“We respect them, but we are not afraid”

The 05ers have returned from their trip to Augsburg last Saturday with lots of momentum and a newfound self-confidence, having beaten their opponents 4-1 to get their first win of the new Bundesliga season. After four games, FSV sit on four points which puts them in 13th place in the table.

On Saturday (15:30 CEST), the 05ers will welcome Borussia Dortmund to Mainz and the MEWA ARENA. Borussia Dortmund’s defensive unit has been one of their major strengths this season, as they find themselves on ten points after four games, putting them in second place in the table – their most recent game was a narrow 1-0 victory at home to Wolfsburg. Last time out against BVB in March of this year, the 05ers found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline, however they did beat Dortmund in the first meeting of last season. As part of the build-up to the game, boss Bo Henriksen spoke in a press conference about his own team, this weekend’s opponents, and the reaction to last weekend’s result.

Bo Henriksen spoke about...

...the available squad: “Anthony Caci is injured so won’t be available and Dominik Kohr is suspended. Jae-sung Lee is back and Benedict Hollerbach managed to train a bit more today. With Silvan Widmer it’s a case of waiting to see how he is on Saturday. It’s going to be hard to replace Dominik and Anthony in the starting eleven, but we have a good squad and enough quality to compensate for their absence.”

...the game itself: “We played well last time out at home against Dortmund and we now have the chance to build on the positives from the Augsburg game and hopefully put in a good performance in the game against BVB. We respect Dortmund, but we are not afraid of them and we know we will make it difficult for them, especially being at home where we can bring all the energy out onto the pitch.”

...the Mainz attack: “Armindo Sieb was fantastic against Augsburg, not just with his goal, but also with his general play in and around the penalty area. He really gave it his all and will be back on the pitch on Saturday.”

...the mood after the first Bundesliga win: “Of course it was a massive thing for us. We had a team meeting before the game in Augsburg and of course felt a lot better about things afterwards due to the win. I hope now that everyone knows that we are a good side and that we can beat anyone. We have a chance to show this against Dortmund on Saturday.”

...games against top sides: “When you play against a club the size of Borussia Dortmund, everyone has to give 100%, otherwise you lose. You gain confidence through experiencing games like this, for example, last year at home to Dortmund we played brilliantly.”

...the opponents: “I think Niko Kovac has done a really, really good job at BVB. Dortmund defend really well and also have a lot of quality up front that can hurt us if we’re sloppy in transition. Of course it’s a game against a really good opponent – but anything is possible.”