AThe end of the corona lockdown is at the top of the list of events that are no longer to be expected by summer. In second place was Stefan Bell’s return to the starting eleven of FSV Mainz 05 until last Saturday – which was done with the Bundesliga game at Borussia Dortmund. “It was about time,” said the 29-year-old, commenting on his comeback.
For Bo Svensson, there was no alternative to Bell in view of the five-man chain with which he wanted to counter the BVB offensive. Jeremiah St. Juste, who was in central defense under normal circumstances, was injured. Newcomer Luca Kilian was not fit enough to take more than one place on the bench after a gastrointestinal infection. Edimilson Fernandes, who had also been one of three central defenders, was in quarantine. Dimitri Lavalée, who came to Mainz from Belgium in the summer, was most recently a man for the U23 and will now be loaned to the Belgian top division club VV St. Truiden until the end of the current season.
So Stefan Bell was allowed to answer. For the first time since March 30, 2019 at 1: 3 in Bremen in a Bundesliga game. Then he was in action again, on August 10 of the same year in the DFB Cup game at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. After a foul, Bell had to be replaced in the middle of the second half, and the injury turned out to be more severe than initially thought: the capsule and ligaments in the ankle were damaged and forced him into an almost endlessly long break with surgery, rehab and many months of individual training. “I only started training with the team again in May,” he says. “After that it took me another six months to get back to Bundesliga level in terms of speed and routine.”
“Bello is an important part of the team”
It was questionable whether Bell, whose first of 177 Bundesliga appearances was in the beginning of December 2012, would reach this level again. Not only because of the long break, but also because his performances in the 2018/19 season were at best mixed. It was no coincidence that the then sports director Rouven Schröder only gave him a one-year contract with significantly reduced salaries last summer after the old contract had already expired three weeks. That seemed like a farewell in installments, even if the manager assured that he did not want to get rid of the central defender. “Bello is an important part of the team and one of the faces of Mainz 05,” said Schröder.
Bell has been part of the club’s legs again since the 16th matchday of the current season. “I was convinced that he would do the job well,” says Svensson, who called the 29-year-old as the middle of the three central defenders between Moussa Niakhaté and Alexander Hack. In his assessment, he saw himself confirmed after the final whistle. “When I see how he organized things back there, that was very valuable,” the coach praised the returnee. “To bring such an achievement after so many months …”
“He knows Mainz 05 inside and out”
Bell, who has been playing at the Bruchweg in Mainz since he was young and who won the German A-Juniors championship under Thomas Tuchel in 2009, has a heart for the club (“He knows Mainz 05 inside and out”), intelligence and a lot of experience. “He can do his fellow men better and he doesn’t get restless,” said Svensson of his former team-mate. “This package, playful and mental, was important for the group on Saturday and will remain important even if he doesn’t play.”
After the 1-1 draw at the Westfalenstadion, the player himself spoke of having “done the job solidly”. Apparently he was not afraid of the task. “I’ve felt very good since November and December and haven’t missed a training session.” The fact that most of the ball possession was on Dortmund’s side and that the Mainz back team was mostly low, should have helped him. In this way he was spared running duels; they had been his major shortcoming in the previous season.
The fact that Jeremiah St. Juste will also be absent on Tuesday evening against VfL Wolfsburg (8.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and Sky) increases Stefan Bell’s chances of his next appearance. In any case, Bo Svensson can assume to have a full-fledged central defender more in the squad.
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