Kohr: We’re an “eager team” and “raring to go.”

After more than two months without a competitive game, 1. FSV Mainz 05 match up against SV Elversberg in the first round of the DFB-Pokal at the Ursapharm-Arena an der Kaiserlinde on Saturday (18:00 CEST). Bo Svensson’s team should be cautious, as they also made the trip to Saarland at the start of the 2021/22 season and were made to toil against ambitious opposition who were still playing in the fourth division at the time.

Déjà-vu in Saarland

Now, two years later, the Zerofivers are once again heading to the Kaiserlinde. After two successive promotions, Elversberg are in the 2. Bundesliga, whilst FSV have continued to establish themselves as a Bundesliga side, after they sensationally managed to avoid relegation, despite all hope appearing to be lost, a couple of months before the first clash with SVE. “The most important thing is that we perform to the best of our ability every day and push ourselves to the limit in training,” said Dominik Kohr, who had moved to FSV before the spectacular second half of the 2021/22 season at the Bruchweg, and has since been a key factor in the club’s evolution. “It’s the only way that we can continue to grow, since we’re an eager team with a lot of quality at our disposal,” remarked the midfielder.

The Zerofivers have continued to improve in this regard during pre-season, with Kohr affirming that they “handled and got through each week well.” Now it’s time to see where they stand.  The midfielder was optimistic, saying that he believes, “As a team, we’re prepared for the forthcoming challenges and are raring to go for the start of the season.”

 “We’re enjoying our time together”

It was the second full pre-season of the midfield general being a father, which entails new experiences. “I can’t just kick my feet up and relax on the couch any more when I come home,” smiled Kohr. After all, that’s when he wants to spend time with his daughter, who is growing up more with every passing day, he said when talking about the changes he has experienced since July 2021, ”In the meantime, I’ve been going to bed earlier in the evening and getting up earlier in the morning.” These changes are all thoroughly positive: “We’re adapting and enjoying our time together,” the seasoned midfielder explained.

Kohr happy with work and in a goalscoring mood

In addition to the performance in the pre-season friendlies, which were all convincing victories, Kohr is particularly pleased with the physical condition of the whole team. The midfielder stated, “We look to be in good shape.” Needless to say, he was also happy with the result against newly-promoted Premier League side Burnley last Sunday. “It’s a reflection of the team,” said Kohr.

The defensive midfielder has proved to be clinical after netting a goal in the 4-1 victory against FC St. Gallen, as well as in the 3-0 win over Burnley. “Maybe you get more composed in front of goal with age,” laughed Kohr. Our number 6 described both goals as “not bad” and expressed his desire to carry on helping the team out by scoring goals. “Defensive work is always at the forefront of my mind,” said the man from Trier, “but when I’m in the right place at the right time, I’m more than happy to bag a goal or two.”

Routines and new additions

As an experienced player, Kohr would like to pass on his knowledge to the younger players and tries to help new arrivals with training drills which they are not yet familiar with. “It is natural to give them a pointer so that quality is ensured right away and we are able to have a good training session”, says the leader. It is an advantage that a large part of the team has been playing together for a long time already. “We know one another well and know what makes each other tick”, explains Kohr. “Bo also knows exactly what he can demand from us and we know what he expects from us.” As a result, it’s possible to implement certain things more quickly and improve.

Therefore, it is easy to integrate oneself into the team as a new player at FSV. This was not least evident with the new arrivals in the winter, Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Ludovic Ajorque. Additionally, nothing seems to have changed this summer. “I think the boys already feel at home”, says the ex-Leverkusen man about Daniel Batz, Tom Krauß and Sepp van den Berg. We try to make them feel comfortable so that they are able to produce their best as soon as possible and increase the competition for places, explains Kohr.

Advancing into the next round with a good performance

The match that lasted the full 120 minutes two years ago is the only time that FSV and SV Elversberg have faced each other to date. “It wasn’t an easy game”, Kohr recalls the DFB-Pokal first-round clash with the then fourth-division side, in which FSV went behind twice and only salvaged extra-time and then penalties with late goals. FSV then won the game in the shoot-out with the 16th penalty. “Even then they played good football and were a well set-up side”, the 29-year-old looks back at the “perhaps somewhat fortunate” progression in Elversberg in August 2021. “I naturally hope that we will be able to get the job done within 90 minutes at the weekend and that we will be able to advance into the next round with a good performance”, the defensive midfielder expresses optimistically.

That isn’t going to be an easy task, as the club from the Saarland region has continued to develop enormously in the last few years and are already up to speed having played two second division games. “We need to be resilient. If we are able to transfer our quality to the pitch then we are the better side. We have to show that”, Kohr knows.