In the first two internationals, Mainz 05 played one test match each. This time it’s different. The players should clear their heads for the rest of the Hinrunde.
13 U-23 players chased ten professionals around training ground 2 of the Wolfgang Frank Campus this Tuesday. Due to international match suspensions, head coach Bo Svensson had called in the second-team squad. “It was good to see the U23s in training. In addition, it was good to play ten against ten in terms of athletic stimuli,” Svensson summed up. Alexander Hack, who won 3:2 with the “Red” team, was praised several times during the training game.
The 05 pros train four times on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, then they have five days off. Whereby “free” is an exaggeration, they can expect more of a home office. The players are given an intensive training programme to take home with them, which they have to complete independently.
You’ve been on the hamster wheel of training and playing for a few months, at some point the body automatically takes a break.
“We are in a different phase of the season, a lot of injuries happen in November. These occur not only because of the physical strain, but also from a mental one. You’ve been on the hamster wheel of training and playing for a few months, at some point the body automatically takes a break. The days off are meant to make the boys come back here with full desire,” Svensson explains the background.
To this end, he does not give “the players who have not played so much a stage “ but at the same time does something for his own well-being. In the first two internationals, his players also “showed performances that I didn’t always enjoy so much”, the coach referred with a smile to the sometimes poor performances. Next Tuesday, Mainz will continue with preparations for the match against 1. FC Köln, which kicks off at 5.30 p.m. on the following Sunday.
