1. FSV Mainz 05

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

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. In the 2024–25 season, Mainz surged to third place by late March 2025 after a 3–1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, raising hopes of first-ever UEFA Champions League qualification. However, a 2–2 home draw with SC Freiburg, followed by a 3–1 away defeat to Dortmund, triggered a seven-match winless streak that saw Mainz slip to seventh place with two games remaining in the season. They eventually finished sixth, qualifying for the Conference League.

Recent seasons

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

;Key

Stadium

The club plays its home matches at Mewa Arena, a new stadium opened in 2011 with a capacity of 33,305. 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 in the Mewa Arena was 30,324 spectators.

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.

On 27 October 2023, Mainz sacked footballer Anwar El Ghazi after a social media post where called for an end to the post-October 7 Israeli offensive in Gaza. El Ghazi was accused of antisemitism by Mainz after his comments where he condemned "apartheid" and "genocide" in Gaza. In November 2023, Mainz Labour Court found Mainz guilty of wrongful dismissal and the club was ordered to honour Anwar El Ghazi's contract in full, including salary, contract extension, and bonuses.

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

;Notes

• 1Q: First qualifying round
• 2Q: Second qualifying round
• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• PO: Play-off round
• LP: League phase
• 1R: First round
• R16: Round of 16

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

Out on loan

Current coaching staff

• Hungary Tibor Hesser (1926–28)
• Atwood (1928–29)
• Germany Julius Etz (1929–33)
• Germany Paul Oßwald (1933–35)
• Germany Helmut Schneider (1946–48)
• Germany Berno Wischmann (1950 – October 50)
• Germany Hans Geiger (October 1950–52)
• Germany Georg Bayerer (1952–53)
• Hungary Emil Izsó (1953 – Dec 54)
• Germany Gerd Higi (1955–57)
• Germany Josef Kretschmann (1957–59)
• Germany Heinz Baas (1959–66)
• Germany Erich Bäumler (1967–68)
• Germany Bernd Hoss (1971–74)
• Germany Uwe Klimaschefski (1 July 1974 – 21 September 1974)
• Germany Gerd Menne (1 Oct 1974 – 7 December 1975)
• Germany Gerd Higi (interim) (5 December 1975 – 31 December 1975)
• Germany Horst Hülß (16 January 1976 – 30 June 1980)
• Germany Herbert Dörenberg (1980 – March 83)
• Germany Lothar Emmerich (March 1983–84)
• Germany Horst-Dieter Strich (1984–88)
• Germany Horst Hülß (1 July 1988 – 13 February 1989)
• Germany Robert Jung (14 February 1989 – 30 June 1992)
• Croatia Josip Kuze (1 July 1992 – 15 October 1994)
• Germany Hermann Hummels (20 October 1994 – 17 April 1995)
• Germany Horst Franz (18 April 1995 – 13 September 1995)
• Germany Manfred Lorenz (interim) (14 September 1995 – 23 September 1995)
• Germany Wolfgang Frank (25 September 1995 – 2 March 1997)
• Germany Manfred Lorenz (interim) (3 March 1997 – 10 March 1997)
• Germany Reinhard Saftig (11 March 1997 – 23 August 1997)
• Germany Manfred Lorenz (interim) (23 August 1997 – 15 September 1997)
• Austria Dietmar Constantini (24 August 1997 – 9 April 1998)
• Germany Wolfgang Frank (9 April 1998 – 17 April 2000)
• Germany Dirk Karkuth (18 April 2000 – 30 June 2000)
• Belgium René Vandereycken (1 July 2000 – 14 November 2000)
• Germany Manfred Lorenz (interim) (15 November 2000 – 21 November 2000)
• Germany Eckhard Krautzun (21 November 2000 – 28 February 2001)
• Germany Jürgen Klopp (28 February 2001 – 30 June 2008)
• Norway Jörn Andersen (1 July 2008 – 3 August 2009)
• Germany Thomas Tuchel (3 August 2009 – 11 May 2014)
• Denmark Kasper Hjulmand (15 May 2014 – 17 February 2015)
• Switzerland Martin Schmidt (17 February 2015 – 22 May 2017)
• Germany Sandro Schwarz (1 July 2017 – 10 November 2019)
• Germany Achim Beierlorzer (18 November 2019 – 28 September 2020)
• Germany Jan-Moritz Lichte (28 September 2020 – 28 December 2020)
• Germany Jan Siewert (interim) (28 December 2020 – 4 January 2021)
• Denmark Bo Svensson (4 January 2021 – 2 November 2023)
• Germany Jan Siewert (2 November 2023 – 12 February 2024)
• Denmark Bo Henriksen (13 February 2024 – 3 December 2025)
• Germany Benjamin Hoffmann (interim) (3 December 2025 – 7 December 2025)
• Switzerland Urs Fischer (7 December 2025 – present)

References

References

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4. "Chronik – Bis Heute". Mainz 05.
5. (2 June 2005). "Mainz set for European debut". UEFA.
6. (11 June 2005). "Mainz 05 weicht nach Frankfurt aus". netzeitung.de.
7. (29 September 2005). "Keine Sensation in Mainz, Sevilla siegt 2:0". n-tv.de.
8. (16 October 2010). "Hamburg end Mainz's record bid". UEFA.
9. (23 June 2011). "Season review: Germany". UEFA.
10. (27 May 2023). "Heartache for Borussia Dortmund as Mainz draw hands title to Bayern Munich". Bundesliga.
11. (18 May 2024). "Bundesliga great escape artists Mainz add another resurrection to folklore started by Jürgen Klopp". Bundesliga.
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13. (19 April 2025). ""Tut richtig weh": Mainz 05 verpasst Sprung auf Champions-League-Rang vier". SWR.de.
14. (16 May 2025). "Flying 05ers: Mainz and Bo Henriksen have had a season to remember in 2024/25". Bundesliga.
15. Gjerulff, Rune. (17 May 2025). "Hard-fought draw secures European spot for Mainz". Bundesliga News.
16. "Willkommen beim Deutschen Fußball-Archiv".
17. "News > Ergebnisse & Tabellen".
18. [http://www.coface-arena.de/fileadmin/content/downloads/pressemitteilungen/Presseinfo_Mainz_05_2011_02_17.pdf LIGA total! Cup 2011 in der Mainzer Coface Arena] {{Webarchive. link. (19 September 2011 Press release)
19. . (n.d.). ["1. Bundesliga Zuschauer 2015/16"](https://www.kicker.de/bundesliga/zuschauer/2015-16). *Olympia-Verlag GmbH*.
20. (8 September 2011). "Der Narrhallamarsch".
21. "1. FSV Mainz 05 - Mainz 05 stellt Anwar El Ghazi frei".
22. "Mainz wrong to sack El Ghazi over Gaza comments, court rules – DW – 07/12/2024".
23. "Mannschaft".
24. "1. FSV Mainz 05 Squad".
25. "1. FSV Mainz 05 Die Offizielle Website > Staff".
26. "Svensson neuer 05-Cheftrainer". 1. FSV Mainz 05.
27. (2024-02-13). "Bo Henriksen wird der neue Trainer bei Mainz 05".