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.
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FILE - Moenchengladbach coach Dieter Hecking arrives to the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Saturday, May 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
FILE - Wolfsburg's head coach Daniel Bauer is in the stadium before the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and 1. FC Union Berlin in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Dec. 6, 2025. (Swen Pfoertner/dpa via AP, File)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombians voted Sunday for a new Congress and to select candidates from three major coalitions in a primary-style contest ahead of a presidential election in May.
The election unfolded under high alert for political violence across the South American country, particularly in rural regions dominated by illegal armed groups.
Just hours after polls opened, Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez asserted that a group of at least 2,400 people “allegedly heading to vote” were detected trying to enter Colombia at an illegal border crossing with Venezuela in Norte de Santander despite announced border closures during the election process.
“They are doing so illegally,” said the minister, who posted images on his social media account showing people lining up on secondary roads to cross a river to the other side, where several buses were parked. “This is a clear case of a crime being committed,” Sánchez said.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro described the incident as “large-scale fraud” and an “avalanche of illegal voting” as he called on the mayor of Cucuta to act immediately.
“Sixty buses have been detained, and the company responsible for bringing massive numbers of voters from across the border must be investigated immediately,” Petro wrote on X.
Petro — the nation’s first left-leaning leader — also has cast doubt on the country's election software, pointing to the 2022 legislative elections, when his Historic Pact movement gained over 390,000 votes following a recount. He attributed this shift to the presence of election observers.
The European Union deployed 40 election observers in early February and said it intended to increase the size of the delegation for Sunday's congressional vote.
Sunday’s election is set to define the political landscape for Colombia’s next head of state.
More than 3,000 candidates are vying for 285 legislative positions — 102 in the Senate and 183 in the House of Representatives. There are 41.2 million eligible voters.
Petro is ineligible for reelection because the constitution bars a sitting president from running for a consecutive second term.
Under Petro’s government, Congress has become more of a counterweight to his policies, a departure from the past, when the legislature tended to be aligned with the president.
Colombia's current Congress approved Petro’s pension and labor overhaul, but rejected his proposed health care and tax reforms, and there were often tensions between him and lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the right-wing opposition is looking to reclaim its status as a dominant political force. The Democratic Center, the nation’s primary opposition party, has been influenced by former President Álvaro Uribe, who is mobilizing his base to secure a strong legislative presence ahead of the presidential vote.
Alongside the congressional vote, Colombians voted to choose presidential candidates for the country's three major political blocs: the center, the center-left and the right. The winners of the three “interparty consultations," similar to American primary elections, will go on to compete in the presidential election, whose first round is set for May 31.
Presidential hopefuls have long used the primaries to gauge their support before entering the first round of voting. This strategy proved successful four years ago for Petro, who consolidated his base by winning the left-wing primary alongside Francia Márquez, who became his vice president.
However, the two candidates currently leading in the polls — Iván Cepeda, from Petro’s party, and far-right Abelardo de la Espriella — are not participating in the primaries, which are optional.
Political analyst Gabriel Cifuentes said the primaries are a high-stakes gamble for the participants, noting that a victory on Sunday is only meaningful if it demonstrates enough strength to compete with the leading candidates, such as Cepeda and de la Espriella.
More than 126,000 law enforcement officers are expected to be deployed across the country on election day.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro votes during legislative elections in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, right, talks to electoral official before voting during legislative elections in Rionegro, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Angel Lopez)
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro votes during legislative elections in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks after voting during legislative elections in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Electoral posters promoting presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella and legislative candidates hang on a wall next to a crucifix of Jesus Christ at the Corabastos, the largest food distribution center in Bogota, Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Police hold up shields protecting presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella as he points while speaking during a campaign rally at the Corabastos, the largest food distribution center, in Bogota, Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Supporters of Ivan Cepeda, presidential candidate for the Historic Pact coalition, cheer him on during a campaign rally in Cali, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
