Potulski: “A day I’ll never forget”

When Kacper Poltulski was born in Danzig, Poland, in October 2007, Manuel Neuer was well underway in his second season as starting goalkeeper at FC Schalke 04. The chances that the later ‘World’s Best’, World Cup-winning shot-stopper and Mainz’s freshly 18-year-old defensive talent would meet on the pitch in 2025 would have seemed to range from unlikely to impossible. On Sunday evening, it was nevertheless the case that Potulski was given the opportunity to enjoy his second-ever Bundesliga appearance, against who else but record title-winners FC Bayern at their Allianz Arena. The final whistle eventually blew on a draw between the sides, although the 05ers had undoubtedly defied expectations to take a single point back to Mainz, becoming the first side this season to take even just the one off of FCB in Munich.

Just as the end of the first 45 minutes of play crept up, everything seemed to be going as expected. A dominant Bayern had taken a deserved lead and had squandered more than one opportunity to extend the deficit against bottom-of-the-league Mainz, not least due to yet another imperious performance between the sticks from Daniel Batz. William Böving initiated a move forward as the clock ticked down, although he was fouled at the edge of the box as he drove towards goal. The Dane’s free kick curled beautifully across the box to find Potulski waiting at the far post – the youngster pounced, with Neuer able only to watch the six-yard header thump into the back of the net, eliciting rapturous celebrations from the over 3,000 travelling fans. A flash of brilliance, a cause for cautious optimism, a sign of life at the bottom of the table – or, as Potulski himself put it: “an unreal feeling, after such a perfect delivery from Willi. I just had to get the ball over the line. I was on cloud nine, honestly. It’s a dream fulfilled to score that goal. It’s a day I’ll never, ever forget, but now for me and everyone here, there’s one thing on our minds: keep going. We were able to show what we’re capable of doing as a team.” After the final whistle, the youngster’s phone understandably started to light up, as he told us: “Everyone was so proud, and I’m so grateful to be surrounded by these guys, my family and friends. It was so nice to see how many people were celebrating with me and just so happy for me.”

"We were able to show what we’re capable of doing as a team.”

Early responsibility pays off

In the summer of 2023, the defender arrived in Mainz at the age of just 15, with a clear goal of making it in the big leagues. A well-trodden path from the academy to the first team at FSV, clear to see by all metrics, was a crucial factor in swaying the starlet to take the next steps of his footballing journey here on the Rhine, said Potulski, recalling those early days: “The Mainz scouts saw me play against Germany at U16 level. I must have made a good impression back then! They then kept an eye on me when I was playing for Legia Warsaw. After that, the call came that they wanted to bring me to the club. I actually first came here in May 2023 to have a look around and get shown all kinds of things. It was a really exciting chance, which I wanted to grab with both hands. It definitely wasn’t easy to leave home so early, but I think it did me a lot of good. I’ve now just turned 18, but I’ve lived alone since the age of 13. I learnt how to be independent a long time ago. For me, that’s a very positive thing.” He inevitably had to take on responsibility early on, but above all off the pitch, learning to rely on himself rather than external help. “That wasn’t always easy, but it was a really important learning curve and has helped me develop a lot. I’m still a young player, but I was able to pick up a lot of life experience at a very young age.” It’s a path that has done a lot to his benefit, and has seemingly allowed him to transition almost seamlessly from the youth setup into the often daunting arena of first-team football. His easy-going nature and maturity constantly draw praise from teammates when they’re asked about the defensive gem, who remains fully aware that a long road of hard work still lies ahead of him.

While his tackling, positioning and build-up play all look particularly impressive, Potulski has a clear idea of what he still wants and needs to work on. “I have to make gains physically, become more muscular. I’m young, there’s time for that to come. I’m working hard on it. I’ve been involved in first-team training since the end of last season. Every session, every game is another step on the journey, it all helps. That gives me a real sense of confidence, which you need as a player, especially if you’re up against a team like FC Bayern München.” Coming to the subject of Bayern, then, there was also the 87th-minute penalty converted by Harry Kane, won by the England international after going to ground following a challenge from the 05er youngster. Potulski feels vexed looking back, but can see the learning opportunity nonetheless: “In the game, I had a feeling that it wasn’t enough. When you see the scenes on TV, it obviously looks a little different compared to on the pitch. I gave the ref the opportunity to make that decision, and Kane did use his experience as well. I have to learn from it and be cleverer, even if it was only such a small contact.”

Painful change of coach & optimism for the future

The moment doesn’t shade the respect that should be paid to his development and his achievements at this highest level. He had slotted into a completely revamped 05ers side seemingly without breaking a sweat, a team that hardly anyone would have believed capable of coming close to three points away against the record champions until the final stages of the game. His older teammates make life a lot easier for him, as Potulski emphasised with gratitude: “There are a lot of players who support me. I can only think of positive examples there. In Munich, Stefan Bell was giving me little instructions and quick tips throughout the whole game. These are the little things that just give me a sense of security and assuredness. It’s immensely helpful to be able to learn from so many experienced centre-halves.”

As painful as the experience was at first, a change of coach is now also part of Potulski's wealth of experience. It was a tough blow for him, he admitted, although he understands that it’s an unavoidable part of the game. “Bo brought me into the first team and always placed that level of trust in me. I made my debut under him, and I’ll always be grateful for that. It’s a shame that it came to an end, but that’s just football. Now we’re working with Urs Fischer, who is also a top coach. He’s been preparing us well since the very first training session that we had with him. We have the quality to play good, effective football and be successful with it, no one is doubting that. We also get this feeling from the new head coach,” said Potulski, looking ahead with optimism. He feels that, despite the difficult run of results, there’s no need to panic. “What’s special here is that it honestly feels like a family. I had that feeling from the very start, even in the youth academy. Even now, in this difficult period, everyone here is sticking together.”

"We have the quality to play good, effective football and be successful with it, no one is doubting that."

The defender and his teammates want to deliver a Christmastime as peaceful and restful as possible for all the fans, looking forward to a final two decisive games standing between Mainz 05 and the winter break. Firstly, the 05ers are back in action on the European stage, as Samsunspor pay the MEWA ARENA a visit on Thursday evening (21:00 CET) with a chance to qualify directly for the Conference League round of 16 on the line, before Sunday sees FC St. Pauli travel down south for a bottom-of-the-table clash on the Rhine. “Both games are important. The goal is, of course, to finish in the top eight in the Conference League. After that, it’s all about St. Pauli, an absolutely huge fixture when you look at the standings. We have to get three points here. Then we want to carry on similarly in the new year, and start climbing up the table,” said Potulski, mapping out Mainz’s ambitions for the coming weeks and months. Needless to say, he still has a lot of memories left to make in a long career ahead of him.