The 1. FC Nürnberg has found a successor for the released coach Markus Weinzierl. It is an internal solution.

Sports director Dieter Hecking (58) is returning to the bench after parting ways with Markus Weinzierl and will be in charge of relegation-threatened 1. FC Nürnberg until the end of the season. As Hecking announced at a press conference on Monday, U23 coach Cristian Fiel (42) will become his assistant. This is the “new constellation until the end of the season”.

Supervisory board chairman Thomas Grethlein spoke of the “best solution” for the club in the current situation, but also called the additional job for Hecking a “gamble”. However, he would definitely only coach FCN “until the end of the season”. Hecking already worked as a coach in Nuremberg from 2009 to 2012.

Nuremberg, in thirteenth place in the table, are only two points ahead of the 16th relegation place. The traditional Franconian club parted company with coach Weinzierl on Monday after only a few months. He had failed to consolidate the club’s sporting position in eleven games. At the weekend, FCN lost 0:5 against 1. FC Heidenheim. The clear defeat cost Weinzierl, who was the second Nuremberg coach of the season after Robert Klauß, his job the next day.

Now Hecking takes over. He will make his debut in the basement duel against SV Sandhausen next Saturday. The next opponents also parted ways with their coach after the last matchday.

For Hecking, it is a return to the coaching bench: He last coached Hamburger SV until the summer of 2020. After that, he became sports director in Nuremberg and had actually declared his coaching career over. Around two and a half years later, Hecking is making his comeback on the sidelines. (with RS)