From one win out of 13 appearances, which put FSV Mainz 05 in the relegation zone made them clean up. Improvement is not done by bringing in great players. Christian Heidel and Martin Schmidt, two figures who have become familiar with the club, returned home offering passion, fighting power and optimism from within. Yes, both of them will work behind the scenes to raise the achievements of Die Nullfuenfer.
Christian Heidel was appointed a member of the Sports and Communications Council. Previously, he held the position of sporting director for Mainz from 1992 to 2016. He made several important and surprising decisions to keep Mainz in the Bundesliga. The names who are now with the status of great coaches such as Juergen Klopp or Thomas Tuchel came to the surface thanks to the man who was born on June 2, 1963.
In May 2016, Heidel moved to Schalke 04 in the same position he had at Mainz. At that time his influence was quite large. Together with the club from the City of Gelsenkirchen, he contributed to bringing the club to the 2017/18 Bundesliga runners-up, advancing to the DFB-Pokal and Europa League quarter-finals, and qualifying for the last 16 of the 2018/19 Champions League.
The decline in Schalke’s performance last season was one of the factors for Heidel’s resignation. In addition, he is also suspected of having problems with the Schalke Executive Board and Supervisory Board which increases his reasons for leaving Schalke. Having been unemployed since March 2019, a call to return home to Mainz made Heidel accept the offer and determined to bring his hometown club to, at least, stay in the Bundesliga.
“It feels like coming home. I came back one day and a lot has changed. However, Mainz 05 has always been my club. I feel fine, ”he said when he returned to the Opel Arena.
“We can only do it together. When you are at your best it will be easy, and we now have the responsibility as a club. Everyone said we were relegated. But, we will fight and it must start today, “said Heidel.
On the other hand, Martin Schmidt returned to Mainz with a new status: sporting director. Having served as the head coach of Mainz U-23 and the senior team from 2010 to 2017, the experience and speed of adaptation will be an advantage in itself. “I owe a lot to Mainz 05 and now I sit here with a lot of valuable experience to give something back to the club, the city and also the fans,” said Martin Schmidt.
Indeed, the team atmosphere started to improve. This can be seen from the enthusiasm of the players since the arrival of Heidel and Schmidt even though Jan-Moritz Lichte has just been removed from the position of head coach. The appointment of Jan Siewert, even as an interim coach, also shows that the changes Mainz has made from the side of team management are not without calculation. As the head of the youth team academy, Siewert knows very well what the team needs.
Seeing the financial condition of a team like Mainz, it is very difficult to expect changes to be made by bringing in players in the transfer market. For this reason, internal reform by involving people who “know” the situation and condition of the team is the right choice.
“The assumption that Mainz 05 will now win all the games is a flimsy. I just promise that we will get everything back on track. ” “I am not a savior or a messiah. In the past, too, not everything was ideal. We had a difficult situation, but we got over it. That’s our job right now, “said Heidel.
Against Bayern Munich on Spieltag 14, Mainz 05 is aware that it will be difficult to compete technically and individually. However, novelty on the management side with an approach of fighting spirit, optimism, and positive things outside of the technical, can be the only most realistic way to earn points.
Mainz 05’s last win against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena has been going on for a long time, namely March 2016. However, it should be remembered, even though Mainz players are far below Die Roten, the presence of Martin Schmidt, in particular, could be a glimmer of hope.
The reason is, in the 2015/16 season, Bayern Munich experienced their first defeat in the Bundesliga by Schmidt’s Mainz. Now, even though Schmidt is in a different position, hope remains, even if small.
ASL
