“Werder Bremen will have to play against an entire city”

1. FSV Mainz 05 face two huge home games in the space of four days. First, the carnival home fixture against Werder Bremen on Saturday afternoon (15:30 CET), followed by a rescheduled clash with Union Berlin on Wednesday (18:30 CET). They should be two evenly matched games and a chance to reduce the gap to the competition, as Christian Heidel highlighted in the press conference: “There’s no two ways about it – we have to take points from both games,” said the board member for sport. Sitting alongside Jan Siewert, he also discussed the two winter arrivals Nadiem Amiri and Jessic Ngankam, laid out the key requirements for the relegation battle, and spoke about the challenge posed by Werder Bremen.

Siewert’s time with Germany’s U18 national team saw him cross paths with Amiri, who now has five caps for the senior squad, as early as ten years ago. The two have never lost contact, explained Siewert on Thursday afternoon. “From our first phone call, I knew that he would fit in here and is up to the task.” In particular, he appreciates his new attacking midfielder’s eye for goal, his ability to drive into the final third, his pace on the break and the precision of his passing. He was similarly positive in his assessment of Ngankam, who is slightly more offensively oriented and who Siewert characterises as a “very robust, dynamic striker, who looks to get in behind, makes runs, and can hold up the ball, particularly in the penalty area.”

While bringing in these new players meant to revitalise the Mainz attack was a decision made with conviction jointly by the management and the head coach, Heidel also spoke about the financial aspect of the deals: “It’s definitely a big investment that we had to make in the current situation. It isn’t, however, a decision that will put the club in any financial difficulty.”

Focusing on our own plan

Whilst the 05ers’ head coach reckons that both Amiri and Ngankam will be in the squad at the weekend, there are question marks over other players’ availability. Siewert is hopeful that Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Edimilson Fernandes will be available for the game, but Brajan Gruda will definitely be absent once again. This is also the case for long-term absentees Stefan Bell and Nelson Weiper.

What will be important against Werder? “They approach things with a compact midfield and wait for opportunities to counterattack. However, we don’t want to get caught in those situations and need to be more accurate with our passing game. That’s also been the focus this week. We need to be far better when playing out from the back, as we left a lot to be desired last time out in Frankfurt. Nadiem can help with that, but he’s not solely responsible all of a sudden,” Siewert explained. “For all those on the pitch, it’s about: How can we be more accurate? How can we get into the final third? We want to focus on our playing style and not be guided by the opposition. It’s crucial that we play courageously at home and try to score goals.”

Heidel: “We’ve got to celebrate the first tackle like a goal”

It’s an approach that Heidel supports, but he also underlined the importance of the unconditional support from the Mainz fans, especially for games that kick off on a Saturday afternoon. “We’re going into the game with the aim of winning. We’ve got two games coming up that are going to be absolutely crucial for our season. All of the players are well aware of this. I’m sure that you’ll be able to see it in the team’s performance,” explained Heidel, who also addressed the fans during his press conference. “I’m calling on your support. I promise that the team are going to give it their all, but I can’t guarantee that everything is going to work perfectly. We’ve got to celebrate the first tackle like it’s a goal. It’s a difficult situation to be in, because mistakes have been made. We’ll look back on those when all’s said and done. We’ve still got the chance to pull it off. Mainz is a special city. We need everyone to be there on Saturday, and Wednesday too. We need to make Werder feel like they’re playing against the whole city. That’s what the relegation battle is all about, and this isn’t our first rodeo,” said Heidel.