“I am not a volcano”
©IMAGO
Coach Urs Fischer wants to lead the crisis club 1. FSV Mainz 05 to stay in the Bundesliga with Swiss prudence. “I’m not a volcano,” said Fischer when he was introduced as the new coach of the bottom team. After 13 match days, they are five points behind the relegation zone and six points behind a non-relegation spot.
Fischer, who coached 1. FC Union Berlin from the summer of 2018 until the separation a good two years ago, does not want to pretend despite the difficult situation. The 59-year-old wants to remain “authentic” – similar to his last stop in Köpenick. Fischer described himself as “down-to-earth”. But he can also be “disgusting”.
As Bo Henriksen’s successor, the 05ers were looking for a contrast to the Dane – an anti-Henriksen, so to speak. “Bo is of course a very special guy and very extroverted. We all got to know him well and love him. But if we had brought a similar guy to Mainz – I don’t think that would have been good,” said FSV sports director Christian Heidel.
Fischer has received a contract in Mainz until the summer of 2028. For the Swiss, it is the first stop since the separation from Union. Despite the club’s current situation, he decided to join FSV because he had a “positive feeling”.
Fischer will make his debut as Mainz coach on Thursday (9 p.m.) in the Conference League with Polish club Lech Posen. Three days later we go to FC Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga (5:30 p.m.). But the new coach doesn’t want to deal with the German record champions until Friday. “I have the task of posing in my head – that’s what I’m dealing with.”