Looking forward to a special evening

On this special occasion, head coach Bo Henriksen was not the only person who spoke alongside press officer Silke Bannick at the MEWA ARENA. Defender Danny da Costa also answered questions from the media. This extra presence at the press conference was not the only thing that showed how special the UEFA Conference League play-off second leg against Rosenborg BK on Thursday (21:00 CEST) is set to be. This will be a huge match as Mainz look to reach the group stage of a European competition – an opportunity that the 30,000 home fans at a sold-out stadium, as well as the 300 supporters from Trondheim, will not want to miss out on.

The 05ers are looking to seal progression in their first home game in European competition for nine years, “so that we can enjoy it this season and have some special evenings in midweek,” according to da Costa, who has experience with European football. In the group stage, Mainz would be guaranteed to play six matches against six different clubs. The 05ers want to get the fans on their feet through their commitment on the pitch. “We want to put in a good performance for our fans tomorrow, and get through to the next round so we can repay them,” said Henriksen, who believes that his team will step up their game after the narrow defeat in the first leg.

Henriksen on...

…the importance of the match: “This an incredibly important game. Not just for us, but the whole region, the city, the club and, above all, our fans. They were already unbelievable in Trondheim. It’s unbelievable how they act, both at home and away. They are always behind us. We are both happy and humbled that we have these fans. We want to put in a good performance for them tomorrow, and get through to the next round so we can repay them.”

…the home game against Köln: “We played well. The statistics show that, too. We were the better side and should have won. We were unlucky to lose. But that’s life, and that’s football. The performance is the most important thing for us. If we play like that every match, then I’ll be happy, and we’ll also be winning games again.”

…his side’s approach against Rosenborg: “We had a few problems in attack in Trondheim. It’s important that we commit more players forward. But it’ll be a different game. We are hopefully well prepared to deal with the opponents' 4-4-2 low block. We know it won’t be easy. Despite this, we believe we can create chances. We did that against Köln, and we need to again tomorrow. That’ll give us a good chance of winning by two goals.”

…the mindset ahead of the second leg: “Obviously, it would have been better if we’d won 3-0 or 4-0 in Trondheim. But, now, we have to win tomorrow. It's in our DNA. We always want to play forwards and without fear. It’s also important for us that we’re playing at the MEWA ARENA. The loss to Köln was our first at home for nearly ten months. Now, we want to win again in front of our own fans.”

Danny da Costa on...

…the magic of European nights: “It’s not every day you play an evening game under the floodlights. As a child, I used to watch the Champions League on TV. It’s just special to be able to measure yourselves against teams from other countries. That’s an attractive prospect that we don’t get to experience every week. We worked for a whole season to earn this privilege and this opportunity, so it’s huge for us as players, and it’s also a special story for the club. We want to get the best result possible tomorrow, so that we can enjoy it this season and have some special evenings in midweek.”

…his previous experience of European competition: “The good thing is that a lot of things repeat themselves over the course of a career. I’ve experienced this situation before during my time in Frankfurt. Back then, we lost 1-0 at Strasbourg in the play-off round, so we had to turn it around at home. Regardless of how the game plays out, we need to remain patient. It would be good to take an early lead and level the tie, but the main thing is that we remain confident, get through after 90 minutes and score goals. The coach has already said that we created chances against Köln. That was a step in the right direction. We want to build on that, so that we’re hard to beat at the MEWA ARENA.”

…the intensity in Mainz’s play: “When I look back at our last few matches, I’m not worried about that at all. Even with ten men, we worked hard, completed a lot of intensive runs and tried to exert pressure on the opposition. We did a lot of good work. We have enough energy to play with intensity again against Rosenborg.”

…areas to improve after the first leg: “It’s already been said that we need to get more players in the box. I felt we were caught on the counterattack too many times in Trondheim. We need to get back on the cover better so that these counterattacks don’t get started. If we’re able to do that consistently for 90 minutes, we can have a better game than we did last week.”