News 01.06.2023 - 09:44 Uhr
"IT'S NOT EASY TO PICK UP 46 POINTS WITH MAINZ 05"
A look back at the 2022/23 season
1. FSV Mainz 05 ended the 2022/23 season with a well-deserved point in front of a sold-out crowd of 81,000 spectators in Dortmund, in what was a solid end to a relatively strong campaign. The nearly 8,000 FSV fans that had made the trip to Signal-Iduna-Park were able to celebrate a ninth-place finish, and the end of a four-week losing run. The Zerofivers finished with 46 points, with head coach Bo Svensson saying "There’s no doubt that we had a strong season."
Another successful thing to note from this season — the club’s 17th overall in the top flight — is that Mainz were never drawn into the relegation battle. Before the start of a four-game losing run at the end of the season, the Zerofivers were even within touching distance of the European places. "There were highs and lows, as there so often are," said Svensson. "We didn’t lose a game for nearly three months, which is definitely noteworthy. We went through two phases where we didn’t do as well, but we were able to learn from them."
Inconsistent performances at the start
Mainz started the season with ten points from their first five matches. "We started well, but then suffered a blow to our form," Svensson said about the period leading up to the winter break, which began in mid-November due to the World Cup in Qatar. The Zerofivers were too inconsistent and unable to see results through. "We couldn’t have known that we would be without Jonny Burkardt for nearly the entire season, and we had to find a replacement for Moussa Niakhaté as well," said the coach. "Key players like Silvan Widmer and Anton Stach also didn’t live up to their performances from the previous season, for all sorts of reasons. We were often unable to field the same backline. If you add all that together, then it wouldn’t have been wrong to think that we’d be fighting relegation this season. Things don’t always go as planned." FSV headed into the winter break on a four-game winless run with plenty of work to be done.
The club's management, including head of sport Christian Heidel, sporting director Martin Schmidt and Svensson were able to draw the right conclusions during the nearly three-month-long break. The club brought in striker Ludovic Ajorque and defender Andreas Hanche-Olsen, in addition to taking part in two separate training camps. Svensson called for his players to take on more responsibility: "That they don’t always look to the coach when things aren’t going well, but instead think to take responsibility and take action. This development had an affect on how we stepped out onto the pitch." Svensson’s words were directed not only at the veteran players in the squad, but also at younger players like Leandro Barreiro, "who has the right personality for it."
Key fixtures and a record run
The Zerofivers worked well together on the pitch from there onward, with an extraordinary ten games unbeaten in the New Year, including in key games against Augsburg and Bochum. "Until shortly before the Bayern game, we got very close to how I imagine a team should work, with the game in Leipzig the high point in this," said Svensson, adding that lots of good decisions are needed for a club like Mainz 05 to win games in the Bundesliga. "When we are not on it and are not at our limit in terms of the way we play and the way the team is constructed then we’re going to have problems." The Dane suggested his team could not afford to make as many mistakes as they often financially stronger opponents. "There’s an art to it and that’s also the appeal," suggested the Zerofivers head coach.
Mainz’s sporting director agreed with this fully before highlighting another development from this season that is of particular importance to a team like Mainz – the support of the fans. "There is a completely different mood around the city about Mainz 05 again. This was maybe one of the main problems," said Christian Heidel. An average of almost 30,000 fans supported the team at the MEWA ARENA again, with membership numbers up by around 25%. The Zerofivers have also had a lot of away support. "It is important that we accept defeats sometimes and that doesn’t put everything into question. Now we have to keep going, just now with a lot more people. My wish is that we are able to keep using this good feeling that is around the city now."
The first goal is already set
For the coming season, the primary aim at Mainz is crystal clear. "When the season starts again our first season’s aim will be: We want to stay as far away from trouble in our 18th year in the Bundesliga. Then we can look beyond that," said Heidel. The Zerofivers are aware of their position in the league and want to keep learning so that they are able to overcome challenges in the future as well. The head coach is also aware of this: "Due to our and my nature there is always talk about taking the next step, we always want to do better and to achieve our next goal, but it is important to also stay a bit humble. It's not easy to pick up 46 points with Mainz 05," said Svensson.