Urs Fischer has taken on a difficult mission in Mainz. Until Christmas, the coach will experience the balancing act he has to master with the 05ers this season.
In his first week as coach of FSV Mainz 05, Urs Fischer will give a total of five press conferences in seven days. Given the program before Christmas, the Swiss doesn’t have much time for training work. On Thursday (9:00 p.m. / live in the audio stream on swr.de/sport) is waiting in the Conference League near Lech Poznan the debut – then: at FC Bayern, against Samsunspor and at the end of the year against FC St. Pauli.
Urs Fischer: “It’s really a relegation battle”
Fischer’s start is packed with international and national match dates. “I have the Poznan task in mind – I’m dealing with that. After the game we’ll briefly look at the Poznań game and then we’ll start preparing for Bayern. One task after the other,” said the new head coach was presented on Monday and took over in Mainz from the Dane Bo Henriksen.
The bottom of the table is five points behind the relegation spot after 13 match days and six points behind a non-relegation spot. And the more success Fischer and Mainz have in Europe, the longer the double burden, which is obviously causing problems, remains. “I think it’s a relegation battle. It’s really a relegation battle. So if you’re six points behind, then you have to catch up first,” warned Fischer.
Mainz on Fischer’s debut without national player Amiri
FSV Mainz 05 will have to do without national player Nadiem Amiri for head coach Urs Fischer’s debut. The 29-year-old professional suffered a muscle injury in the Bundesliga game against Borussia Mönchengladbach last weekend and is out of the Conference League game against Lech Poznan. Fischer announced this on Wednesday evening.
Contrast to predecessor Bo Henriksen
The veteran coach, 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”.
In their current misery, the 05ers were explicitly 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 Christian Heidel.
The sports director absolutely wants to prevent Mainz, who have been playing in the Bundesliga since summer 2009, from saying goodbye to the upper house. “Mainz knows this situation and has already experienced situations like this, but it’s not a guarantee: because things have always gone well up until then, things will go well this time too, but you have to stay awake,” said Fischer.
Widmer raves about Fischer’s experience
Captain Silvan Widmer, like his coach also Swiss, has had positive impressions of Fischer so far. “I perceived him as a very open person – and this impression was confirmed in the first two days in Mainz,” Widmer told the Swiss newspaper “Blick”.
The fact that Fischer has to start with four games in eleven days only offers limited advantages for Widmer. You can build up some self-confidence with a good result in Poznań. “More training sessions would be ideal in order to better accommodate the tactical input. Urs Fischer can now only show us step by step what he has in mind,” said the leading player. The “immense experience” is already noticeable.
Broadcast on Wed., December 10, 2025, 8:03 p.m., swr.de/sport: Mainz 05 in the Conference League for the first time with coach Fischer
