SELF-SACRIFICING AND A TEAM PLAYER

After Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt, Mainz 05 is already the third club where Dominik Kohr and Danny da Costa have played together. "It's a special connection, I just can't get rid of him," da Costa said with a twinkle in his eye about his team-mate in a digital media session, with whom, after all their years together in football, he also shares a friendship that goes beyond sport. With their qualities and experience, the players on loan from Eintracht want to play their part in making the second half of the season as successful as possible, which started positively with the home win against Leipzig.

Kohr, who was able to get his first playing minutes against VfL Wolfsburg, and da Costa were given the confidence of head coach Bo Svensson from the start at the successful start to the second half of the season. The short time, with da Costa only having one training session between signing and match day, was no problem. "The team gave us a great welcome and made it very easy for us," Kohr confirmed the impression of his old and new team-mate, with whom he had already been on the pitch together in Bayer Leverkusen's youth team: "I sensed on my first day in the dressing room that the team was very positive despite the situation. The start of the second half of the season confirmed that we are on the right track," said da Costa. Kohr also emphasised Svensson's contribution: "It was already clear during the first talks that he was bringing in new ideas and that has since been confirmed both on and off the pitch."

A good feeling to be on the pitch again

The reasons the new sporting management trio of board member Christian Heidel, sporting director Martin Schmidt and head coach Svensson opted for Kohr and da Costa was already easy to see against Leipzig. Both brought power, pace, tackling strength and conviction to the pitch, as well as plenty of understanding of the game and a goal assist each: Kohr with his header for Moussa Niakhaté, and da Costa with his run to the baseline before Leo Barreiro's winner. "There was a lot of communication from a lot of guys. Of course, not all the procedures are in place yet, but the fact that the focus was on playing with a lot of heart made it very easy for me. Now I'll have a lot of training sessions to get used to the routines even better," explained da Costa.

From a sporting point of view, the newcomers have had a difficult time at Eintracht so far this season, with Kohr making seven appearances and da Costa appearing six times. This is another reason why the game against Leipzig was a positive experience for both loan players. "It was a good feeling to be on the pitch again and to be able to make a contribution. It just felt good and that's how every footballer feels when they feel they are important again. And when you win against Leipzig after being down twice, you can smile after the game anyway," said da Costa.

Experience in the relegation battle

Both players bring the conviction and the tools needed for the Zerofiver's challenge of managing to stay in the league. Kohr has already experienced a successful relegation battle with FC Augsburg, da Costa once gained experience at FC Ingolstadt of what matters in such situations. "So far I have not been relegated and I would like to keep that up," Kohr emphasised. "We are here now and will do everything we can with everything we have to make sure we stay in the league with Mainz 05," da Costa said. "What makes Dominik and me special is that we are both team players and our nature is such that we sacrifice ourselves for the team. We both bring experience and want to try to help the team with that."

That should work as well on Friday evening in the away match at the strong promoted VfB Stuttgart as it did last weekend against Leipzig. "The win can become even more important if we take the next points on Friday to take another step. Now it is even more important to go full throttle and back up Saturday's performance," Kohr said.