Schwolow: "Unexpected and Eventful"

Alexander Schwolow would much rather see his side put in a solid defensive display than be involved in a high-scoring thriller. The 34-year-old goalkeeper, who joined Mainz in the summer, prefers a narrow 1-0 victory to a dramatic 4-3 win like the one in Mönchengladbach. Of course, winning is always the priority for the shot-stopper, but he believes the number of goals conceded in the last three matches falls short of the team's standards and needs to be reduced. "In the long run, you're simply more successful when you approach things with a different mindset," Schwolow said ahead of Saturday's away clash (3:30 PM CEST, live on Sky, DAZN and 05ER.fm) with his former club Schalke 04. With Robin Zentner sidelined, Schwolow is set to make his fourth appearance between the sticks for Mainz this season.

Enjoying Himself, but Not Entirely Satisfied

Few would have expected Schwolow to feature so regularly at this stage of the season. The experienced goalkeeper joined Mainz from Scottish side Hearts of Midlothian in the summer to serve as Zentner's backup. The Wiesbaden-born shot-stopper describes his first few months in the Rhineland-Palatinate capital as unexpected and eventful. "You're always happy to be out on the pitch, of course." Schwolow kept a clean sheet on his debut in Hamburg, but conceded three goals against Mönchengladbach and four against Leverkusen. Despite that, he has impressed with a series of assured performances and could do little to prevent most of the goals. "Still, you can't be satisfied when you concede four goals like we did against Leverkusen," he admitted. However, he was full of praise for the atmosphere at the MEWA ARENA, describing it as "really good". "Apart from the defeat, I really enjoyed it."

Mainz's Trademark Qualities Key to Defensive Stability

Head coach Urs Fischer had already outlined what would be crucial at Schalke's stadium during Thursday's press conference: "Regardless of how you choose to play, you need to be well organised on the pitch. You have to stay compact and be prepared to put in the hard work. First and foremost, it's about establishing defensive stability. We haven't managed that in the last three games, and we need to get back to it."

Schwolow agrees with the Swiss coach and has his own explanation for why Mainz have lacked defensive discipline at times: "Maybe we're still in a bit of a settling-in phase. Some of the qualities that worked so well for us in the second half of last season have slipped away a little. As a result, we're giving our opponents too much space."

The goalkeeper went on to emphasise the importance of striking the right balance between attacking football and maintaining a compact defensive shape, particularly as Mainz have been scoring plenty of goals themselves. The focus now, he believes, must be on rediscovering the qualities that have traditionally defined Mainz. "That's where our focus should be: working hard when we don't have the ball, making life difficult for our opponents and being a tough team to play against," Schwolow explained. "If we can do that, we'll already be getting a lot of things right and conceding fewer goals," the 34-year-old is convinced.

Top Performance Needed Both In and Out of Possession

Goals have been hard to come by at Schalke's Veltins-Arena this season – in fact, there haven't been any at all. Both of head coach Miron Muslic's side's home games have ended in goalless draws, with even Bayern Munich unable to find a way past former Mainz goalkeeper Loris Karius. Mainz, who have consistently impressed away from home across recent seasons, will therefore need to be at their best both in and out of possession. Having played for Schalke during the 2022/23 season, Schwolow knows from experience just how tough a challenge awaits Mainz in the cauldron of the Veltins-Arena. "They're always quick to counter-press and are very solid in every area of the pitch. They've shown that so far this season. It's going to be a difficult challenge," he said. Mainz will have the backing of around 6,000 travelling supporters as they look to rise to the occasion. "I also read that everyone is planning to wear red, which will obviously be a great sight for us out on the pitch."

Mainz will be hoping their performance can quieten the other 54,000 spectators inside the stadium. Schwolow, meanwhile, wants to bring a sense of calm to his teammates when needed. "Of course, there are also moments in a game when I might need to give the lads a wake-up call or speed things up," he explained. Once again, it's all about finding the right balance. As for the team's mentality, Schwolow has no concerns. "The lads always give everything and never give up." Armed with that attitude and the lessons learned from the Leverkusen game, Mainz and their goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow will be determined to return from the Ruhr region with all three points on Saturday.