Two years after Union-Aus
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1. FSV Mainz 05 has found a successor for Bo Henriksen: Urs Fischer is taking over as coach at the bottom of the Bundesliga. The 59-year-old Swiss signed a contract until June 30, 2028 and brings Markus Hoffmann as an assistant and Sebastian Podsiadly as a video analyst.
Fischer was most recently on the sidelines at 1. FC Union Berlin from July 2018 to November 2023. He led the Iron Men from the 2nd Bundesliga to the Champions League, scoring an average of 1.53 points in 224 games. He was named Coach of the Year in 2023. Fischer had already taken a long break like after leaving Union before he signed with Köpenick. At that time, a successful time at FC Basel had come to an end, with whom he became Swiss champions twice – including a double in the 2016/17 season.
“As a coach, Urs Fischer has impressively proven at all positions in the professional sector that he can structure and develop teams and, moreover, win every locker room with his calm but emphatic manner. His successes and skills have made him a sought-after coach. We are therefore very pleased that he was able to get enthusiastic about the shared path with Mainz 05 straight away and without much hesitation,” said sports director Christian Heidel, explaining the choice.
Fischer, whose environment had denied contact with Mainz after the first media reports, said: “There are no easy tasks in football, but that’s exactly what makes it interesting. I had convincing conversations with Christian Heidel and Niko Bungert, and the Mainz 05 club suits me overall. The solidarity-based Mainz values off the pitch and the will to never give up on the pitch and always want to put the opponent under pressure, the emotions in the stands of the Mewa Arena – I’m happy I’m up for the challenge and am convinced that we will turn things around as a team.”
New coach Fischer with a tough opening program at Mainz 05
On Thursday, Fischer’s first task is in the Conference League against the Polish champions Lech Poznan. The main focus, however, will be on leading Mainz out of the bottom of the Bundesliga table and preventing relegation after 17 seasons in the upper house. Under Henriksen there was only one win on the first twelve matchdays, 18th place with six points is a negative record for Mainz at this point. The first Bundesliga task could hardly be trickier for Fischer: next Sunday (5:30 p.m.) the zero-fives will be guests at record champions FC Bayern.