Mainz may not have won the Bundesliga or claimed a single DFB Pokal in their 116-year history, but the club have established themselves as a top-flight side over the last 11-seasons. However, the famous carnival city hasn’t had much to celebrate in recent seasons and now Mainz look set for a relegation battle that could see them slip back into the second tier.
Name: 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e.V.
Nicknamed: Die Nullfünfer (the 05ers) or Karnevalsverein (Carnival club)
Founded: 16th March 1905
Stadium: Opel Arena. Capacity, 34,034
Noteworthy Former Players: Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Andre Schurrle, Manuel Friedrich, Jurgen Klopp.
Manager: Bo Svensson. Svensson played for Mainz from 2007-2014 and retired whilst at the club. Now 41, Svensson only took charge of Mainz in January of this year following a 2-year spell at FC Liefering, a second-tier Austrian club. Svensson had a win ratio of 53.49% in Austria and has so far guided Mainz to 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats from his opening six games in charge. The inexperienced manager has a very tough task on his hands in maintaining Mainz’s top-flight status this season. A status that the club worked long and hard to achieve.
Following the two World Wars which saw a complete reconstruction of the German football pyramid, Mainz battled hard to keep themselves in the second tier, suffering numerous relegations and promotions during the 1970s and 1980s. In 2004 the club finally made it to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history and managed to stay there for three seasons before returning to the 2. Bundesliga. Jurgen Klopp famously managed the club from 2001-2008 before moving on to Borussia Dortmund.
However, the club returned to the top-flight two seasons later and have been an ever-present in the Bundesliga since the 2009/10 campaign. Mainz finished a record high of 5th in the 2010/11 campaign and have finished in the top 10 on four separate occasions. The last four seasons have seen Mainz finish in the bottom half of the table, with 15th place being their lowest ever finish during the 2016/17 campaign.
Mainz are in real trouble this season. The club currently sit second from bottom in the Bundesliga, 5pts ahead of Schalke and 4pts behind newly-promoted Bielefeld. New manager, Bo Svensson, has earned the club two of their three wins this season, which isn’t bad considering he only joined the club in January. Scoring goals and conceding them has been an issue for Mainz this season, with the club boasting the second-worst goal difference in the Bundesliga (-21) after Schalke (-37). Adam Szalai is yet to score in seven appearances for the club, while Quaison has only chipped in with 2-goals in 19 games and Svensson simply must get more out of his attackers or the club will most likely be relegated.