Dieter Hecking

On 1 July 2000, Hecking moved into management as he took over as manager at Regionalliga Nord outfit SC Verl.[2] His first match was a 2–0 loss to Eintracht Braunschweig on 1 August 2000.[3] However, Hecking's proclamations that he was seeking a new position irked the club to such an extent they fired him after just 20 games in charge. He was sacked on 31 January 2001.[2] His final match was a 2–1 win to Tennis Borussia Berlin.[3] Verl were in seventh place when Hecking was sacked.[4]

Hecking wasn't free for long as another Regionalliga Nord side, VfB Lübeck, came calling on 27 March 2001.[5] His first match was a 1–0 loss to Fortuna Düsseldorf on 30 March 2001.[6] Hecking achieved a solid job in the remaining games, leaving the club in third place, just one short of promotion.[7] This set the basis for the following season as the team claimed the title and moved up into the 2. Bundesliga.[8] Lübeck were knocked out of the German Cup by Werder Bremen.[9] Hecking then managed to secure Lübeck an 11th place in the 2002–03 season.[10] Lübeck were knocked out of the German Cup by MSV Duisburg.[11] The following season proved to have mixed results. In the league, the club slipped back down to the Regionalliga Nord, occupying the final relegation position.[12] However, they also got to the semi-finals of the German Cup, where they were eliminated by Werder Bremen.[13] This proved the catalyst for VfB Lübeck to announce that they would not be extending his contract further and he left the club on 25 May 2004.[14]

Once again, Hecking was not short of work as just a week later 2. Bundesliga side Alemannia Aachen announced that he would be taking the managerial reins at their club, after the departure of Jörg Berger.[15]

Hecking's first match was a 1–1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on 9 August 2004.[16] During the 2004–05 season, Alemannia Aachen participated in the UEFA Cup, where they got to second round when they eliminated by AZ Alkmaar.[16] In the German Cup, Alemannia Aachen were eliminated in the second round by Bayern Munich.[16] In the league, Alemannia Aachen finished in sixth place.[17] The 2005–06 season started with a 2–1 loss to Erzgebirge Aue on 8 August 2005.[18] Hannover 96 eliminated Alemannia Aachen in the second round of the German Cup.[18] Alemannia Aachen finished second in the 2. Bundesliga and was promoted to the Bundesliga.[19]

Hecking's time guiding Alemannia Aachen in the top flight was short. Just three games in,[20] he requested to be able to leave the club for his former club and fellow Bundesliga side Hannover 96 on 7 September 2006, to fill the vacancy left by their sacking of Peter Neururer.[21] Ironically, the final straw for Neururer was a 0–3 home defeat to Hecking's Alemannia Aachen.[21] Alemannia Aachen were in 14th place when Hecking left the club.[22] Hecking finished with a record of 42 wins, 14 draws, and 27 losses in 82 matches.[23]

Hecking became manager on 7 September 2006.[21] Dieter Hecking officially took over the manager's job with immediate effect on 7 September 2006.[21] However, caretaker manager Michael Schjönberg managed the DFB-Pokal match against Dynamo Dresden on 9 September 2006.[24][25] Hecking recovered Hannover from a dismal start that left them bottom at the time of his arrival. The team also achieved a good run through to the quarter finals of the German Cup,[26] and finished comfortably in 11th place in the Bundesliga.[27] During the following season, Hanover were knocked out of the German Cup in the second round by Schalke 04.[28] Hannover improved on their league position by finishing in eighth place.[29] Hannover started the 2008–09 season with a 5–0 win against Hallescher FC on 9 August 2008.[30] They were eventually eliminated in the second round by Schalke, for the second consecutive year.[30] Hannover defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach 5–1 on 14 September 2008.[31] The following week, on 19 September 2008, Hannover lost to Bayer Leverkusen 4–0.[32] Hannover lost to 1899 Hoffenheim 5–2 on 18 October 2008.[33] Hannover lost 4–0 to Eintracht Frankfurt on 22 November 2008.[34] The match against VfB Stuttgart on 14 February 2009 finished in a 3–3 draw.[35] Hannover lost to Bayern Munich 5–1 on 7 March 2009.[36] The match against Borussia Dortmund on 14 March 2009 finished in a 4–4 draw.[37] Hannover lost to Wolfsburg 5–0 on 16 May 2009.[38] Hannover finished the 2008–09 season in 11th place.[39] On 19 August 2009 Hecking resigned voluntarily[40] from his post after a disappointing 2008–09 season and a slow start to the 2009–10 season.[41] Hecking's final match was a 1–1 draw against Mainz.[42] Hannover were tied for 14th place with 1899 Hoffenheim when Hecking left the club.[43] Hecking finished with a record of 39 wins, 30 draws, and 40 losses in 109 matches.[44]

On 22 December 2009, he was named as the new manager of 1. FC Nürnberg, replacing Michael Oenning.[45] His first match was a 1–0 loss to Schalke on 17 January 2010.[46] Nürnberg finished in 16th place and went into the relegation playoff.[47] Nürnberg won both legs of the relegation playoff.[46] During the 2010–11 season, Nürnberg got to the quarter-finals of the German Cup, where they were eliminated by Schalke.[48] Nürnberg finished in sixth place in the league.[49] They had finished one spot and 11 points behind Mainz for a Europa League spot.[49] Nürnberg started the 2011–12 season with a 5–1 win against Arminia Bielefeld in the German Cup.[50] They were eventually eliminated in the round of 16.[50] Nürnberg finished in 10th place in the league.[51] Hecking used a clause in his contract[52] to leave the club.[53] His final match was a 1–1 draw against Werder Bremen on 16 December 2012.[54] Nürnberg were in 14th place when Hecking left the club.[55] Hecking finished with a record of 42 wins, 23 draws, and 47 losses in 112 matches.[56]

Hecking at a press conference with Wolfsburg in 2014

Hecking became manager of Wolfsburg on 22 December 2012.[53] He made his debut on 19 January 2013 in a 2–0 win against Stuttgart.[57] During the 2012–13 season, Wolfsburg lost to Bayern Munich twice.[58] Wolfsburg lost to Bayern 2–0 in the league on 15 February 2013 and 6–1 in the German Cup on 16 April 2013.[58] Wolfsburg finished in 11th place.[59] Wolfsburg started the 2013–14 season with a 3–1 win against Karlsruher SC.[60] Wolfsburg again got to the semi-finals of the German Cup.[60] This time losing to Borussia Dortmund.[60] Wolfsburg finished the season in fifth place and won a spot in the Europa League.[61] Wolfsburg started the 2014–15 season by knocking out SV Darmstadt 98.[62] The match finished in a 0–0 draw before Wolfsburg defeated Darmstadt in a shootout.[63] Wolfsburg started the league season with a 2–1 loss to Bayern Munich.[62] However, in the reverse fixture, Wolfsburg won 4–1.[62] In March 2015, in the Europa League, in the round of 16, Wolfsburg defeated Inter Milan by a 3–1 score in the first leg[64] and 2–1 in the second leg[65] for a 5–2 aggregate score.[66] Wolfsburg were eliminated by Napoli.[62] Wolfsburg finished the league season in second place, 10 points behind Bayern.[67] The second-place finish qualified Wolfsburg for the Champions League.[67] On 30 May 2015 Wolfsburg defeated Borussia Dortmund 3–1 in the German Cup final.[68] This was Hecking's first major trophy.[69] Wolfsburg started the 2015–16 season by defeating Bayern Munich in a shootout to win German Super Cup.[70] In Champions League, Wolfsburg won Group B, finishing two points above PSV Eindhoven.[71] Wolfsburg were eventually eliminated by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.[72] Wolfsburg finished the league season in eighth place.[73] Wolfsburg sacked Hecking on 17 October 2016.[74] Hecking's final match was a 1–0 loss to RB Leipzig.[75] Wolfsburg were in 14th place when Wolfsburg sacked Hecking.[76] Hecking finished with a record of 81 wins, 41 draws, and 43 losses in 165 matches.[77]

On 21 December 2016, Hecking was appointed as the new head coach by Borussia Mönchengladbach with a contract spanning until 2019.[78] On 2 April 2019, Gladbach's sporting director Max Eberl announced that Hecking's term would not be extended beyond the end of the 2018–19 season.[79]

On 29 May 2019, Hecking signed a one-year contract to be the new manager of Hamburger SV, replacing Hannes Wolf.[80] He departed on mutual consent on 4 July 2020.[81]

VfB Lübeck

• Regionalliga Nord: 2001–02 (Promotion to 2. Bundesliga)
• Schleswig-Holstein Cup: 2001

Alemannia Aachen

• 2. Bundesliga promotion: 2005–06

VfL Wolfsburg

• DFB-Pokal: 2014–15
• DFL-Supercup: 2015

• German Football Manager of the Year: 2015