The Zerofivers returned to the training ground on Thursday morning to begin their winter preparations. This is the first time the players have come together since the home game against Eintracht Frankfurt just over a fortnight ago. Only thirteen players (10 outfield players, 3 goalkeepers), however, were present for the session which began at 11am. The head coach used his time off to travel to South Africa with his family which has allowed him to “recuperate” ahead of the training camp. We spoke to Svensson about the upcoming schedule, the state of the squad and the possibility of new arrivals.
Bo Svensson on…
…the smaller training group: “There are different reasons for this. Alexander Hack and Danny da Costa are ill, Leandro Barreiro is having an extended break after his time away with Luxembourg and will rejoin the team again at the training camp in Mallorca. Jonny Burkardt and Karim Onisiwo are being rested after their injuries and of course we have the three boys (Silvan Widmer, Edimilson Fernandes and Jae-Sung Lee) at the World Cup. The younger players are playing for the U19s and the U23s as normal.”
…how the preparations are going: “There are different ways to approach the winter break. I didn’t want to go straight into training with eleven weeks until the next game. I also didn’t want a long break followed by five weeks of preparations in mid-December. So this period of training followed by the two training camps is good because we won’t be physically run down and won’t lose too much athletically. The time in Mallorca will also be good for us mentally. We’ll be together, we have our friendlies and we’ll be able to polish our tactics. This is a good balance both mentally and physically.”
…the condition of the players: “You do of course notice that they have lost a little bit physically after all this time without training but we won’t drop down to the levels of the summer, which is the whole point. We want to keep the engine running even if we tone it down a touch. It’s all about getting the guys back onboard and getting them back involved.”
…what they’re working on in training: “The training will be tough and we also have a couple of games. There’s no point being wishy washy with it, that would be of no use to us. In order to get the most out of the next 16 days there will be different games, team building exercises and tactics. You can’t expect this period to be as intense as the one in January because the motivations are different. I was a player myself and I tried to use this experience to think about what would have been good for me at the time. We are a Bundesliga team and we need hard training sessions but when there isn’t a match on the horizon, you need to find a good balance for the players.”
… the potential for improvement: “We want to work on our entire game. We have analysed the first part of the season and we have seen that we need to improve at the back because that is always an important thing for Mainz in the Bundesliga. That doesn’t just come about in training, it also comes through a consistent team selection. We can also work on our tactics and perhaps operate a bit more flexibly. Attack wise, we’re doing similar things to last year but we haven’t been as effective, so there are a few points of reference in that regard.”
…possible transfers: “I don’t have a wish list but I’m also not ruling anything out. We lost two centre-backs in the summer in Moussa Niakhaté and Jeremiah St. Juste and only brought in Maxim Leitsch. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with him. We also played Edi and Anthony Caci out of position and we’ve had a bit less consistency in terms of the line-up. It’s important that we have enough players available at the back. At the top of the pitch we’ll have to see what the situation is with Karim and Jonny and we’ll keep our eyes open for a player that might suit us.”
…Burkardt and Onisiwo: “Both will be traveling to the training camp but the chances that they will play there are quite slim. Jonny isn’t ready yet and we won’t be taking any risks with Karim. They should be available for the start of training on 2nd January and hopefully maybe a little bit before that, but there is no point in rushing the healing process.”
…Marlon Mustapha: “Marlon is currently in rehabilitation in Offenbach and will be brought back slowly but it will take a while. Things are moving forward but he has had a tough time and he will need a longer period of rehabilitation.”
Before they travel to Mallorca on Monday, the players will train on Friday and Saturday (11am).
The Zerofivers returned to the training ground on Thursday morning to begin their winter preparations. This is the first time the players have come together since the home game against Eintracht Frankfurt just over a fortnight ago. Only thirteen players (10 outfield players, 3 goalkeepers), however, were present for the session which began at 11am. The head coach used his time off to travel to South Africa with his family which has allowed him to “recuperate” ahead of the training camp. We spoke to Svensson about the upcoming schedule, the state of the squad and the possibility of new arrivals.
Bo Svensson on…
…the smaller training group: “There are different reasons for this. Alexander Hack and Danny da Costa are ill, Leandro Barreiro is having an extended break after his time away with Luxembourg and will rejoin the team again at the training camp in Mallorca. Jonny Burkardt and Karim Onisiwo are being rested after their injuries and of course we have the three boys (Silvan Widmer, Edimilson Fernandes and Jae-Sung Lee) at the World Cup. The younger players are playing for the U19s and the U23s as normal.”
…how the preparations are going: “There are different ways to approach the winter break. I didn’t want to go straight into training with eleven weeks until the next game. I also didn’t want a long break followed by five weeks of preparations in mid-December. So this period of training followed by the two training camps is good because we won’t be physically run down and won’t lose too much athletically. The time in Mallorca will also be good for us mentally. We’ll be together, we have our friendlies and we’ll be able to polish our tactics. This is a good balance both mentally and physically.”
…the condition of the players: “You do of course notice that they have lost a little bit physically after all this time without training but we won’t drop down to the levels of the summer, which is the whole point. We want to keep the engine running even if we tone it down a touch. It’s all about getting the guys back onboard and getting them back involved.”
…what they’re working on in training: “The training will be tough and we also have a couple of games. There’s no point being wishy washy with it, that would be of no use to us. In order to get the most out of the next 16 days there will be different games, team building exercises and tactics. You can’t expect this period to be as intense as the one in January because the motivations are different. I was a player myself and I tried to use this experience to think about what would have been good for me at the time. We are a Bundesliga team and we need hard training sessions but when there isn’t a match on the horizon, you need to find a good balance for the players.”
… the potential for improvement: “We want to work on our entire game. We have analysed the first part of the season and we have seen that we need to improve at the back because that is always an important thing for Mainz in the Bundesliga. That doesn’t just come about in training, it also comes through a consistent team selection. We can also work on our tactics and perhaps operate a bit more flexibly. Attack wise, we’re doing similar things to last year but we haven’t been as effective, so there are a few points of reference in that regard.”
…possible transfers: “I don’t have a wish list but I’m also not ruling anything out. We lost two centre-backs in the summer in Moussa Niakhaté and Jeremiah St. Juste and only brought in Maxim Leitsch. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with him. We also played Edi and Anthony Caci out of position and we’ve had a bit less consistency in terms of the line-up. It’s important that we have enough players available at the back. At the top of the pitch we’ll have to see what the situation is with Karim and Jonny and we’ll keep our eyes open for a player that might suit us.”
…Burkardt and Onisiwo: “Both will be traveling to the training camp but the chances that they will play there are quite slim. Jonny isn’t ready yet and we won’t be taking any risks with Karim. They should be available for the start of training on 2nd January and hopefully maybe a little bit before that, but there is no point in rushing the healing process.”
…Marlon Mustapha: “Marlon is currently in rehabilitation in Offenbach and will be brought back slowly but it will take a while. Things are moving forward but he has had a tough time and he will need a longer period of rehabilitation.”
Before they travel to Mallorca on Monday, the players will train on Friday and Saturday (11am).