Aarón: “The best thing that we can give the fans”

Aarón secured the win for 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday against FC Bayern with his amazing goal to make it 3-1. It was a nice birthday present for the Spaniard and a day that he will “always remember”. “The feeling of scoring a goal at the end of a game like that is incredible, of course,” said the left-back, who emphasised the united team performance. “We are in great form and haven’t lost in ten games in a row. We want to keep this momentum going and of course have to work hard for it, because you’re not just gifted something like that.”

Praise from Griezmann

The former Spain youth international came into the match against FC Bayern at halftime for the injured Anthony Caci and contributed to the Zerofivers’ dominance after the break. “You could see that our timing was better after the restart,” said sporting director Martin Schmidt in an interview after the game. Right from the start of the second half, the team showed great build-up play and were winning the ball back well, and were altogether more courageous. After goals from Ludovic Ajorque to equalise and Leandro Barreiro to take the lead, Aarón finally crowned his performance with a goal to make it 3-1 and sent the fans at the MEWA ARENA into raptures.

The Spaniard’s precise shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 79th minute of the match, which found the far corner, was so impressive that France international Antoine Griezmann applauded it on his story on the social media platform Instagram. On how this came about, Aarón explained that “We’re not close friends, but we stay in contact and know each other from our time in Spain. That’s the history behind it.”

“It was the perfect day”

It was probably also this “wonder goal” from Aarón, as Schmidt described it, that made the game against Bayern “feel really good” for the Spaniard, both for himself personally and the whole team. They fought their way into it with a “sensational second half performance from the whole team,” summed up the left-back, who also saw chances for his side in the first half, too.

It was one of the greatest days that I will always remember.

“It was one of the greatest days that I will always remember,” said Aarón looking back. “Playing against Bayern on my birthday, winning and then also scoring a goal. It was the perfect day,” he said enthusiastically, who celebrated the win afterwards together with Stefan Bell between the Q and R blocks. “These are games for the fans that support us all year round. When it all goes right against an opponent like this, it’s almost the best thing we can give them. And they deserved it,” said Aarón, dedicating the triumph over the record champions to the FSV supporters as well.

A particularly good record at home against Bayern

The fact that the Zerofivers have beaten FCB three times in a row at home in the Bundesliga shows their strength playing at home, even though they faltered slightly in front of their home crowd at the beginning of the season. Now they are on a roll, especially due to the home victories. “We seem to play particularly well at home against Bayern,” said the 26-year-old, laughing.

Aarón compared the current situation with the first half of the season, saying that there were moments towards the start when they lost a bit of confidence due to the results. They were never able to start a run of two or three wins in a row to get a good feeling. “Now we are in this streak and it gives us the confidence we need,” he continued. The streak has developed into a “very good run” in recent weeks.

Aarón has played 119 competitive matches for the Zerofivers.

Setting things straight

They want to continue this on Sunday (17:30 CEST) against VfL Wolfsburg. “Looking at the table, we have a very important game coming up,” said Aarón, looking ahead to the match against direct rivals in the table, who are currently two points behind FSV in eighth place. With a win, the team can look further up the table, but VfL are a “dangerous opponent,” as they showed when they beat Mainz 3-0 away from home in the reverse fixture. “It is always difficult there, but it should be our aim to win,” said the Spaniard optimistically.

It would be madness if we just gave the games away now.

The 5-0 defeat from last season is further motivation for this. “We have to make up for that,” said Aarón. There was a “very bad feeling” after the clear defeat, but they hadn’t played well either and “weren’t at their best at all.” Now it is important to “set things straight this year.”

Overall, they want to get the maximum out of the remaining five games this season. “We have to take on these games against opponents who have a lot at stake. It would be madness if we just gave the games away now. Instead, we want to concentrate on the working hard, that’s our focus.”

Aarón secured the win for 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday against FC Bayern with his amazing goal to make it 3-1. It was a nice birthday present for the Spaniard and a day that he will “always remember”. “The feeling of scoring a goal at the end of a game like that is incredible, of course,” said the left-back, who emphasised the united team performance. “We are in great form and haven’t lost in ten games in a row. We want to keep this momentum going and of course have to work hard for it, because you’re not just gifted something like that.”

Praise from Griezmann

The former Spain youth international came into the match against FC Bayern at halftime for the injured Anthony Caci and contributed to the Zerofivers’ dominance after the break. “You could see that our timing was better after the restart,” said sporting director Martin Schmidt in an interview after the game. Right from the start of the second half, the team showed great build-up play and were winning the ball back well, and were altogether more courageous. After goals from Ludovic Ajorque to equalise and Leandro Barreiro to take the lead, Aarón finally crowned his performance with a goal to make it 3-1 and sent the fans at the MEWA ARENA into raptures.

The Spaniard’s precise shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 79th minute of the match, which found the far corner, was so impressive that France international Antoine Griezmann applauded it on his story on the social media platform Instagram. On how this came about, Aarón explained that “We’re not close friends, but we stay in contact and know each other from our time in Spain. That’s the history behind it.”

“It was the perfect day”

It was probably also this “wonder goal” from Aarón, as Schmidt described it, that made the game against Bayern “feel really good” for the Spaniard, both for himself personally and the whole team. They fought their way into it with a “sensational second half performance from the whole team,” summed up the left-back, who also saw chances for his side in the first half, too.

It was one of the greatest days that I will always remember.

“It was one of the greatest days that I will always remember,” said Aarón looking back. “Playing against Bayern on my birthday, winning and then also scoring a goal. It was the perfect day,” he said enthusiastically, who celebrated the win afterwards together with Stefan Bell between the Q and R blocks. “These are games for the fans that support us all year round. When it all goes right against an opponent like this, it’s almost the best thing we can give them. And they deserved it,” said Aarón, dedicating the triumph over the record champions to the FSV supporters as well.

A particularly good record at home against Bayern

The fact that the Zerofivers have beaten FCB three times in a row at home in the Bundesliga shows their strength playing at home, even though they faltered slightly in front of their home crowd at the beginning of the season. Now they are on a roll, especially due to the home victories. “We seem to play particularly well at home against Bayern,” said the 26-year-old, laughing.

Aarón compared the current situation with the first half of the season, saying that there were moments towards the start when they lost a bit of confidence due to the results. They were never able to start a run of two or three wins in a row to get a good feeling. “Now we are in this streak and it gives us the confidence we need,” he continued. The streak has developed into a “very good run” in recent weeks.

Setting things straight

They want to continue this on Sunday (17:30 CEST) against VfL Wolfsburg. “Looking at the table, we have a very important game coming up,” said Aarón, looking ahead to the match against direct rivals in the table, who are currently two points behind FSV in eighth place. With a win, the team can look further up the table, but VfL are a “dangerous opponent,” as they showed when they beat Mainz 3-0 away from home in the reverse fixture. “It is always difficult there, but it should be our aim to win,” said the Spaniard optimistically.

It would be madness if we just gave the games away now.

The 5-0 defeat from last season is further motivation for this. “We have to make up for that,” said Aarón. There was a “very bad feeling” after the clear defeat, but they hadn’t played well either and “weren’t at their best at all.” Now it is important to “set things straight this year.”

Overall, they want to get the maximum out of the remaining five games this season. “We have to take on these games against opponents who have a lot at stake. It would be madness if we just gave the games away now. Instead, we want to concentrate on the working hard, that’s our focus.”