Bundesliga
Mainz coach Svensson at the end of the series: the answer will follow
For coach Bo Svensson, a winning streak broke with Mainz. photo
© Swen Pförtner/dpa
With a run of ten games without defeat, FSV Mainz 05 traveled to VfL Wolfsburg. But a weak first half hour ended the run. Is the defeat a setback with effect?
Coach Bo Svensson was only marginally interested in the end of FSV Mainz 05’s winning streak. “I regret that we lost. I regret the way we lost even more,” said the Dane after the 0: 3 (0: 3) at VfL Wolfsburg. “The thing about the series? It is what it is.”
Was the defeat in Wolfsburg a setback with an impact or does it sharpen your senses for the last four games of the season in the Bundesliga? Svensson doesn’t know. “It can go in all directions. The answer will come on Friday.” Then FC Schalke 04 will play in Mainz. “It’s part of competitive sport to deal with resistance,” emphasized the coach. Now there was a damper. “How do you deal with it? That’s the crucial question.”
“We weren’t on target”
The Mainz team went ten games unbeaten in the Bundesliga, drawing four and winning six – the highlight being a 3-1 win over German record champions FC Bayern Munich. The series has taken the Rhineland-Palatinate team close to the European Cup places.
And suddenly a game like this in Wolfsburg – just eight days after the gala against Bayern. “We weren’t at our best. If we weren’t at our best then I think we would have lost to any Bundesliga team today,” said Svensson. It’s not just about one thing, it’s about several. “We will discuss and analyze this internally.”
The game in the Volkswagen Arena was over after just 30 minutes. Twice Jonas Wind (5th/28th) and once Sebastiaan Bornauw (13th) brought Wolfsburg forward early on and revealed Mainz’s weaknesses that afternoon. “That wasn’t good enough against such a team,” said 05 defense chief Stefan Bell.
“Had a carefree season”
“What’s worse than breaking the streak is the way we lost,” he shared his coach’s opinion. “It’s a shame that it’s happening against a competitor in terms of places in the table.” Due to the defeat, Mainz slipped to eighth place and are one place and one point behind Wolfsburg. The chances of slipping into the European Cup still exist.
“We played a carefree season,” said sporting director Martin Schmidt. “But when you’re up there, you want to stay there. But today it didn’t look like it.”