1. FSV Mainz 05

Mainz 05

Full name	1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e.V.
Nickname(s)	Die Nullfünfer (the 05ers), Karnevalsverein (Carnival club)
Founded	16 March 1905 (1905-03-16)
Ground	MEWA Arena
Capacity	34,034
President	Stefan Hofmann
Manager	Bo Henriksen
League	Bundesliga
2023–24	Bundesliga, 13th of 18
Website	http://www.mainz05.de/
Home colours Away colours Third colours

1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (German pronunciation: [ˌmaɪnts nʊl ˈfʏnf] ), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system, having most recently been promoted ahead of the 2009–10 season. The club's main local rivals are Eintracht Frankfurt and Kaiserslautern. In addition to the football division, Mainz 05 have handball and table tennis departments.

History

Early years

A failed attempt to start a football club in the city in 1903 was followed up two years later by the successful creation of 1. Mainzer Fussballclub Hassia 1905. After a number of years of play in the Süddeutschen Fußballverband (South German Football League), the club merged with FC Hermannia 07 – the former football side of Mainzer TV 1817 – to form 1. Mainzer Fussballverein Hassia 05, which dropped "Hassia" from its name in August 1912. Another merger after World War I, in 1919, with Sportverein 1908 Mainz, resulted in the formation of 1. Mainzer Fußball- und Sportverein 05. Die Nullfünfer ("05") was a solid club that earned several regional league championships in the period between the wars and qualified for the opening round of the national championships in 1921, after winning the Kreisliga Hessen.

Play during the Nazi era

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the club played in the Bezirksliga Main-Hessen – Gruppe Hessen, and the results included first-place finishes in 1932 and 1933. The results merited the team a place in the Gauliga Südwest, one of 16 new first-division leagues formed in the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. The club played only a single season at that level before being relegated, due to the high intensity play that they were unable to keep up with. Karl Scherm scored in 23 out of 44 matches with Mainz during his last season. In 1938, Mainz was forced into a merger with Reichsbahn SV Mainz and played as Reichsbahn SV Mainz 05 until the end of World War II.

Long march to the Bundesliga

Historical chart of 1. FSV Mainz league performance

After World War II, the club again joined the upper ranks of league play in Germany's Oberliga Südwest, but were never better than a mid-table side. It played in the top flight until the founding of the new professional league, the Bundesliga, in 1963 and would go on to play as a second division side for most of the next four decades. They withdrew for a time – from the late 1970s into the late 1980s – to the Amateur Oberliga Südwest (III), as the result of a series of financial problems. Mainz earned honours as the German amateur champions in 1982.

The club returned to professional play with promotion to the 2. Bundesliga for a single season in 1988–89 with Bodo Hertlein as president, before finally returning for an extended run in 1990–91. Initially, they were perennial relegation candidates, struggling hard each season to avoid being sent down. However, under unorthodox trainer Wolfgang Frank, Mainz became one of the first clubs in German football to adopt a flat four zone defence, as opposed to the then-popular man-to-man defence using a libero.

Mainz had three unsuccessful attempts to get to the top flight in 1996–97, 2001–02, and 2002–03, with close fourth-place finishes just out of the promotion zone. The last of those attempts stung as they were denied promotion in the 93rd minute of the last match of the season. One year earlier, Mainz became the best non-promoted team of all time in the 2. Bundesliga, with 64 points accumulated. However, the club's persistence paid dividends after promotion to the Bundesliga in 2003–04 under head coach Jürgen Klopp. The club played three seasons in the top flight, but were relegated at the end of the 2006–07 season. Mainz secured promotion to the top flight again two years later, after the 2008–09 season.

Mainz also earned a spot in the 2005–06 UEFA Cup in their debut Bundesliga season as Germany's nominee in the Fair Play draw which acknowledges positive play, respect for one's opponent, respect for the referee, the behaviour of the crowd and of team officials, as well as cautions and dismissals. Due to the Bruchweg stadium's limited capacity, the home matches in UEFA Cup were played in Frankfurt's Commerzbank-Arena. After defeating Armenian club Mika and Icelandic club Keflavík in the qualifying rounds, Mainz lost to eventual champions Sevilla 2–0 on aggregate in the first round.

In the 2010–11 season, Mainz equalled the Bundesliga starting record by winning their first seven matches that season. They ended the season with their best finish to date in fifth place, good enough to secure them their second entry to the UEFA Europa League, where they were eliminated in the third qualifying round by Romanian club Gaz Metan Mediaș.

On the final matchday of the 2022–23 season, Mainz secured a 2–2 draw against league leaders Borussia Dortmund at their stadium, causing the latter to lose the title to Bayern Munich on goal difference.

The 2023–24 season was challenging for Mainz, as they spent most of it in 17th place, with only two wins by matchday 25. However, they drastically improved under coach Bo Henriksen, remaining unbeaten in their last nine matches and winning five of them, including the final two against Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg. This impressive run lifted them from 16th to 13th place, ensuring their continued presence in the Bundesliga.

Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:

Season	Division	Tier	Position
1999–00	2. Bundesliga	II	9th
2000–01	2. Bundesliga		14th
2001–02	2. Bundesliga		4th
2002–03	2. Bundesliga		4th
2003–04	2. Bundesliga		3rd ↑
2004–05	Bundesliga	I	11th
2005–06	Bundesliga		11th
2006–07	Bundesliga		16th ↓
2007–08	2. Bundesliga	II	4th
2008–09	2. Bundesliga		2nd ↑
2009–10	Bundesliga	I	9th
2010–11	Bundesliga		5th
2011–12	Bundesliga		13th
2012–13	Bundesliga		13th
2013–14	Bundesliga		7th
2014–15	Bundesliga		11th
2015–16	Bundesliga		6th
2016–17	Bundesliga		15th
2017–18	Bundesliga		14th
2018–19	Bundesliga		12th
2019–20	Bundesliga		13th
2020–21	Bundesliga		12th
2021–22	Bundesliga		8th
2022–23	Bundesliga		9th
2023–24	Bundesliga		13th

Key

↑ Promoted

↓ Relegated

Stadium

The club plays its home matches at Mewa Arena, a new stadium opened in 2011 with a capacity of 34,034. The first event held at the new arena was the LIGA total! Cup 2011, which took place from 19 July through to 20 July 2011, with the other participants being Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Hamburger SV.

Die Nullfünfer previously played at the Bruchwegstadion, built in 1928, and modified several times over the years to hold a crowd of over 20,300 spectators. Averaging crowds of about 15,000 while in the 2. Bundesliga, the team's hard won recent success had them regularly filling their venue. The average home league attendance during the 2015–16 season was 30,324 spectators.Nullfünfer

A panorama view of the Mewa Arena

Club culture

Mainz is known for being one of the three foremost carnival cities in Germany, the others being Düsseldorf and Cologne. After every Mainzer goal scored at a home match, the "Narrhallamarsch", a famous German carnival tune, is played.

Reserve team

Main article: 1. FSV Mainz 05 II

The club's reserve team, Mainz 05 II, has also, with the rise of the senior side to Bundesliga level, risen through the ranks. The team first reached Oberliga level in 1999, followed by promotion to the Regionalliga in 2003. After playing there for two seasons, the team dropped to the Oberliga once more. In 2008, it won promotion to the Regionalliga West again and when this league was reduced in size in 2012, it entered the new Regionalliga Südwest. A third-place finish in this league in 2014 allowed the team to enter the promotion round to the 3. Liga, where it was successful against the Regionalliga Nordost champions and played at this level in 2014–15.

European record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2005–06	UEFA Cup	1Q	Mika	4–0	0–0	4–0
		2Q	Keflavík	2–0	2–0	4–0
		1R	Sevilla	0–2	0–0	0–2
2011–12	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Gaz Metan Mediaș	1–1	1–1	2–2
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Asteras Tripoli	1–0	1–3	2–3
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	Group C	Anderlecht	1–1	1–6	3rd
			Saint-Étienne	1–1	0–0
			Gabala	2–0	3–2

Notes

• 1Q: First qualifying round
• 2Q: Second qualifying round
• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• 1R: First round

Honours

League

• German amateur champions: 1982
• Regionalliga Südwest (II) champions: 1973
• Oberliga Südwest (III) champions: 1981, 1988, 1990
• Amateurliga Südwest (III) champions: 1978

Regional

• Kreisliga Hessen (I) champions: 1921
• Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar (I) champions: 1927
• Bezirksliga Main-Hessen (Hessen group) (I) champions: 1932, 1933
• South West Cup (Tiers III-VII) winners: 1980, 1982, 1986

Youth

• German under 19 champions: 2009, 2023
• Under 17 Bundesliga South/Southwest champions: 2014

Individual Club Awards

• DFB-Pokal semi-finalists: 2009
• UEFA Fair Play selection: 2005

Reserve team

• Oberliga Südwest (IV) champions: 2003, 2008
• South West Cup winners: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

Players

Current squad

As of 28 August 2024

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	GER	Lasse Rieß
2	DF	AUT	Phillipp Mwene
3	DF	GER	Moritz Jenz (on loan from VfL Wolfsburg)
4	MF	MAR	Aymen Barkok
5	DF	GER	Maxim Leitsch
6	MF	JPN	Kaishū Sano
7	MF	KOR	Lee Jae-sung
8	MF	GER	Paul Nebel
9	FW	AUT	Karim Onisiwo
11	FW	GER	Armindo Sieb (on loan from Bayern Munich)
16	DF	GER	Stefan Bell
18	MF	GER	Nadiem Amiri
19	DF	FRA	Anthony Caci

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
20	MF	SUI	Edimilson Fernandes
21	DF	GER	Danny da Costa
22	DF	AUT	Nikolas Veratschnig
25	DF	NOR	Andreas Hanche-Olsen
27	GK	GER	Robin Zentner (vice-captain)
29	FW	GER	Jonathan Burkardt
30	DF	SUI	Silvan Widmer (captain)
31	MF	GER	Dominik Kohr
33	GK	GER	Daniel Batz
41	MF	ALB	Eniss Shabani
44	FW	GER	Nelson Weiper
47	DF	GER	Maxim Dal

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	GER	Tom Krauß (at Luton Town until 30 June 2025)
—	MF	GER	Niklas Tauer (at Eintracht Braunschweig until 30 June 2025)
—	FW	FRA	Ludovic Ajorque (at Brest until 30 June 2025)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	GER	Ben Bobzien (at Austria Klagenfurt until 30 June 2025)
—	FW	GER	Marco Richter (at Hamburger SV until 30 June 2025)

For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2021.

Current coaching staff

As of 1 January 2024.

Head coach	Bo Henriksen
Assistant coach	Mikkel Jespersen
Assistant coach	Michael Silberbauer
Assistant coach	Sören Hartung
Fitness coach	Sven Herzog
Fitness coach	Axel Busenkell
Goalkeeping coach	Stephan Kuhnert
Analyst	Jannes Ehresmann

Managerial history

• Paul Oßwald (1933–35)
• Helmut Schneider (1946–48)
• Berno Wischmann (1950 – October 50)
• Hans Geiger (October 1950–52)
• Georg Bayerer (1952–53)
• Emil Izsó (1953 – Dec 54)
• Heinz Baas (1959–66)
• Erich Bäumler (1967–68)
• Bernd Hoss (1971–74)
• Uwe Klimaschefski (1 July 1974 – 21 September 1974)
• Gerd Menne (1 Oct 1974 – 7 December 1975)
• Gerd Higi (interim) (5 December 1975 – 31 December 1975)
• Horst Hülß (16 January 1976 – 30 June 1980)
• Herbert Dörenberg (1980 – March 83)
• Lothar Emmerich (March 1983–84)
• Horst-Dieter Strich (1984–88)
• Horst Hülß (1 July 1988 – 13 February 1989)
• Robert Jung (14 February 1989 – 30 June 1992)
• Josip Kuze (1 July 1992 – 15 October 1994)
• Hermann Hummels (20 October 1994 – 17 April 1995)
• Horst Franz (18 April 1995 – 13 September 1995)
• Manfred Lorenz (interim) (14 September 1995 – 23 September 1995)
• Wolfgang Frank (25 September 1995 – 2 March 1997)
• Manfred Lorenz (interim) (3 March 1997 – 10 March 1997)
• Reinhard Saftig (11 March 1997 – 23 August 1997)
• Manfred Lorenz (interim) (23 August 1997 – 15 September 1997)
• Dietmar Constantini (24 August 1997 – 9 April 1998)
• Wolfgang Frank (9 April 1998 – 17 April 2000)
• Dirk Karkuth (18 April 2000 – 30 June 2000)
• René Vandereycken (1 July 2000 – 14 November 2000)
• Manfred Lorenz (interim) (15 November 2000 – 21 November 2000)
• Eckhard Krautzun (21 November 2000 – 28 February 2001)
• Jürgen Klopp (28 February 2001 – 30 June 2008)
• Jörn Andersen (1 July 2008 – 3 August 2009)
• Thomas Tuchel (3 August 2009 – 11 May 2014)
• Kasper Hjulmand (15 May 2014 – 17 February 2015)
• Martin Schmidt (17 February 2015 – 22 May 2017)
• Sandro Schwarz (1 July 2017 – 10 November 2019)
• Achim Beierlorzer (18 November 2019 – 28 September 2020)
• Jan-Moritz Lichte (28 September 2020 – 28 December 2020)
• Jan Siewert (interim) (28 December 2020 – 4 January 2021)
• Bo Svensson (4 January 2021 – 2 November 2023)
• Jan Siewert (2 November 2023 – 12 February 2024)
• Bo Henriksen (13 February 2024 – present)

See also

• The Football Club Social Alliance

External links

• Official website
• 1. FSV Mainz 05 at Bundesliga
• 1. FSV Mainz 05 at UEFA