The Zerofivers are in eighth place with 41 points after 27 games and are currently the third best team in the second half of the season. They cracked the 40-point mark with the 3-0 win against Leipzig two games ago and secured their place in the league. Surely that was confirmed during the winter break, however? “Yes, of course,” answered captain Silvan Widmer. Behind the success is “a very positive development,” according to the fullback. The team is delivering in training and in matches, and the new signings in winter have “hit the ground running,” he added.
Competition, but great harmony
The consistency described above that the Mainz team lacked at times in the first half of the season is one of the most important things in football, stressed Widmer. “At the moment, we are managing to consistently perform on the pitch, no matter which opposition we face and what the current situation is. We are doing our thing and believe in our own abilities,” said the Swiss player, explaining the reasons for the outstanding amount of points picked up in recent weeks and months since the break.
We get along great and all pull together. It really is a great squad.
The high quality of the squad, which has been boosted by winter signings Ludovic Ajorque and Andreas Hanche-Olsen, is also extremely important. Head coach Bo Svensson recently described it as an “ambivalent feeling” to look over his shoulder in a game and see who is sitting there on the bench. This situation increases the competition, however, said the Zerofivers’ captain. Every player knows that he has to “step on the gas” in training to defend his regular place. Nevertheless, Widmer stressed that the team is “together” and harmonises well. “We get along great and all pull together. It really is a great squad.
Giving their all on and off the pitch
The cohesion is also evident when Widmer himself is not on the pitch from the start, because the players on the bench also play an important role. “I noticed that you can help the team a lot from the outside, and I have tried to put in as much positive energy as possible and support the boys as much as possible,” said the captain, describing the importance of emotional support and “pushing” his teammates from the bench.
From a sporting point of view, too, it is of course an advantage to be able to add quality from the bench during the game. “Games are often decided in the closing stages, sometimes by substitutes,” said the Switzerland international. Recently, for example, Nelson Weiper scored in injury time a few minutes after coming on as a substitute to make it 2-1 against Werder Bremen. For a substitute, it’s about “giving your all from the first second,” regardless of how much time is left in the game.
Different games and lessons learned
Widmer has started in both games after the international break against Leipzig (3-0) and Bremen (2-2) and has experienced two very different games. “In Leipzig we had the feeling on the pitch that almost everything was coming together perfectly. Everything went in our favour,” recalled the 30-year-old, describing the “excellent performance” they put in. Against Bremen, this was less the case, especially in the first half. “The second half was better, but we gave away the lead twice straight away,” said Widmer. The captain learned valuable lessons from the exciting final period against SVW, the likes of which he has never experienced in his career, and said it is important to be “even more concentrated and intelligent” in the first minutes after a goal. In the end, two long balls from Bremen that they were “not ready enough for” cost Mainz the victory and two points.
“It felt like a defeat,” said Widmer, giving an insight into his feelings immediately after the final whistle. They had played at home against a team that are behind FSV in the table and therefore they demanded a win on themselves, “especially after the positive last few weeks,” he added. Nevertheless, they shouldn’t “get caught up” about everything now as they picked up one point in the end and remain unbeaten for an eighth game in a row.
“Stand up to” Köln on an emotional level
The Zerofivers will have the chance to get all three points again on Saturday afternoon (15:30 CEST) when they face 1. FC Köln away from home. “It will be a game full of emotions”, said Widmer, expecting a difficult task in the cathedral city as he looked ahead to the atmosphere as well as the support from numerous Mainz supporters travelling with the team. “Two teams are meeting that won’t give each other anything,” said the FSV captain. Especially in terms of the emotions, the team have to “stand up to” Köln, especially since Baumgart’s team also thrives on fighting hard. “We have to stand up to them and use our own qualities.”
The duels on the wings could be particularly interesting, since both teams often use them to score their goals. Köln have scored 70 percent of their goals coming from out wide, and the Zerofivers have already been successful nine times from crosses. At the back, they have to try to prevent crosses and get help from teammates in one-on-two situations as soon as a Köln fullback joins in the attacking efforts, according to Widmer. Going forward, he wants to try to “attack the depth and provide the strikers with good balls in.” The 5-0 victory in the reverse fixture is no longer important, since it lies in the past and Köln were a man down for a large portion of the game. “It will be a completely different game on Saturday; we have to prepare for that, just like in the last few weeks.”
The Zerofivers are in eighth place with 41 points after 27 games and are currently the third best team in the second half of the season. They cracked the 40-point mark with the 3-0 win against Leipzig two games ago and secured their place in the league. Surely that was confirmed during the winter break, however? “Yes, of course,” answered captain Silvan Widmer. Behind the success is “a very positive development,” according to the fullback. The team is delivering in training and in matches, and the new signings in winter have “hit the ground running,” he added.
Competition, but great harmony
The consistency described above that the Mainz team lacked at times in the first half of the season is one of the most important things in football, stressed Widmer. “At the moment, we are managing to consistently perform on the pitch, no matter which opposition we face and what the current situation is. We are doing our thing and believe in our own abilities,” said the Swiss player, explaining the reasons for the outstanding amount of points picked up in recent weeks and months since the break.
We get along great and all pull together. It really is a great squad.
The high quality of the squad, which has been boosted by winter signings Ludovic Ajorque and Andreas Hanche-Olsen, is also extremely important. Head coach Bo Svensson recently described it as an “ambivalent feeling” to look over his shoulder in a game and see who is sitting there on the bench. This situation increases the competition, however, said the Zerofivers’ captain. Every player knows that he has to “step on the gas” in training to defend his regular place. Nevertheless, Widmer stressed that the team is “together” and harmonises well. “We get along great and all pull together. It really is a great squad.
Giving their all on and off the pitch
The cohesion is also evident when Widmer himself is not on the pitch from the start, because the players on the bench also play an important role. “I noticed that you can help the team a lot from the outside, and I have tried to put in as much positive energy as possible and support the boys as much as possible,” said the captain, describing the importance of emotional support and “pushing” his teammates from the bench.
From a sporting point of view, too, it is of course an advantage to be able to add quality from the bench during the game. “Games are often decided in the closing stages, sometimes by substitutes,” said the Switzerland international. Recently, for example, Nelson Weiper scored in injury time a few minutes after coming on as a substitute to make it 2-1 against Werder Bremen. For a substitute, it’s about “giving your all from the first second,” regardless of how much time is left in the game.
Different games and lessons learned
Widmer has started in both games after the international break against Leipzig (3-0) and Bremen (2-2) and has experienced two very different games. “In Leipzig we had the feeling on the pitch that almost everything was coming together perfectly. Everything went in our favour,” recalled the 30-year-old, describing the “excellent performance” they put in. Against Bremen, this was less the case, especially in the first half. “The second half was better, but we gave away the lead twice straight away,” said Widmer. The captain learned valuable lessons from the exciting final period against SVW, the likes of which he has never experienced in his career, and said it is important to be “even more concentrated and intelligent” in the first minutes after a goal. In the end, two long balls from Bremen that they were “not ready enough for” cost Mainz the victory and two points.
“It felt like a defeat,” said Widmer, giving an insight into his feelings immediately after the final whistle. They had played at home against a team that are behind FSV in the table and therefore they demanded a win on themselves, “especially after the positive last few weeks,” he added. Nevertheless, they shouldn’t “get caught up” about everything now as they picked up one point in the end and remain unbeaten for an eighth game in a row.
“Stand up to” Köln on an emotional level
The Zerofivers will have the chance to get all three points again on Saturday afternoon (15:30 CEST) when they face 1. FC Köln away from home. “It will be a game full of emotions”, said Widmer, expecting a difficult task in the cathedral city as he looked ahead to the atmosphere as well as the support from numerous Mainz supporters travelling with the team. “Two teams are meeting that won’t give each other anything,” said the FSV captain. Especially in terms of the emotions, the team have to “stand up to” Köln, especially since Baumgart’s team also thrives on fighting hard. “We have to stand up to them and use our own qualities.”
The duels on the wings could be particularly interesting, since both teams often use them to score their goals. Köln have scored 70 percent of their goals coming from out wide, and the Zerofivers have already been successful nine times from crosses. At the back, they have to try to prevent crosses and get help from teammates in one-on-two situations as soon as a Köln fullback joins in the attacking efforts, according to Widmer. Going forward, he wants to try to “attack the depth and provide the strikers with good balls in.” The 5-0 victory in the reverse fixture is no longer important, since it lies in the past and Köln were a man down for a large portion of the game. “It will be a completely different game on Saturday; we have to prepare for that, just like in the last few weeks.”