Niko Bungert (35) will continue to work for 1. FSV Mainz 05 His new role is multifaceted.
After eleven years with Mainz 05, Niko Bungert had already ended his active football career in the summer of 2019 and had subsequently continued to work for the Rheinhessen side as a trainee and assistant coach. Even now, at the age of 35, the Bochum-born player will remain with the club – as a club ambassador with representative duties.
“Mainz 05 is in a spirit of optimism,” Bungert is pleased to say. “A real team has grown together in the dressing room, which leaves its heart on the pitch during the games and inspires the fans. That gets everyone going at the club and is a great opportunity for the future.”
The ex-captain knows: “We have certainly experienced difficult times in the past years, but now I feel that old spirit again. A lot of things feel like the 1. FSV Mainz 05 I got to know: a very special club, closely connected to the city and the fans, with a family character, a distinct team spirit, with a great enthusiasm and emotionality. I want to help preserve this character, drive this positive development forward and transport it even more to the outside world.”
Sports director Christian Heidel also welcomes Bungert in the newly created position: “Niko was a professional like you could only wish for as a club. Very passionate and professional as a player, a leading figure in the dressing room, furthermore very reflective and interested in everything that happens in the entire club, very connected to Mainz 05 and the city and extremely popular due to his open, communicative manner, especially with the fans. So it’s no wonder that we have given a lot of thought to what a joint future could look like. “