Pep Guardiola praises Dieter Hecking ahead of Wolfsburg's visit to Munich

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has paid tribute to his Wolfsburg counterpart Dieter Hecking for transforming the club in recent years. Guardiola's side were beaten on penalties when the teams last met in the German Supercup, the second successive game Wolfsburg had got the better of Bayern.And the former Barcelona boss expressed his admiration for the work Hecking has done for one of Bayern's rivals for the Bundesliga title."Wolfsburg have been incredible in the two years under Hecking," said Guardiola. "Wolfsburg have invested a lot. People want to see competition for Bayern, and here it is. "They and Dortmund are our rivals." Hecking was not so complimentary in delivering his verdict on his side's trip to the Allianz Arena this week, branding the stadium lifeless and the club bland."There are grounds where the atmosphere excites me more," he told Kicker magazine."Bayern are a club I have never admired, even though I have to say that they deserve my utmost respect for what they have achieved there."The Wolves are bidding to bring the Bavarians' recent list of achievements to an end this season, having deprived them of the Supercup already.They beat them 4-1 in the Bundesliga in January and Hecking is therefore confident they can become the first side to take points off Bayern this term.He added: "Since our win in January and in the Supercup more recently, Bayern know that if we have a good day, we can beat them."And that gives us the feeling that we are not without a chance, while it ensures Bayern know that they have to be on top of their game. That's the difference now."Nevertheless, Hecking still sees his side in the role of hunters, saying there is still "a long way to go" before Wolfsburg can consider themselves on the same level as Bayern."We have not closed this gap yet," he added.Indeed, the gap is currently four points in the Bundesliga with Bayern picking up maximum points from their first five matches this season, while Wolfsburg have drawn twice.Guardiola even afforded himself the luxury of rotating his side for the 3-0 win over Darmstadt at the weekend.The likes of Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller and Xabi Alonso are expected to return to the starting XI on Tuesday.Bayern will come up against former defender Dante, who made the switch to Wolfsburg at the end of the transfer window."I would have liked to have kept him," said Guardiola. "He helped me a lot."He is now helping Hecking plot a third win in a row against the Bavarians."Dante's been able to tell me a thing or two, but he should now focus on his own game," said the Wolfsburg coach at a press conference."He had a successful time there, but I definitely don't need to bombard him with questions about Bayern."

Source: PA