Mainz 05

Established in 1963, the Bundesliga league is the top-flight soccer tournament which takes place in Germany. The founding members of this were Werder Bremen, Schalke 04, FC Koln, Hertha BSC, Hamburger SV, Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart. Also, they have most recently welcomed RB Leipzig back in 2016. With such a fantastic mix of teams, this league is most definitely one to look out for this season.

With the beginning of the 2018/19 fixtures just around the corner, we wanted to put together this article to explore the scheduling of the games. From who has the best stakes at getting to the final, to how the overall tournament could turn out, this post covers it.

Fixtures and Notable Dates

The beginning of this year’s tournament kicks off on the 24^th August 2018 and is expected to end on the 18^th May 2019. Starting off the fixtures, current Champions Bayern Munich play in their home grounds at Allianz Stadium against Hoffenheim. And the

15th September 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Going into their third Bundesliga match of the season at the weekend, Mainz 05 were in dire need of some points.

Having suffered consecutive 1-0 losses in their opening two fixtures against newly promoted Hannover 96 and VfB Stuttgart, games that would've been earmarked as excellent opportunities to gain points, facing Bayer Leverkusen meant there was a distinct possibility Mainz could suffer three consecutive losses to start the campaign.

Being unable to score in their two early defeats only compounded their issues, but in truth they'd still played some encouraging football, with bad luck in regards to the VAR system not helping their cause either. Ahead of the Leverkusen clash, sporting director Rouven Schroder willed his side to improve and lift the mini malaise. "We want more grit and we have to go for it a bit more. We really have to improve in these areas in the next few weeks, but we can't allow a doomsday mood to

20th May 2016. By Edward Stratmann.
Mainz's inspirational captain, Julian Baumgartlinger, has unquestionably been one of their most influential driving forces behind their remarkable season.

Martin Schmidt's high octane outfit obtained an amazing sixth place league finish, just five points outside the Champions League qualification places, and Baumgartlinger's energy, intensity and aggression in midfield were absolutely crucial to this. He is indeed the man whose unwavering commitment and dedication to the cause sets the tone perfectly for his teammates to follow, and who best embodies his manager's all-action philosophy.

Within Schmidt's side, who run and sprint more than any team in the Bundesliga, the ultra fit Austrian, who himself runs over 12km per game on average, along with using his obvious footballing qualities, has ensured that he's been an undisputed starter for Mainz.

Unsurprisingly, he's started every single match he's been available for except

It's been a tumultuous few seasons for Mainz 05, we take a look at the clubs recent history and ask can Mainz 05 edge into the Bundesliga top 10 again this season? When Borussia Dortmund hired Thomas Tuchel to take over as their head coach following the resignation of beloved former manager Jurgen Klopp, virtually no one was surprised. Klopp had decided, after a devastatingly poor 2014 2015 season, that he was no longer the right man to coach Dortmund. And Tuchel, on a brief sabbatical from coaching football, following a successful stint at FSV Mainz, seemed like precisely the right man for the job.

The Thomas Tuchel X-Factor

What Tuchel did at Mainz was impressive, to say the least. When he came to the soccer club in 2009, the O-Fives had just been promoted up from the 2. Bundesliga. In his first season at Mainz, Tuchel took a recently-promoted soccer squad and turned them into top-10, top-flight German football