Sano: Feeling settled and hungry for goals

Half a year has now passed since Kaishu Sano became a Mainz player. After adjusting to some cultural changes following the move away from his home country of Japan, the 24-year-old now feels more settled, as he himself described. “Of course, some things are different in Germany in comparison to Japan. However, I do feel at home here, which is something that came pretty naturally,” reported Sano. His teammates, who greeted the defensive midfielder with open arms, also had a big hand in this. “The team were all so welcoming which meant I was able to integrate quickly,” told the 24-year-old, giving a special mention to some players in particular. “Nadiem has helped me a lot. We trust each other in that number six position. Robin Zentner, Jonny Burkardt, Jae-sung Lee and Hyunseok Hong have all been key for me as well. We always look to communicate with each other.”

“We have put together a good run of form”

Sano is currently learning English in order to communicate with teammates and, although he does believe he still has room for improvement, the Japanese midfielder is making steady progress. “The video meetings with the coaching staff already make a lot more sense to me than they did to begin with here in Mainz. However, I want to keep it up so I can understand the language even better,” said the player with four caps for his country regarding his English skills.

Despite settling into life in Mainz quickly, Sano had to remain patient before unlocking his full footballing potential. His importance for the side is underlined by the fact that he has started every competitive match of the current campaign and played 90 minutes in 15 of those 17 fixtures. “To begin with, I wasn’t fully able to show what I am capable of but my teammates and the coaching staff have helped me in finding my best form and I can really feel the improvement I’ve made,” judged the 24-year-old following his first six months in Mainz. His good performances have also coincided with the upwards trend enjoyed by the side on the whole. “As a team, we have managed to put together a good run of form and to give some great displays, too. We now want to build on that and make sure our hot streak continues.”

“My main focus is to cover for others when needed”

Sano has primarily operated alongside Nadiem Amiri in defensive midfield and the distribution of roles in this position is clearly understood. “I think that Nadiem requires a lot of freedom in order to produce his best work, so I see my role as providing him with the support and balance in midfield in order to allow him that freedom. However, I obviously also want to contribute in attack as well but my main focus is to cover for Nadiem or Dominik Kohr when needed,” analysed Sano, who would also like to add his name to the score sheet for the first time before long. “It has been my aim to score a game in each game I played and I expect that of myself so that I can contribute to the team. I hope to find that first goal soon.”

Looking to build on positive performances of late

If all goes to plan, then that first goal for the club would arrive at home to Bochum on Saturday (15:30 CET), when Mainz return to action for their first match of the new calendar year following a three week break. Sano sees the time off as positive in order for the team to have the chance to recharge and therefore look to build on the positive performances of late with fresh legs. “I think the break was of just the right length for us to re-energise. We have looked good since returning to training and the win over Frankfurt in our friendly just added to our recent good form. With our fans behind us, we want to start the year on a high with a win against Bochum,” emphasised the Japan international regarding the team’s clear aim for the weekend – that is, to collect all three points for the third game in succession following victories over Bayern München and Frankfurt.

However, the 24-year-old is well aware of the fact that Bochum will certainly not be an easy opponent to take on due to their style of play. “We are prepared for a contest of high intensity and physicality. I believe that Bochum will focus on the defensive work in order to prevent us from scoring.” For Mainz, that means giving it everything in order to see off VfL Bochum in the first match of 2025 in order to keep the good run of the previous weeks going.