Previewing the Bundesliga - Part 3/18: 1. FSV Mainz 05

All information accurate as of August 11^th, 2026.

Club Name: 1. FSV Mainz 05

Founded: 1905

Stadium: MEWA Arena - 33,305 capacity

Nickname: Die Nullfünfer (The 0-5ers), Karnevalsverein (Carnival Club)

Titles: No major titles

Head Coach: Urs Fischer

Captain: Silvan Widmer

Mascot: No official mascot. Johannes the Clown is the mascot for the 05er KidsClub and thus serves as the unofficial mascot.

Goal Song: Carl Zulehner - Der Mainzer Narrhallamarsch

2025/26 Season: 10^th

Opening Fixture: SC Paderborn (H)

If you were to paint a picture of a manager that was a no-nonsense, tough talking, seasoned veteran, it would look eerily similar to Mainz’s Urs Fischer. However, the 60-year-old belies his physical appearance by radiating calmness to his players on and off the pitch, but always being absolutely clear in his messaging. Being such an experienced coach, he knows to never get too high when winning, and never to get too low in defeat.

Fischer managed Zürich, Thun and Basel in his native Switzerland, before joining Union Berlin in 2018. In his first season, he won promotion to the Bundesliga for the East Berliners for the first time in their history. The fun didn’t stop there. In three consecutive seasons from 2020 to 2023, he qualified the club for the UEFA Conference League, Europa League and Champions League, respectively. For the 2022/23 campaign, he was named Bundesliga Manager of the Year. Sadly, a poor start to the following season, due to the pressure of Champions League football and a significant squad overhaul, caused Fischer to depart the club “by mutual consent”.

After two years out of coaching, Fischer was appointed as Mainz’s Head Coach when Bo Henriksen was dismissed in December 2025 with the club dead last in 18^th. Fischer did a remarkable, if not unsurprising, job by turning Mainz’s fortunes around and finishing in 10^th place. He lost only five of the remaining 21 Bundesliga games, winning nine and drawing the remaining seven. He also got the Nullfünfer to the quarter-finals of the Conference League, cruelly faltering to a strong Strasbourg side 4:2 on aggregate having carried a 2:0 lead into the second leg just two hours away over the French border.

His sides are always defence-first, and he utilises a rigid structure with a three (or five) at the back. They excel in transitional play and aim to generate chances from these almost exclusively. In 2025/26, Mainz averaged 44% possession, although certain matches stand out: the 2:2 draw away to Bayern Munich with 15% possession, and the 2:1 win at RB Leipzig with 31% possession epitomise how Fischer sets up his team for success against the bigger teams.

Mainz’s spending has been limited, with the biggest signing being Fabio Gruber from second tier 1. FC Nürnberg, a 23-year-old centre-back that cost €3.5million. I’m not sure that this will provide sufficient defensive reinforcement, though. The free signing of Eric Martel from 1. FC Köln, with Tom Krauß heading in the other direction for €3.5million isn’t terrible business, but it’s a very like-for-like transfer. Bringing in Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer (great name) on a free from Hamburger SV is also not bas business.

The most expensive departure, also for €3.5million (they seem to like this number), is right-back Nikolas Veratschnig who returns to his native Austria with Red Bull Salzburg. Also heading to the Ö-Bundesliga is 21-year-old striker Nelson Weiper, who had been lauded as a future German international in recent seasons. Zero goals from 24 Bundesliga appearances last season evidently convinced Fischer and his team to let him leave to Sturm Graz on loan to see if he can regain form and confidence.

The million Euro question that remains is the future of Kaishu Sano. The Japanese midfielder excelled under Fischer and made an impact at the World Cup, scoring against Brazil and providing an assist against Tunisia. The 25-year-old has a market value of €40million according to Transfermarkt, and the sharks are circling. Liverpool are touted as frontrunners to sign him, but Arsenal and Spurs are reportedly interested as well.

There was chatter around a move for star man Nadiem Amiri, with RB Leipzig reportedly interested in securing his services. Luckily for Mainz fans, Amiri put to bed any speculation last week by publicly stating his commitment to the club for the upcoming season, although with his contract only running to 2028, the same question could pop up in a year’s time.

Whatever the question is for Mainz this season, the answer is Nadiem Amiri. Their number ten, now aged 29, is a highly experienced Bundesliga midfielder and fully deserved his call-up by Julian Nagelsmann for Germany’s World Cup squad. He managed a combined 20 goals and assists last season in all competitions, and the team is relying on him massively to deliver again if they want to achieve anything in the coming season.

Aggregate numbers from DataMB shows that he was in the 89^th percentile for progressive passes completed amongst Bundesliga midfielders last season, and in the 82^nd percentile for progressive carries. He is perfect for Fischer’s system as he can hurt teams best during counterattacks when he has slightly more space to move into. Having played in a deeper role in previous seasons, he is thriving slightly further forward in this team. Naturally, this led to him recording 64 chances created during the season according to StatMuse, the 6^th highest in the league behind some seriously reputable names like Luis Díaz, Álex Grimaldo and Michael Olise. Not bad for a player on a team that was rock bottom at Christmas with one solitary win.

With Fischer’s side hitting fine form in the second half of the season, and little player turnover in the transfer window, I think we can assume that the line-up will look similar to what we’d gotten used to seeing in the first half of 2026.

11^th – if they lose Sano, and it looks like there’s a strong chance of that happening, then Mainz are going to struggle to be more than mediocre this season. Fischer is a great manager but he can’t work wonders with Robin Zentner in goal and distinctly average players at the back which will hinder them from competing in the upper echelons of the league. Without European football to contend with, I expect them to have a much stronger start to the season and not flirt too much with relegation, but I struggle to envision a return to fighting for the Conference League again just yet.

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8 - Union Berlin
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11 - Mainz
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17 - Köln
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