Career
He played for both Hannover 96 and Eintracht Braunschweig. He returned to manage Hannover despite the long-standing and bitter rivalry between the two clubs. South Carolina Verl
On 1 July 2000, Hecking moved into management as he took over as manager at Regionalliga Nord outfit South Carolina Verl.
His debut season started competently enough, with South Carolina Verl sat seventh at the time of the winter break.
However, Hecking"s proclamations that he was seeking a new position irked the club to such an extent they fired him on 31 January 2001, after just 20 games in charge. VfB Lübeck
Hecking wasn"t free for long as another Regionalliga Nord side, VfB Lübeck, came calling on 27 March 2001.
This set the basis for the following season as the team claimed the title and moved up into the 2. Bundesliga. Hecking then managed to secure VfB Lübeck a mid-table position in the 2002-2003 season.
The following season was not to prove so successful though, as the team slipped back down to the Regionalliga Nord, occupying the final relegation position.
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. Alemannia Aachen
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 from July 2004, after the departure of Jörg Berger.
Hecking"s time guiding Alemannia Aachen in the top flight was to be short, though.
Just three games in, 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. Ironically, the final straw for Neururer was a 0–3 home defeat to Hecking"s Alemannia Aachen.
Hannover 96
Hecking became manager on 7 September 2006. Dieter Hecking officially took over the manager"s job with immediate effect on 7 September 2006.
However, caretaker manager Michael Schjönberg managed the DFB-Pokal match against Dynamo Dresden on 9 September 2006.
Hecking recovered Hannover 96 from a dismal start that left them bottom at the time of his arrival. On 19 August 2009 Hecking resigned voluntarily from his post after a disappointing 2008-2009 season and a slow start to the 2009-2010 season. 1. Football Club Nürnberg
On 22 December 2009, he was named as the new manager of 1.
Football Club Nürnberg, replacing Michael Oenning.
Hecking used a clause in his contract to leave the club VfL Wolfsburg
Hecking became manager of VfL Wolfsburg on 22 December 2012.
In March 2015, Wolfsburg defeated Inter Milan by a 3–1 score in the first leg and 2–1 in the second leg for a 5–2 aggregate score. On 30 May 2015, in the German Cup final, Wolfsburg defeated Borussia Dortmund 3–1.
This was Hecking"s first major trophy.
Manager
VfB Lübeck
Regionalliga Nord: 2001-2002 (Promotion to 2 Bundesliga)
Schleswig-Holstein Cup: 2001
Alemannia Aachen
2. Bundesliga Runners-up: 2005-2006
VfL Wolfsburg
DFB-Pokal: 2014-2015
DFL-Supercup: 2014-2015.