“Full of confidence” ahead of much-anticipated return

Nadiem Amiri has been pulling the strings in FSV Mainz 05’s midfield since joining the club at the end of January. In his first few minutes as a 05er, he appeared to be more than willing to get the ball forward and lead Mainz’s attack. His efforts paid off in his fourth appearance for the side last Saturday against FC Augsburg, where FSV secured a crucial win. It was certainly a relief for the players, but they’ll know better than anyone that it’s the first important step on a long journey towards staying in the Bundesliga. “I’ve got a lot of faith that we’ll achieve our goal. There are a lot of games to go, which means we’ve got time to turn things around,” explained Amiri in a press conference at the Bruchweg on Monday afternoon. The midfielder is well and truly in the spotlight at the start of the week, which will culminate with a trip to face off against his former team, Bayer Leverkusen,  on Friday evening (20:30 CET). Amiri pointed out that he’s looking forward to being back in Leverkusen, but also that he wants to win.

During the closing stages of last weekend’s well-deserved victory over Augsburg, Amiri could be seen throwing his arms up in the air in order to psych up his teammates and the crowd, which ultimately helped FSV hang onto their narrow lead through the 12 minutes of injury time. Amiri was running on fumes, just like the rest of the 05ers after a tough encounter at the MEWA ARENA. “At the end of the match, I realised that the volume needed to go up a notch, since we were all tired. The fans gave it their all and were behind us for the whole game. An extra push like than can give you energy that you didn’t even know you had,” stated Amiri, who started his career at TSG Hoffenheim. The Mainz players were still clearly feeling this boost of energy after the final whistle, as they celebrated winning the club’s 600th-ever Bundesliga game along with the fans. The winter signing observed that the club had been missing this feeling for too long. “We’re definitely back in the thick of things. We’ve got to keep trying to use this energy when we’re out there on the pitch. We want to make life unpleasant for our opponents. There’s a mixture of different emotions in the dressing room after a game like that. However, your desire to win is even stronger after you’ve come away with a victory.” Amiri added that, “The more you win, the clearer your heads are.” It’s clear that he’s setting himself and the rest of the team the challenge of going on a good run of form.

Friday will be like “going back home”

The midfielder is pleased about making the journey back to Leverkusen. He pointed out that he’s looking forward to reuniting with everyone involved with the club, as well as seeing the hosts fans again, who are sure to give him a warm reception at the BayArena (“I was surprised at how many Leverkusen fans got in touch with me after the move in order to say thanks. After spending four-and-a-half years there, it’ll be like going back home.”) However, Amiri is not losing sight of his main goal: “It goes without saying that I’m going back to win.”

No point in sitting deep

Amiri is a creative presence off and on the pitch and it didn’t take long for him to show that he means business in a Mainz kit. He’s led the way as an attacking midfielder over the past few weeks and is committed to “winning as many games as possible as quickly as possible” and ensuring FSV’s place in the Bundesliga next season, despite the challenging circumstances that the club finds itself in. “Before the game against Augsburg, I told everyone that we were going to win. It didn’t seem possible that we could go out there and fail to win after our first few days of training under Bo,” said Amiri. The 27-year-old continued by describing his idea for how Mainz could go to Leverkusen and come away with a result against his old teammates. One thing is clear – parking the bus is not the way forward according to Amiri. “I’ve experienced a lot in the Bundesliga. Anything can happen – Mainz won in Leverkusen last year. Nobody expects us to win, but we’ll go there with the wind in our sails and belief in ourselves. Beating them is a huge challenge – that much is clear. I don’t think that we should sit back at all, though. If you do that, they’ll tear you to shreds. The approach could be to quickly win the ball back high up the pitch and force them into making mistakes. At the same time, we need to make sure that we’ve got good coverage at the back, since we know how quickly they can hit you on the break.”

Amiri is sure to, once again, play a key role when the 05ers try and do what no other side has done this season and beat the league leaders. Despite missing a penalty, he was impressive against Augsburg, and not just because he registered his second assist in his fourth game for FSV. He took four shots and created six chances, in addition to winning 80% of the challenges he entered alongside Leo Barreiro (“It’s fun to play with him. He’s a warrior.”). On top of all that, Amiri also covered a total distance of well over 11 kilometres and gave his side a boost with his aforementioned body language. Amiri has a very good understanding of himself and how it can benefit FSV: “The team signed me to be a leader. I live off emotions and always try to energise the team. I’m here to give it my all every day and help the team, the club and the city.”

In leaving Leverkusen, Amiri now finds himself battling relegation rather than fighting for the title, but is fully committed to helping his new team avoid the drop. He is still in touch with some of his former teammates, sharing that Xhaka, Stanisic, Wirtz & Co. had all texted him to congratulate him after the win over Augsburg, but "They did give me some stick because of the missed penalty." Amiri added that, "They really hope that the team and I will be able to stay up." This weekend, Amiri will have to put his personal feelings aside for 90 minutes. "I'm looking forward to visiting their dressing room after the game," he said – hopefully, as part of the winning team.