“The expectations are overwhelming,” admitted the old and new boss of FSV Mainz 05 when he returned on Tuesday after 1690 days of absence: “But I am not the messiah. In the past, everything was not optimal with me either, ”added Christian Heidel. Almost everything has to run optimally for the relegation-threatened Bundesliga club under the direction of sports director Heidel in the coming months. This is the only way to prevent entry into the 2nd division. Above all, this includes hiring a good coach. In the first game of the coming year on Sunday evening at the front runners Bayern Munich, interim coach Jan Siewert will take care of the table penultimate.
After that, ex-professional Bo Svensson should take over. The 41-year-old Dane could be the successor to Jan-Moritz Lichte, who was released on Monday. Svensson would come from the Austrian second division club FC Liefering, where he is under contract until 2023. “We have the plan to start with the new coach after the Bayern game,” said the new sports director Martin Schmidt: “We don’t say anything about names. But they know Bo here. That the idea comes up is not so absurd. «Full-back Svensson played in Mainz from 2007 to 2014, after the end of his career he was employed as a junior coach at Hessen until 2019. When moving to Austria, the Mainz-based allegedly collected 1.5 million euros, which Liefering is now supposed to get back.
After 13 match days, the FSV have just six points on their account, plus they lost the cup against second division club VfL Bochum. Since the almost relegation last season, there has been constant unrest in the club. Negative highlights were the players’ strike in September and the expulsion of Lichtes predecessor Achim Beierlorzer.
Last week the club parted ways with sports director Rouven Schröder. Since Monday, the club has been directed again by ex-manager Heidel. The 57-year-old, who had led the FSV for almost a quarter of a century before leaving Schalke 04 in 2016, once turned the provincial club into an established first division club. In his new role as sports director, Heidel brought the former coach Schmidt back as sports director.
The two are now planning a two-pronged approach: First, everything should be done to keep the club, which is also economically troubled, from relegation – newcomers are also an issue. Should that not succeed, Heidel and Schmidt want to start rebuilding in the second division. In any case, Heidel promised one thing: “Mainz 05 must not and will not break if it goes into the 2nd division.” SID / nd
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