot of success but most of it started in 2020.

While with VVV-Venlo in the Eredivisie, he was the Golden Boot winner after he scored 26 goals in 30 games in the 2020/21 season and earned a transfer to Celtic. In the 2021/2022 Scottish Premiership season, he was the league’s leading scorer with 13 goals.



The Eastern Conference has gotten serious with its offensive acquisitions. Last season, Toronto added Lorenzo Insigne and this will be his first full season. The Red Bulls added Dante Vanzeir, who was one of the best players in Belgium and is only 24. Charlotte added Enzo Copetti from Racing Club in Argentina. Orlando added Martín Ojeda who was one of the best wingers in Argentina last season with Godoy Cruz.

All these teams will be chasing Philadelphia but so many teams in the East are improved that it will be interesting to watch and tough to predict.

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