The Stuttgart Reds have parted ways with manager Curtis di Salle after three seasons, the Bundesliga club announced on its website. A disappointing 2022 campaign saw the Reds narrowly miss out on the playoffs, leading the club’s management to undertake a comprehensive review and conversations with key stakeholders that resulted in the club moving on from di Salle, who departs Stuttgart with a 42-27 regular-season record in his three seasons at the helm.
Di Salle joined the Reds in 2016 after a decade spent playing and coaching in Italy and filled various coaching roles in Stuttgart before taking the top job following the departure of Greg Lemon after the 2019 season.
The Reds finished third in the Bundesliga South in a pandemic-shortened 2020 under the Venezuelan, and turned in the same result again in 2021, but 2022 saw the club finish fifth, just a half game behind the Mainz Athletics for the final playoff spot.
Stuttgart had looked poised to qualify for the playoffs following a 14-7 start to the 2022 season, which included a seven-game win streak and two victories over the Heidenheim Heideköpfe, but the Reds managed just two wins in their final six games against their fellow playoff contenders from Mainz and Munich-Haar, leaving them just outside the playoffs.
In addition to his 42 regular-season wins, di Salle also guided the Reds to one playoff victory in 2021, another win in the 2021 placement round, and an 8-4 record in relegation contests in 2022.