Mainz crisis is getting worse
Coach Svensson throws down after cup debacle
November 2, 2023, 6:41 p.m
The winless Bundesliga soccer team FSV Mainz 05 has had a season to forget so far and needs a new coach after the cup exit at Hertha BSC. The previous coach Bo Svensson is resigning with immediate effect. U23 coach Jan Siewert is moving to the professionals for the time being.
FSV Mainz 05 is experiencing the biggest sporting crisis in years and needs a new coach in the midst of it all. After the very weak performance in the DFB Cup (0:3 at Hertha BSC) on Wednesday evening and so far no win in nine Bundesliga games, the Dane Bo Svensson is throwing out. The end was already announced after the bankruptcy in the Olympic Stadium. When the inevitable question about his future came, he replied: “That’s for others to decide anyway.” Svensson now anticipated his possible dismissal by resigning.
Svensson “decided on this step after a long conversation with sports director Christian Heidel and sports director Martin Schmidt on Thursday,” the club said in a statement. The Dane drew the conclusions from the worst start to the season in the club’s history. U23 coach Jan Siewert will be in charge of the team in the next game on Saturday (3:30 p.m./Sky) against RB Leipzig. The 41-year-old was the somewhat luckless and unsuccessful team manager of Huddersfield Town in England’s second division from January 2019 to August 2019; he previously coached Borussia Dortmund’s U23s. “Mainz 05 owes a lot to Bo, especially the fact that we are still playing in the Bundesliga,” said Heidel.
Svensson himself had ruled out resigning before the Hertha game. The debacle in the capital apparently made the emotional Dane change his mind. Just a few days ago, the club’s management had publicly expressed their confidence in Svensson. The Dane has “100 percent backing,” Schmidt emphasized after the 2-2 draw at VfL Bochum. But internally things weren’t said to be so harmonious between the coach and the club. Svensson’s contract expires at the end of the season and the fact that the Dane was hesitant about extending the contract raised questions about commitment. But the club is now spared a high severance payment.
The sporting situation is extremely worrying: Mainz have been waiting for a win in the Bundesliga for 14 games across the season. The only success in the current season came in the meager 1-0 win at SV Elversberg in the first round of the cup. Svensson had a successful start with the Rheinhessen, for whom he had also been active as a player for seven years. In January 2021, he took over the team in second-to-last place in the table and sensationally led the team to stay in the league with the best second half of the season in the club’s history. Mainz finished the following two seasons safely in eighth and ninth place, and is currently back in the middle of a relegation battle.
And as if all that wasn’t enough, the Anwar El Ghazi case continues to cause unrest off the pitch. According to the club, the 28-year-old actually showed remorse after his first anti-Israel post. A few hours before kick-off, the striker, who has since been suspended and was pardoned on Monday, distanced himself from the content of the Mainz press release – and indirectly accused the club of lying.