Hecking recalls Gladbach sacking: I thought it was April Fool's joke

Former Borussia Mönchengladbach coach Dieter Hecking has revealed that he thought his sacking in 2019 was an April Fool's joke.

He was told the news by then Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl on April 1.

"I have to admit, I thought it was an April Fool's joke," Hecking told the Rheinische Post newspaper on Tuesday. "But then Max made it clear to me that he was serious. That hit me hard."

Eberl told Hecking, who to pundits was having a good season, that they would be parting ways at the end of the campaign. Gladbach decided instead to recruit Marco Rose, who later left for Borussia Dortmund under a cloud and is now RB Leipzig coach.

"I hadn't even considered that something like that could happen," Hecking said. "We had only just extended my contract and had already made concrete plans for the new season a few days before Max came to me."

Hecking, who turns 60 on Thursday, said he had even considered quitting there and then.

But his wife persuaded him to continue for another two months. In the end, Gladbach finished fifth in the Bundesliga and secured qualification for the Europa League in a high point of his career.

He has since struggled to match those exploits after spells with second-tier sides Hamburg SV and Nuremberg.