Dieter Hecking at VfL Bochum: A veteran should prevent relegation

Dieter Hecking is back in the Bundesliga as head coach and is supposed to save VfL Bochum from relegation. The 60-year-old signed a contract with the bottom club until the end of the season. The club announced this on Monday. Managing director Ilja Kaenzig had previously held intensive discussions with the experienced Bundesliga coach and convinced the club management of the personnel. Hecking, who will be presented on Tuesday at 1.30 p.m. on Castroper Straße, most recently worked as sports director of the second division soccer team 1. FC Nürnberg.

The task for the veteran, who has played over 660 games in the Bundesliga and the second division as a coach, is tricky. Bochum only has one point after nine games and a goal difference of 9:29. Only 1. FC Saarbrücken (1963/1964) and SpVgg Greuther Fürth (2021/2022) have been worse in Bundesliga history. They are seven points behind the non-relegation places.

After the dramatic rescue in the relegation against Fortuna Düsseldorf, Peter Zeidler took over VfL from Heiko Butscher. After the false start to the season, the club parted ways with Zeidler and also with sporting director Marc Lettau. Interim coach Markus Feldhoff took over and his record is devastating. There were bad blows against Bayern Munich (0:5) and Eintracht Frankfurt (2:7). The previous assistant coach, who looked after the professional squad on an interim basis together with Murat Ural, will take on other tasks in the club that have yet to be defined in the spirit of a new beginning, VfL announced on Monday.

Hecking’s last coaching job in the Bundesliga was some time ago. After the 2018/2019 season he was replaced by Marco Rose in Gladbach. He led VfL Wolfsburg to DFB Cup victory in 2015. He then missed promotion to the Bundesliga as coach of Hamburger SV. He was on the sidelines 418 times in the Bundesliga alone, for Alemannia Aachen, Hannover 96, 1. FC Nürnberg, Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfL Wolfsburg.