Hecking heralds Wolfsburg teamwork

Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking said their 3-0 UEFA Europa League win over Lille was down to a cohesive team performance.

The Bundesliga side needed at least a draw to secure progression to the last 32 heading into their clash at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, a fixture Hecking labelled as “huge”.

And his side, despite playing with 10 men for 35 minutes, delivered the qualification-securing victory, with Vieirinha’s opener on the stroke of half-time followed by a Ricardo Rodriguez brace.

“I don’t think we won because of an individual rather than collective play,” Hecking said.

“We played more as a team during the second half. 

“We need to keep going ahead, to develop our game and to learn. 

“We can with these kinds of complicated games. That’s important for the rest of the season in the Bundesliga and Europe. 

“Whether we score with a penalty or a free-kick, it shows that we have some players of great qualities. Overall, the team played very well.”

Defensive midfielder Josuha Guilavogui was red-carded in the 55th minute, and Luiz Gustavo’s third yellow card will see the pair sit out the first leg of their knockout clash in 2015.

Hecking said he felt he had the squad depth to cover the suspensions.

 “Having players suspended is a part of the game during European competitions. We will have to cope with it,” he said.

“There will be two other players that will go onto the pitch instead of them. 

“In regards to Gustavo, aggressiveness is a part of his game. 

“However, we all saw today that other players like [Bernard] Malanda or [Maximilian] Arnold are able to replace them. 

“We will have two number sixes of a great level available for our next European game.”