Schmidt: “Saturday is the first and best opportunity to get back on track”

The post-match analysis following Mainz’s 8-1 defeat at the Allianz Arena against FC Bayern began straight away in Munich. Head coach Bo Henriksen spoke to the team in the dressing room and also to individual players to get an idea of how they were feeling, how frustrated they were and whether or not anybody had doubts or questions. The coach then spoke with his coaching staff on the journey home to Mainz. The analysis continued on Sunday at the training ground. How could this have happened? How did FSV suffer their biggest ever defeat away to FC Bayern? “The analysis was positive, short and concise. We quickly switched our attention to the upcoming home game against VfL Bochum on Saturday at the MEWA ARENA,” reported Martin Schmidt.

“Bo has been here for four weeks and has had to change our defence in all four games. Our two leaders, Barreiro and Kohr, were both suspended for the trip to Munich. We can’t afford to have them both missing at the same time, especially not in Munich. We were open once we lost the ball. All our injuries and suspensions have meant that we have never had our full team available on the pitch. As a result, we were lacking the necessary cohesion and conviction against an extremely quick and clinical side. One thing was clear after our analysis – things have to improve against Bochum. We have tried to set up the team differently, restore their motivation and come up with a plan of action. We already started speaking about that on Sunday,” said the sporting director. The players were given Monday off to clear their heads after the weekend, before returning to training on Tuesday with full focus on Bochum. 20 players were on the pitch working hard before the game.

Munich is in the past, time to look ahead 

The game in Munich is now in the past and there are more important things to focus on, according to Schmidt, such as the ongoing relegation battle. “The Bayern game needs to be forgotten about, it wasn’t who we are,” said the Swiss sporting director. The situation is clear for FSV. The defeat hurt Mainz, with rivals 1. FC Köln now two points ahead of the 05ers and the club’s goal difference also massively suffering too.

VfL Bochum, nine points ahead of Mainz, are the visitors this weekend on matchday 26. In order to have a chance of staying up, the 05ers need to start winning their games against the teams near them in the table, especially at home. This will require the team taking their chances in front of goal and making it harder for the opposition to score. The pressure is on as well to ensure that Köln don’t start pulling away from Mainz in the table. “The way we played against Augsburg, Leverkusen and Gladbach is what we need to be aiming for,” demanded Schmidt, who made it clear to the players that they need to be up for the fight against Bochum this weekend.

Full of energy and passion against Bochum

Schmidt feels that at least one positive could come from the Bayern game: “Perhaps a real hammering will help everyone realise the reality of the situation. We are in the relegation zone, but also not too far away from Köln.” The two sides are set to meet at the end of April, thus providing Mainz with a chance to leapfrog the Billy Goats – provided they haven’t done so already or Köln haven’t increased the gap by even more points by then.

“We need to get back on track and Saturday is the first and best opportunity to do just that. The team will get another chance, the fans will give them one too. I know that we will have their full support. If we can harness this energy and passion on the pitch, I’m sure the fans will feel involved in the game too and we can then get the win. We have to make sure we do this though. The team has to be prepared to fight from the very first minute. The players have to have the fact that we are in a relegation battle in the back of their minds. Everybody has to be ready to perform,” stressed Schmidt. The only absentees at the minute are Stefan Bell, Nelson Weiper and Maxim Leitsch, while Joshua Guilavogui returned to training on Wednesday. “Everyone is involved again. We have no excuses, we simply have to start performing.”

Nine games left – potentially two more

There are nine matchdays left for the 05ers, nine games for the team to try and least finish 16th, a position that would mean two more matches as part of the relegation play-off. The Bochum game on Saturday is followed by a trip to Leipzig after the international break, before successive home games against Darmstadt 98 (who are bottom) and TSG Hoffenheim. An away game at SC Freiburg comes before the huge clash with 1. FC Köln at the MEWA Arena. The final three games of the campaign are at Heidenheim, at home to Borussia Dortmund and away at VfL Wolfsburg. “We need to earn ourselves a bit of luck. It doesn’t matter if we play nice football or not, that doesn’t guarantee us anything,” explained Schmidt. “We need to prove to ourselves and everyone else that we are good enough to stay in this league, starting with these nine games. The team need to perform and they know that.”

Saturday’s home game, which will see the club celebrate their 119th anniversary, will mark the first time that Bo Henriksen will have a full squad available to him. The 90 minutes against the team in 15th will feel a bit like a cup final for FSV, who desperately need all three points.