Somewhere between the eastern foothills of the Swabian Jura and Central Franconia, Dieter Hecking must have had the suspicion that what would happen in the hours that followed would also have unpleasant consequences for himself. Actually, the Nuremberg sports director did not want to work as a coach in this life, as he emphasized at a press conference scheduled at short notice on Monday: “My life plan had not planned for me to return to the coaching bench again.” Well, now that Markus Weinzierl has been fired, he will do just that.
And that’s through your own fault. After all, Hecking’s own change of heart cost Weinzierl his job. On the way back from the second division game in Heidenheim, Hecking, who, as is customary in the industry, had backed Lower Bavaria shortly after the 5-0 defeat, once again took stock. And it wasn’t good, but it was at least realistic: “It was really little that I saw. In the game and in the games before that, the team acted relatively despondently. Carrying on like this wouldn’t have helped anyone,” suspects Hecking, who once again underlined this with a striking comparison: “I see it this way that we drive into a wall in a car, and the wall is already in front of the car.”
In contrast to Weinzierl, who argued in private that the squad does not give more than the current place in the table, Hecking himself has more confidence in the team, especially in terms of play. Provided, however, that it is set up differently: “In Heidenheim we played with four sixes. I think offensive players should also be on the pitch.” Incidentally, that was just one of many places where Hecking expressed surprisingly clear criticism of his predecessor.
In the future, under Hecking, the team should now play more actively, with more courage to go forward and with the tools that allow even highly talented players like Mats Möller-Daehli to get out of a long-standing slump in form. In general, Hecking, who had established FCN in the first division from 2009 to 2012, found it difficult to hide the fact that he would have usually positioned himself differently than the football conservative Weinzierl.
Hecking is hoping for “fresh energy” from the previous U23 coach Christian Fiél as assistant
However, Hecking himself must have seen more of that when he hired him in October. But the club only won three of eleven second division games under the direction of the long-time Augsburg coach. Most games were also passive and unsightly, one never had the impression that the football he prescribed could activate the notoriously harmless offensive game. Recently, Weinzierl also made one helpless statement after the other. “Actually, it should go without saying that you have to defend yourself here with everything you have,” he said in Heidenheim, for example. And: “You can’t deliver a game like that.”
The fact that you could hardly see it any other way cost Weinzierl his job. Hecking will now take over the coaching position together with Christian Fiél, the spirited coach of the U23 team, which convinces with courageous, attractive and successful football in the Bavarian Regionalliga. Hecking is hoping for “fresh energy” from Fiél, “a different approach” and that “he can carry the team along with his enthusiastic manner”.
Apparently Fiél, whose football philosophy Hecking shares, is ideally also a possibility as a future head coach. In any case, Hecking should definitely only have the double function until summer. And is obviously taking a higher risk for himself than if he had appointed a third external coach. At least the head of the supervisory board, Thomas Grethlein, did not demonstratively deny this interpretation: “If he takes this step, in a certain way he goes naturally all in. He is also putting his job up for grabs, you have to say that openly.”
Financial reasons were apparently not decisive for the decision not to search for the third external coach this season. Both Robert Klauß, who was released in October, and Weinzierl must now continue to be paid until 2024. The chairman of the supervisory board, Grethlein, emphasized on Monday that thanks to progressing in the cup, a solution could have been financed from outside. But the committee, which met for two hours on Sunday evening, was impressed that Hecking had shown a willingness to get more out of the squad he had put together himself than his predecessors were able to. “We appreciate that he has the courage and confidence in his squad.”
The inspectors also asked themselves some fundamental questions on Sunday. Even after your own responsibility and the working atmosphere in Franconia. Young players would “be booed relatively quickly after bad passes. We’re a bit ungracious in the environment. The pressure increases quickly”. Dieter Hecking is now challenged extensively.