“Everything is a little easier at home”

According to Silas, Urs Fischer is yet to approach him to ask for information about his former club, with Mainz set to take on VfB Stuttgart on Saturday afternoon (15:30 CET). “But if he wants to know something, I’m of course available, and of course I’m happy to tell him,” said the winter signing, who is finally getting playing time again at Mainz, having spent recent seasons struggling for a consistent spot. He doesn’t want to make too much of the reunion, though. Like every week, it’s about getting another crucial three points in the relegation battle. After around two months as a 05ER, the 27-year-old is satisfied with how things are going, both personally and in terms of what the team has already achieved.

The attacker did not play a single minute in the first half of the season for VfB, which was partly due to injury. His fresh start in Mainz at the beginning of January also didn’t go according to plan, as flu meant he missed the first two matches at Union Berlin and against Heidenheim, before making his Mainz debut in the 2-1 defeat to Köln. Since then, he has alternated between starting and coming on as a substitute. It didn’t take much imagination to see that Silas, with his skills, could make a major contribution to the mission of staying up. His pace and his ability in one-on-one situations add a new dimension to Mainz’s play. The best example came in the win in Leipzig, when he started a solo run 40 metres from goal and scored to make it 2-1. “I feel very good, and I think you can see that on the pitch. I’m playing to my strengths a lot more and I feel comfortable again. But there’s still potential to improve, such as with my finishing.”

Fans as a key factor

It goes without saying that Silas will do everything he can to hurt his former team this weekend. Stuttgart are having a strong season, sitting fourth in the Bundesliga, while also having a DFB-Pokal semi-final and Europa League quarter-final to look forward to. Despite that, Silas still believes there are ways to catch them off guard. “They have a lot of quality, are extremely strong in possession and create lots of chances,” said Silas. At the same time, however, those strengths can offer opportunities for FSV. “We can hurt them by playing quickly, utilising counter-attacks and playing the ball in behind. We need to win the ball in the right areas and be efficient in front of goal.” Mainz recently gained confidence with a strong performance at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, where they were unlucky not to take all three points.

The hope is that Mainz will be able to end their run of three games without a win this weekend at the MEWA ARENA. “Everything is a little easier at home with the fans behind us. We know we have to push ourselves to the limit and beyond, but we also know that we’ll always have the fans supporting us.” The sold-out MEWA ARENA crowd can also look forward to seeing a new pitch, as the old one had suffered significantly in recent months due to bad weather. The new surface comes just in time for Mainz’s return to European action, which Silas is eagerly anticipating. “Stuttgart is the only thing that matters right now, so I can’t say much about Olomouc just yet. We’ll deal with that from Monday. Of course, playing in Europe is special for every footballer. It’s a real highlight, and one where we can still achieve something.”