Svensson: We’ll get through this “test of character” together

A lot has changed at the Bruchweg since 1. FSV Mainz 05’s last league win. The 3-1 win over our next opponents, FC Bayern, in April 2023 extended the Zerofivers’ unbeaten run to ten games and propelled them into the fight for Europe. Almost exactly six months later and both sides find themselves in a completely different position ahead of Saturday’s game (18:30 CEST). Bayern have stabilised under former 05 head coach Thomas Tuchel and reinforced their squad during the summer. Mainz, on the other hand, just missed out on securing their first league win of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bo Svensson stressed that it’s even more important to stick together as a result of this. Mainz’s head coach went on to explain that the game would be “a test of character” for all the Zerofivers.

Anticipation ahead of “a test of the highest calibre”

Svensson gave his team two-and-a-half days off following the charity match in Ahrtal before getting back into the swing of things with a public training session in front of 100 or so fans on Tuesday afternoon. In Thursday’s press conference, the Dane explained that the team had looked impressive so far, though he’s fully aware this alone won’t necessarily guarantee a result against the third-placed team in the league. “You can play to the best of your ability and still lose. You can’t control everything. That’s why we’re concentrating on what we can do to increase our chances of winning. The team looked to be back in their groove against Leverkusen and Gladbach, even though we weren’t perfect. The order of the day against Bayern will similar; we want to keep our heads up and stick together as a team.” He went on to say that he wants his team to look forward to playing under the floodlights in front of a sold-out crowd. He stressed that it’s still a privilege for Mainz 05 to be able to compete against “the best of the best.” The 44-year-old, who asserted that his team were clearly moving in a more positive direction in the weeks before the international break, also said, “We’ve got to make sure that we believe in ourselves heading into what is a test of the highest calibre.” He stated that the team needs to ensure that they keep making forward progress in order to reap the rewards for all their hard work.

Using the past as a blueprint

When asked whether the second half of the 2020/21 season, which saw the club sensationally beat the drop, could serve as a blueprint for the current situation, the Mainz 05 coach highlighted what has always distinguished FSV in the past: “In addition to drawing on our experiences in 2021, we can also take lessons from various other difficult patches that we’ve gone through as a club and that I went through as a player. Now, it’s essential for us to think logically, stick together as a team and play to our strengths. No single individual can turn things around all on their own. Now more than ever, we need everybody at the club to stick together: the team, the coaching staff, the board and, above all, the fans. Celebrating and patting ourselves on the back has been easy these last couple of years, but now everybody will have a proper test of character; the boys will have to show what they are really made of. We’ve proved ourselves time and time again when things haven’t been going our way and we’ll have to do the same now,” explained Svensson, convinced that staying calm and united are the key to getting his team back on track for success.

“Celebrating and patting ourselves on the back has been easy these last couple of years”

The experience of two veterans in the squad could be an important factor at the weekend. On the one hand, Josuha Guilavogui, who was signed at the end of September after previously being without a club, “has made positive progress both physically as well as in terms of his football” and is a candidate for the starting eleven. Secondly, captain Silvan Widmer is set to make his first appearance of the season even though he is not yet at 100%, with Svensson explaining: “He has been fully involved in training and we don’t have any concerns. The last week was very demanding for him, but he dealt with the workload well. It’s positive, but he was out for more than four months,” the head coach added, putting a lid on expectations.

Robin Zentner, Brajan Gruda and Karim Onisiwo are doubts ahead of the clash against the champions, whilst Jonny Burkardt (Svensson: “It doesn’t make much sense to talk about a concrete schedule after such a long time out. Our fingers are crossed for him, primarily on a personal level, but also because we know how much he can help us”), Andreas Hanche-Olsen, Phillipp Mwene as well as Nelson Weiper remain absent. Although the starting eleven may only be decided on the day of the match due to this initial situation, Svensson is convinced that his side can pose challenges for the opposition: “We can only try to overcome this challenge together as a group. Perhaps this won’t be enough at the end of the day, but we will make it as tough as possible for them with our fans behind us.