On Thursday evening, Urs Fischer faces his first task in his new office. With FSV Mainz 05 he is playing in the Conference League game at Lech Posen (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Conference League and on RTL+), and the starting position is a bit tricky. In the event of a defeat, the Bundesliga representative is threatened with going into the play-offs in February. With a win, however, the Rheinhessen would probably qualify early for the round of 16, but fielding the best formation could lead to one or two players lacking freshness three days later – in the league game at FC Bayern Munich.
Fischer knows what he was getting into by signing the contract, which is valid until summer 2028. “There are no easy situations in football, and when there are coaching changes in the middle of a season, you have to take it as it is,” he says. Things are threatening in Mainz right now. “You have to catch up on the six points first,” says the Swiss, looking at the Bundesliga table, which implies that his goal is to stay in the league. We are only five points behind the relegation place.
“Can’t a long ball be attractive?”
Either way, the 05ers will have to score points before the winter break, either in Munich or against FC St. Pauli, if they don’t want to run the risk of starting the new year behind. At Union Berlin, his previous employer, Fischer proved over several years that he could give a team a very stable defensive structure. “Being disgusting and tireless, compact, organized” are components that should also come together in Mainz. “And a long ball is always an issue. Getting the simple things onto the pitch is the approach,” says Fischer.
The 59-year-old coach says he never saw the criticism that his style of play, which led the Berliners from the second to the first Bundesliga and then successively into all European competitions up to the Champions League, to be expedient, unsightly, and only attractive when successful, as a personal attack. “If someone defines ‘attractive play’ for me, I will sit down and discuss it with them.” And: “Can’t a long ball be attractive?” The answer based on the Mainz experience of the past few weeks is: no, if there is no one in front who can use it. For the club, the question of beautiful football has moved into the background; given the precarious situation, it is about results, not experiences.
Fischer will accommodate his staff insofar as he is not planning to change the system from a three-man to a four-man chain, at least for the time being. “Players need something to hold on to and a new system requires more preparation.” Furthermore, he does not intend to overload the actors with information. Small steps could make one big step, “ten big steps would overwhelm the team.”
