analysis
1. FSV Mainz 05 has won six of the last seven Bundesliga games. Now the team of the hour will take part in the maturity test at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.
On the way to the home of 1. FSV Mainz 05, a small bottleneck suddenly formed last Saturday before the home game against VfL Bochum (2-0). A particularly large number of people wanted to stand in front of the almost man-sized insignia M05 take another photo with the Mainz Arena in the background.
Perhaps not a coincidence in a phase that must be like a stroke of luck for the club, which often plays under the radar in the Bundesliga. Mainz 05 has the team of the hour before the last matchday of the first half of the season: the zero-fives have won six of the last seven games and, fittingly, travel to Bayern’s pursuers Bayer Leverkusen in fifth place (Tuesday 8.30 p.m.).
Former Leverkusen player Nadiem Amiri still suspended
It’s just unfortunate that Nadiem Amiri, Mainz’s strongest footballer, is missing from the Frankfurt game because of his red card suspension. The midfielder, who came from Leverkusen a year ago, is actually the heart of the Rheinhessen team – his transfer was an example of the good business relationship between the two clubs. At the end of the year, Leverkusen was on the list of candidates for the athletes’ election for the “Team of the Year 2024”, before Bayer sports director Simon Rolfes once again received an award for second place at the Kurhaus in Baden-Baden.
The 3×3 basketball players earned more votes thanks to their sensational Olympic victory. Mainz, in the slipstream of the Werkself, deserved to be named “secret team of the year” for German football, it is often said. A terminology that sports director Christian Heidel liked. “To have a year like this is surprising for us too”said the creator before the turn of the year about the metamorphosis from relegation candidate to European Cup contender.
The 61-year-old can just “not many better years” remember for his heart club. A solidly run, medium-sized club has achieved remarkable development, which even impressed a veteran coach like Dieter Hecking: “Mainz are very good against the ball and also do well with the ball.” Even teams like Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund would hardly have been able to breathe against this opponent, the Bochum coach consoled himself about the latest defeat.
Lively like the Bruchweg boys once did
Within a few months, happy Mainz residents jumped from 13th place to fifth place – their best placement in more than two years. In the meantime, a lot of things are reminiscent of the fast Bruchweg boys, who caused a nationwide stir in the summer of 2010 under the coaching discovery of Thomas Tuchel.
The focus of the homage back then was the high-flyers André Schürrle, Lewis Holtby and Adam Szalai, who rocked the league as daredevils with pseudo-drums and air guitar and at times saluted from the top of the table.
Bo Henriksen has almost a 50 percent win rate
Now the coach is called Bo Henriksen, who somehow combines some of the ingredients that once made Jürgen Klopp a cult figure on Bruchweg. Doer Heidel once again conjured up the whipper for the self-proclaimed carnival club on those crazy days when relegation was in dire straits. Henriksen had done a remarkable job at FC Zurich, but nobody had the 49-year-old on their list.
Whip with conviction: Bo Henriksen
After Kasper Hjulmand and Bo Svensson, the third Dane has a win rate of almost 50 percent after 29 matches and a better points average (1.74) than Tuchel (1.41), who previously worked as the most successful coach in Mainz. The way Henriksen, known as a positively crazy man, gets the fans in the mood before home games with his clenched fists long before kick-off has already gained a cult following.
With a broad chest to Leverkusen
This coach only lost two games in the second half of last season – in Munich and Leverkusen. Now the Rhine-Hessians are traveling down the Rhine with a broad chest. “I have a very good team, my team and the whole club are incredible”enthused Henriksen in the press conference before the endurance test with the double winner. “Everything fits together.”
“Nobody talks about it: Now we want to get into the Champions League”clarified sports director Niko Bungert. You definitely won’t start “to build some dream castles”but 28 points after 16 match days would give peace of mind: “But not in the way that we are taking things down a notch, but quite the opposite.”
Dominik Kohr wants to “get everything out”
Bungert himself ensured with clear speeches that the transition to this position – Martin Schmidt withdrew for private reasons – took place quite quietly. “Leverkusen will respect us”believes Dominik Kohr, who is indispensable as a central defender. “We’ll give it all away on Tuesday too.” The secret of success is quite simple for another ex-Leverkusen player: “We’re finding the right mix of depth and short passing game.”
Anyone who reduces this lively ensemble to just winning the ball and switching is making a big mistake. Striker Jonathan Burkardt in particular benefits from this, as he doesn’t just have to wait for long balls. The captain is the best German striker, has twelve goals to his name – and at the age of 24 is already Mainz’s record goalscorer in the Bundesliga (35 goals). The fact that the identification figure, who has lived in Mainz for more than ten years, has now categorically ruled out a winter change only increases the feeling of exhilaration. “He loves the club – and we love Jonny!” Henriksen enthused.
The veterans have also blossomed
Many veterans have reinvented themselves under the football teacher with the flowing mane: goalkeeper Robin Zentner hardly makes any mistakes at 30 years old, and identification figure Stefan Bell is once again a calming force in the Mainz three-man chain at 33. In front of him, new signing Kaishu Sano and Paul Nebel, who returned from Karlsruher SC after a loan, are getting better and better.
“At the beginning I wasn’t able to show my strengths so well on the pitch. But my teammates and the coaching team helped me a lot to find my way,” The Japanese Sano now admitted, who is also a frequently underestimated asset in central midfield. All in all, there is a lot that explains the Mainz high.