Hecking returns to Wolfsburg as 3rd coach of season to try and save club from Bundesliga relegation

WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) - Dieter Hecking is returning to Wolfsburg as the Volkswagen-backed club's third coach of the season to try to save it from Bundesliga relegation.

The 61-year-old Hecking's return on Sunday - after 10 years away - comes after Wolfsburg fired Daniel Bauer as coach, as well as Peter Christiansen, its managing director for sport. Their dismissals came after Wolfsburg's 2-1 defeat at home to Hamburger SV on Saturday stretched the team's winless run to eight games and prompted an on-field melee and angry reactions from fans.

Wolfsburg is second-last in the 18-team division in an automatic relegation spot, four points from safety with nine rounds of the league remaining.

"Dieter Hecking brings exactly the experience we need in the current situation. He knows the club, the environment, and the demands of the Bundesliga very well," Wolfsburg sporting director Pirmin Schwegler said.

Hecking was in charge from December 2012 to October 2016, and won the German Cup with Wolfsburg in 2015, when it finished second behind Bayern in the Bundesliga and he was voted coach of the season.

"We're convinced that with his composure, his expertise, and his clear vision, he will give the team the necessary stability to achieve our common goal of staying in the league," Schwegler added.

Hecking has a wealth of experience with various clubs. He coached Hannover and Nuremberg before joining Wolfsburg in 2012, then Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hamburg, Nuremberg and Bochum.

However, he was unable to prevent Bochum's relegation last year. He was fired in November after starting the second-division campaign with four defeats in five games.

Wolfsburg fired Bauer earlier Sunday, following the dismissal of Christiansen the night before.

"We had hoped to turn things around together. Analyzing the overall situation, we came to the conclusion that we need to give the team a new impetus to secure our place in the league," Schwegler said of the decision to fire another coach this season.

Paul Simonis was dismissed in November after the team's lackluster start and Bauer, the under-19 team coach, initially took over on an interim basis.

Masked Wolfsburg fans reacted angrily to the latest loss, throwing flares onto the field and sending black smoke billowing behind one of the goals while the players fought Hamburg rivals in an on-field melee.

The fans had displayed a banner before the game saying it was the last chance for the team, and that they were behind the players. Afterward, there was a banner that said, "Chance wasted, support withdrawn."

Hundreds of Wolfsburg fans had attended the team's training session the day before in an effort to rouse the players.

Christiansen had been managing director for sport since 2024.

"He successfully managed the personnel changes in women's football together with our sporting management. Unfortunately, the sporting results were lacking in the men's team," supervisory board chairman Sebastian Rudolph said of the 51-year-old Christiansen.

Bauer had been working for the club in various roles with the academy since 2016.