The talk around Dominik Kohr has died down again. The defender’s name was in lots of headlines across the country after his tackle on Elias Saad in the away game at FC St. Pauli at the start of October, leading to lots of criticism. After serving a suspension for five yellow cards, Kohr has now only picked up two in his last six games and, like the whole Mainz team, has impressed in recent weeks with strong performances. This period of criticism hasn’t had a lasting effect on the 30-year-old: “I just try to give my all for the team – in the best way I can. I won’t change my game just because people have criticised me or my style of play a lot. If I need to get stuck in, I’ll do it.” Kohr will be hoping that he can contribute to another Mainz upset against record German champions FC Bayern this weekend at a sold-out MEWA ARENA (15:30 CET kick off).
The 05ers faced the unbeaten league leaders at the end of October in the DFB-Pokal. Vincent Kompany’s side ran riot in the first half to win 4-0 in the second round, though Mainz’s performance after the break was at least a positive. They continued to build on that in the following weeks to climb into the top half of the league table. “We want to make a better go of things and threaten more than we did in the final third in the Pokal,” stressed Kohr, asking the question: “Why can’t we be the first team to beat Bayern in the Bundesliga this season?” The centre-back is buoyed by Mainz’s improved performances in recent weeks and believes the 05ers can and will be a tough opponent to face for the Bavarians. “This positivity and the confidence in our team give me a good feeling about the game.”
“You have to get back up again. We’re a team that is capable of that”
Even the disappointing defeat in Wolfsburg hasn’t affected Kohr’s belief: “We were only frustrated because we didn’t get what we deserved for a good performance.” Mainz’s defending for the Wolves’ goals wasn’t smart enough and then Jonas Wind headed in the winner from a free-kick in injury time. “I didn’t think that Wolfsburg were going to score a fourth goal because we’ve always defended well as a team in recent weeks. It wasn’t like they were on top and we were pinned in our own half. However, we could have been better in possession during that period, that would have meant the ball was always in their half. It’s always disappointing when you concede a last-minute goal.” Kohr understands though that these things happen in football and was quick to turn his focus to the next matches: “You have to get back up again. We’re a team that is capable of that and we’ll now look to pick up those points that we lost.”
“Things can work with a different setup too”
Kohr is likely to play a big part in the final two games before the winter break. The 30-year-old has started at centre-back in 12 of FSV’s 13 league games this season, though his partners at the back have often varied. The 05ers finally settled on a line-up a few weeks ago, and not one that many would have imagined before the season with Stefan Bell and Danny da Costa alongside Kohr in the back-three. However, this partnership was broken after just two minutes in Wolfsburg as da Costa had to go off injured. Kohr isn’t too concerned about another enforced change: “Things worked well with Bello and Danny in recent weeks, but they can too with a different setup.” Andreas Hanche-Olsen, who came on to play on the right side of the back-three in Wolfsburg, Moritz Jenz and Maxim Leitsch are all options to replace da Costa. “We’ve had to change our back-three in several games this season. Everyone that’s come in has done their job and showed their quality.”
Kohr is full of positivity and confidence following Mainz’s recent performances. The team will need also need those going into their final two matches of 2024, which see them take on the two best teams in the country at the minute. After the home game against Bayern, FSV are away at second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, 21st December (15:30 CET). Around 6,000 fans will make the short journey to that game to cheer the team on. “We’ll give everything we’ve got and want to end the year with as many points as possible to see us go into the winter break on a high.”