Bundesliga: Wolfsburg in relegation: Hecking builds on authority and aura

Now, for the third time in the club’s history, the Bundesliga team is competing against a second division team in the unpopular season extension mode. And Hecking’s former club Hannover 96, for which he once played and which he coached for three years, was initially one of the three possible opponents.

Hecking: “Be brutally focused”

However, the coach didn’t want to worry too much about possible constellations after the successful relegation duel at Millerntor. “We don’t even need to look at who the opponent will be. I think all three of them in the draw have really good quality,” he said. “These won’t be easy games. We have to be brutally focused in our game system twice. And if we succeed in that, then we might have the opportunity to stay in the league.”

The first relegation challenge is on Thursday evening, the second encounter against the third-place team in the 2nd league follows four days later.

Hecking rewarded the players with a day off on Sunday. Training will resume on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday the club is planning an event together with the players’ families. Hecking “just wants to get everyone on board now that we have unity.”

He recently brought the club’s unity back to some extent during a chaotic season with two coaching changes and a change in sporting leadership. The club also benefited from the relaxed and calm nature of the experienced coach.

Gerhardt has already experienced relegation twice

Hecking is now also relying on strong nerves among its experienced professionals. Yannick Gerhardt, for example. The midfielder knows all about relegation. During its almost ten-year association with VfL, the club has already extended the season twice. In 2017, Gerhardt saw how Lower Saxony won the state duel against Braunschweig. A year later, in another relegation win against Kiel, he remained on the bench without playing.

“I already have a bit of experience when it comes to relegation,” said the 32-year-old. Gerhardt is relying above all on the loud support of the fans like in Hamburg and the rekindled unity. “The support was brutal,” he said. “That shows that we haven’t been written off. On the contrary: we stick together. And that shows that we have a very good chance of surviving the relegation.”

The support was not a given, as the club had the worst season in its Bundesliga history with 29 points. Fan frustration has erupted several times in the past few months.

For the first leg of the relegation campaign, Hecking will have to do without the Brazilian defensive clearer Vinicius Souza, who will be missing due to a yellow card suspension. The experienced record player Maximilian Arnold will also not be available for both games due to his groin problems.

Hecking relies even more on his Danish duo Joakim Maehle and Christian Eriksen. Experienced Eriksen in particular was one of the best Wolfsburg players against Hamburg, who were defenseless and error-prone for long stretches.

Eriksen: “We take the game very seriously”

There was extra praise from Hecking: “The two of them really took it into their own hands,” he said. “That’s what sets the team apart: they follow these people and sometimes I don’t even need to say that much; they get things sorted out with their authority and aura.”

The double A factor will now be in demand in the relegation. “Normally, when you play from the 1st Bundesliga against the 2nd Bundesliga, you are probably the favorite,” said Eriksen. But the 34-year-old veteran pointed out that Wolfsburg were eliminated in the second round of the DFB Cup this season against second division team Kiel. “So we know that it will be a serious opponent. So yes, we are taking the game very seriously,” he clarified.