“If we take our chances, we’ve got a chance of winning”

Jae-sung Lee has experienced two firsts in the last few days. After his electric car had to go for an inspection, the South Korean took the tram in Mainz for the first time since he’s been at the club. The journey with the tram was a new and fun experience just like his second first last weekend. This took place on Saturday in the 1-1 draw in the home game against Mönchengladbach at the MEWA ARENA. The 31-year-old set up Jonny Burkardt’s opener with a lovely assist and played an important role in the 05ers’ attacking play, especially in the first half.

However, the joy surrounding the successful move in the 12th minute was tarnished. A pass from Sepp van den Berg reached Lee in the centre of the pitch, with the South Korean turning in a flash and playing a ball into Burkardt on the edge of the box. “It was a shame that we couldn’t take our good performance from the first half into the second 45 minutes,” Lee underlined. “We need to always play like that, constantly apply pressure, win the ball back and create chances for ourselves.” He was involved in lots of good moves as part of the attack and was able to show his strengths on the pitch for the team. “I feel comfortable in this position.” Nevertheless, FSV weren’t able to score more than the solitary goal in this dominant first half despite numerous opportunities and 21 shots. That was to prove costly in the end. “I feel partly responsible for that. We’ll keep working on improving in training,” said Lee, who has scored twice so far this season, with his goals coming in the home games against Frankfurt and Leipzig.

“We feel livelier again”

The performances in the last few games have given Lee reason to be optimistic. “Of course we need to win games to stay in the Bundesliga and the game against Bayern on Saturday will be difficult – that’s clear. However, if we play like we did against Gladbach in the first half, against Leverkusen in the second half and against Augsburg in many phases of the game, we’ve got a chance there.” Mainz need to win their home games against evenly matched sides and direct rivals in the coming weeks.

The 31-year-old believes that new head coach Bo Henriksen is an important factor, with the South Korean describing him as a “very passionate” person. This is a trait that has been transferred to the team very quickly. “We’ve been playing more aggressive football and have been feeling livelier again since he’s been here. That makes him special and we’re trying to implement this on the pitch”. Following South Korea’s disappointing exit in the Asian Cup semi-finals under the now sacked South Korea national team head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, it was primarily his teammates at Mainz 05 and the coaching staff who were able to build him back up again. “I was a little bit drained mentally and physically. However, I’ve been feeling really good again since the Augsburg game,” explained Lee, who has been a constant presence in the starting eleven under Henriksen.

Looking forward to Bayern and Min-Jae

The game away at Bayern isn’t just something special for Lee from a sporting perspective. He wants to approach the challenge against the champions and their “great footballers” courageously. “If we take our chances, we’ve got a chance of winning. We still haven’t won away from home this season and it’s time for the first away win. The South Korean is looking forward to a reunion with his international teammate and former teammates at Jeonbuk, Min-Jae Kim. “The South Korean fans are also very happy when two of their players face off against each other. I hope that we both put in a good performance and that we ultimately win the game”