At this stage last season, Mainz were in serious trouble. In their final match ahead of Die Winterpause, the winter break, Mainz earned a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund — enough to take Die Nullfünfer ahead of FC Köln and into 16th place. However, the club was still in a relegation playoff spot, and relegation for the first time since Jürgen Klopp was in charge was a distinct possibility.
Fast forward to the end of the season. Mainz, now onto their third manager of the season after hiring Bo Henriksen, had seen massive improvement after Die Winterpause, including a big win over UCL Final-bound Borussia Dortmund and a nine-game unbeaten run. However, they still needed to get a result on the final day to guarantee safety, which they did in style with a 3-1 victory.
Unfortunately for Mainz, a brutal summer awaited.
Despite Die Nullfünfer confirming their stay in the Bundesliga, there would be eleven departures total: six permanent, and five on loan. Among the departures were the exits of Leandro Barreiro, who joined Benfica in a free transfer in one of the worst-kept secrets in Portugal, and the sale of top talent Brajan Gruda, who, after being talked up by Thomas Müller and Leroy Sané, among others, would complete a big money move to Brighton.
That’s not including the loss of Sepp van den Berg, who was never at the club permanently. The defender headed back to Liverpool after his successful loan spell and would be sold to Brentford shortly after.
With the key losses, Mainz and Henriksen had to make some signings — and despite raking in nearly €37 million in transfer fees, they weren’t going to spend big. Only six players would join, with three on loan: Armindo Sieb & Gabriel Vidovic from Bayern Munich and Moritz Jenz from Wolfsburg. Hyun-seok Hong, Kaishu Sano, and Nikolas Veratschnig were also signed permanently.
No one quite knew what to expect in Bo Henriksen’s first full season under the helm. Not even the official Bundesliga website, which said the club’s focus would be to avoid relegation while finishing mid-table wouldn’t be “an unrealistic hope” — a sentiment few would have disagreed with. Except, this season, Mainz are flying, and are even dreaming of Europe.
So far, Mainz have only lost four games in all competitions: three in the Bundesliga, and one in the DFB Pokal, where they were knocked out by Bayern Munich. Just over a month later, they would get revenge, handing Vincent Kompany his first Bundesliga loss in a run of form that has seen Mainz win five of their last six. Mainz now sit fifth in the Bundesliga, with as many wins as they had in all of last season (seven). But how?
Well, it all starts with Bo Henriksen. The Dane was somewhat of a risky hire for a club facing relegation. He had no experience in the Bundesliga, and, while he saved FC Zürich from relegation, hadn’t coached a full season since his time at Midtjylland in his native Denmark, where he was sacked after one year.
Under Henriksen, Mainz have stuck to a 3-4-2-1. In many ways, Henriksen combines both “classic” and “modern” playstyles at Mainz. They have a strong focus on loading the wings and putting crosses and cutbacks in toward waiting striker Jonathan Burkardt. They also combine quickly and play long balls to get the ball up the field as fast as possible.
At the same time, Mainz has the more “modern” pressing that one of their heroes, Jürgen Klopp, would love. They press high and aggressively with great success, regularly causing errors from the opposition. Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper Kauã Santos, for instance, couldn’t cope with the Mainz press, gifting them two goals in their final game before Die Winterpause. It is the season of giving, after all.
Of course, there are drawbacks to the way Mainz play. The combination of pressing and the style means that they can be left exposed at the back, particularly out wide. This was particularly evident in the DFB Pokal loss to Bayern, where Alphonso Davies tormented the defense again and again. With Davies injured when the two faced off again in December, Mainz were significantly more comfortable and won all three points.
There’s also the problem of aggression. While it is a key part of Mainz’s game, it can backfire. Only Borussia Dortmund has more red cards than Mainz’s three, while they are third in fouls committed and sixth in yellow cards. Fortunately for Die Nullfünfer, they have won two of the three games where they have been reduced to ten men, but they make it more challenging than they need to.
It’s hard to pick out a specific star for Mainz so far this season. Jae-sung Lee has been in good form recently, scoring five goals, including both in the win over Bayern. Paul Nebel, back from a loan spell with Karlsruher in the 2. Bundesliga, has become a crucial starter, scoring braces against Wolfsburg and Frankfurt. Veteran Dominik Kohr has been ever-present in defense.
However, while all of them — and more — have been key to Mainz, there are three major stars.
The first is Robin Zentner. The goalkeeper has been with the club since 2017, where he’s had mixed success. He’s probably most well-known for confusing the ball with the penalty spot. This season, though, he’s determined to change that. Zentner has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Bundesliga this year, regularly bailing the Mainz defense out, and only Kamil Grabara of Wolfsburg has more saves in the Bundesliga.
On the opposite side of the pitch, there’s Jonathan Burkardt. The 24-year-old has long been on the radar of Bundesliga fans and clubs alike, but his career has stalled because of injuries. This year, though, the striker has been in the form of his life, scoring ten goals — already better than last year’s tally, and just one away from his career-best in the 2021/22 season. Oh, and he’s the club’s captain.
Finally, in midfield, there’s Nadiem Amiri. Amiri has had a bit of a strange career, impressing at a young age with Hoffenheim before earning a €10.5 million move to Bayer Leverkusen. Despite initial promise, his Leverkusen career quickly stalled. After an uneventful loan move to Genoa, and half a season back with Leverkusen’s invincibles last year, he joined Mainz in January.
Amiri improved almost immediately with Mainz, and he’s been on a different level this season. He’s a constant threat, whether shooting from range, picking out teammates, or taking set pieces, and is vital to Mainz. It’s little wonder, then, that Unai Emery and Aston Villa have been sniffing around, although Mainz will surely want to hang on to their star midfielder.
It remains to be seen whether Mainz will be able to keep the good times rolling in die Rückrunde, the second half of the season. There will likely be interest in some of their stars in the January transfer window, and the club will have to battle more wealthy and experienced VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund sides to get into Europe.
No matter what happens, though, this has been and will continue to be a memorable season for Bo Henriksen and Mainz.
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Image via mainz05.de.
