“It’ll only work if we play as a team”

1. FSV Mainz 05 travel to FC Augsburg for matchday 5 of the Bundesliga season in search of their first win. Around 600 fans are expected to accompany Mainz to Bavaria, though tickets for the away end will still be available on the day. The Zerofivers will want to take the “good energy” from their training sessions this week, putting aside their recent bad form and unfortunate injury news, with them into the game against Augsburg, who are also without a win this season, however have one more point in the league. “I’m expecting a tough, emotionally-charged game,” said Bo Svensson in Thursday’s press conference. “We’ve got to be ready to fight,” added FSV’s head coach.

After experiencing yet another gut punch in the form of the loss against VfB Stuttgart at home, the team showed a good attitude towards their situation in training, according to their head coach. “I’ve enjoyed watching the team in training over the past few days. There’s a good energy in the camp. I’m happy with how they’ve trained and how they’ve implemented the things that we’ve demanded of them.” Svensson and his coaching staff are trying to bring about more team stability in their day-to-day work with the players. It’s certainly something the side needs, though the Dane stressed that this is a goal that’s never easy to accomplish for a club like Mainz 05. “There’s a lot of quality in the league and we’re always pushed to our limits. We have to make more correct decisions than clubs that have more financial means than us.”

“From what I’ve seen this week, we’re on the right track”

No one at FSV is happy that the team only have one point after four games. Svensson isn’t one to speculate about things that might happen; he prefers to think about concrete things that he can influence at the club. “The things we do every day form the basis for us. From what I’ve seen this week, we’re on the right track. Does that mean we’ll get some points? No, but it increases our chances.”

Mainz’s head coach has been trying to give his players advice on things that could help them to win games, whether that’s the playing system, the best position on the pitch or other tactical things. “We are giving thought to how we can be more effective in every phase of the game,” Svensson explained. The 05ers focused primarily on defensive stability against VfB Stuttgart, which also affected their attacking threat. It was only individual errors that cost Mainz a satisfactory result at the end of the game, whilst Svensson explained: “I can understand the criticism that we didn’t create enough attacking opportunities against Stuttgart. Despite that, we still had five or six good chances. It’s always a question of balancing things.”

No excuses, but reasons

Nobody’s searching for excuses in FSV’s current situation, particularly not the head coach. Even so, Svensson sees a reason for the high number of goals conceded: the availability of players. “We’re talking about injuries which we can’t do much about.” Because of injuries, the formation has had to be constantly changed, even during matches. The result is a lack of consistency. Svensson and his coaching staff will have to come up with something in Augsburg too. Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Maxim Leitsch are still not fit to play. In attack, Nelson Weiper is currently unavailable due to having successfully undergone surgery, though Karim Onisiwo has been given the green light.

“The injury situation has hurt us with a small squad.” In the past, they have enjoyed the benefits, but now it’s the other way round. “For me though, that doesn’t mean we’ve done anything wrong.” It’s unclear whether the 05ers will go back on the market for free agents. “We’re keeping our eyes peeled and will have to see what’s possible.”

Up for the fight

No matter the formation or line-up, Svensson expects his team “to travel to Augsburg and be up for the fight. It’ll only work if we play as a team.”