Fan evening centred around Amiri commitment

At almost exactly 21:40 on Saturday evening, some residents of the small town of Kirchbichl in the Kufstein district may well have been startled. After all, the local peace and quiet was interrupted at that moment by an unexpected roar of celebration from the Feinschmeckerei, where Nadiem Amiri had done it again. In front of around 400 Mainz 05 fans, the Germany international, who had recently been heavily courted, announced, to almost everyone’s surprise, that he would be staying with FSV, just as he had done at the same event exactly one year ago. The emotions he triggered were surely no less intense than the reaction to a last-minute winner at the MEWA ARENA. Especially as he followed up his commitment, “I decided today together with my family that I will definitely stay here,” with emotional words: “I have a very good feeling,” said Amiri, who had only returned to team training at the start of the week. He admitted that there had been many offers, that he had of course been aware of the rumours, and that it had not been an easy time. “I received a lot of messages and also read how disappointed many people were. But my heart is here, I feel incredibly happy here and we want to achieve big things together!”

It was a statement late on Saturday evening that attracted attention across Germany and even left fan department host Christian Bernhart speechless for a brief moment. After gathering himself, Bernhart explained that the topic had not been on the agenda agreed with the sporting management. Amiri’s teammates had evidently not known about his plan either. After all, the latest new signings Alexander Schwolow, Fabio Gruber, Otto Ruoppi, Ransford Königsdörffer and Sheraldo Becker, the most recent winter signing in February, also congratulated the playmaker when they replaced him and Philipp Tietz on stage to answer questions from the fans.

As the final item on the programme, Fan Support and the Fan Department, who once again ensured everything ran smoothly, had organised a speed dating session. Players, coaching staff, sporting director Niko Bungert and members of staff mixed with the fans in small groups, spending around ten minutes at each table chatting or fulfilling photo and autograph requests. Above all, however, many Mainz fans are likely to still be talking about the highlight of the evening and looking back on it fondly on this training-free Sunday.