DUrs Fischer is very familiar with his surroundings. And it was fun for him to point out: “Yeah, yeah, I have to go all the way to the left…” Fischer grinned as he entered the press room of the An der Alten Försterei stadium as a “guest coach” after the 2-2 draw. More precisely: As coach of 1. FSV Mainz 05, which he has been for around a month now, and no longer as coach of Union, which he was for five and a half years.
Fischer, 59, seemed to be in a good mood, which could only be because he was hugged so often and warmly on his first work-related return to Köpenick since November 2023 that Saturday became an anticipated World Cuddle Day for him. Maybe also because he can claim that he is still undefeated as Mainz coach.
On the other hand, it could also be said that after five games across all competitions as Mainz coach, Fischer is still waiting for his first win. You don’t have to be Pythagoras to calculate that a bottom team like Mainz won’t get anywhere if they only collect draws.
The yield in Berlin seemed all the more meager as Mainz had marked a significant difference to ninth-placed Köpenick with a 2-0 lead. The 1-0 by Nadiem Amiri (30th) and the 2-0 by another former Unioner, Benedict Hollerbach (69th), were finely played and thus took into account the higher footballing quality of the Mainz midfield. The fact that Union came back with the force of the stadium and that the Union team not only smelled icy cold but also morning air at minus six degrees when Woo-Yeong Jeong scored the 1-2 with a header (77th) – who could have expected that more than Fischer?
If you like, it was no coincidence that technical aids were needed to determine who had scored the 2-2 equalizer in the 86th minute: the central defender Danilho Doekhi, who was initially credited as the author, who heaved a free kick from Derrick Köhn onto the underside of the crossbar? Substitute Marin Ljubicic, who pushed the ball that had bounced on the goal line over the line for safety? Or the whole stadium?
The only thing that is certain is that the goal line technology signal only came on after Ljubicic’s touch; it put a Köpenick striker debate into perspective. “Unfortunately they don’t always hit the box,” said Union coach Steffen Baumgart. Center forward Andrej Ilic provided proof when the score was 1:2. After Andras Schäfer lobbed the crossbar, Ilic put a spectacular crown on his previous lack of luck (15 Bundesliga games, zero goals). He missed the target when trying to put the rebound into the empty goal. “Tragic figure? The job is far too cool for that,” grumbled Baumgart, recalling the seven assists Ilic has provided so far.
Ilic is therefore behind Ilyas Ansah (five goals, two assists) in Union’s internal team ranking, but ahead of, for example, Bundesliga colleagues like Nadiem Amiri (4/1). The Mainz top scorer was convinced that he would stay in the league; his team was “too good,” he argued. Nevertheless, he advised not to rely only on football elements on Tuesday against rivals Heidenheim: “Keep your head up, take your balls in your hand – and then let’s get started,” suggested Amiri.
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