Mainz – who promised two days ago that they had a specific head coach in mind to replace the fired Bo Henriksen – have officially confirmed Urs Fischer as the new man to lead the team. Mainz announced Fischer’s appointment on their website Sunday. The 59-year-old will be introduced to the press at a Monday press conference at 16:30. Fischer returns to the Bundesliga a little over two years after parting company with Union Berlin.
Fischer’s rollercoaster ride with Union ended in November 2023. The Swiss coach sensationally led Berlin’s Köpenick side to the 2023/24 Champions League and (just two months prior to the separation) was named “German Football’s coach of the year” by Kicker Magazine in August 2023. Unfortunately, both Union and Fischer concluded that something had to be done after a 14-match-winless run left Union’s season in jeopardy.
Fischer has actually not had a professional appointment since leaving Union. His former club, meanwhile, has cycled through three permanent head coaches and several interim regimes. For the first half of last season, former Mainz man Bo Svensson worked the Union sidelines. Fischer has some task ahead of him at his new station. Mainz still have four competitive fixtures left before the end of the 2025 calendar year.
Statements on Urs Fischer’s hiring
“As a coach, Urs Fischer has impressively proven at all stages of his professional career that he can structure and develop teams and, with his calm but emphatic manner, win over any locker room,” Mainz sporting CEO Christian Heidel noted in a club statement. “His successes and abilities have made him a sought-after coach. We are therefore very pleased that he was immediately and without hesitation enthusiastic about joining Mainz 05.“
”There are no easy tasks in football, but that’s what makes it interesting,” Fischer himself added. “I had convincing discussions with Christian Heidel and Niko Bungert, and Mainz 05 is a good fit for me overall. The solidarity of Mainz’s values off the pitch and the determination to never give up on the pitch runs thought the team and the stadium. I am looking forward to the challenge and am convinced that we will turn things around as a team.“
How effective was Urs Fischer at Union?
Extremely effective. With respect to Union, he is still spoken about in hushed terms. Fischer was the coach that led Union Berlin to promotion from the 2. Bundesliga, the UEFA Europa Conference League two years later, the Europa League itself the year after that, and finally the Champions League in his final full season in charge. Both Fischer and Svensson departed their clubs that autumn despite being highly regarded Bundesliga coaches.
All of this was accomplished with a consistent tactical system that brought out the best in many journeymen attackers. Fischer’s successors Nenad Bjelica, Svensson, and Steffen Baumgart all used some slightly tweaked variant of Fischer’s system until Baumgart recently worked out a novel 3-4-3. Fischer won 42 percent of his 224 matches over the course of five-plus seasons with die Eisernen.
Will the Urs Fischer appointment work?
This is the first head coaching appointment of the dual managerial regime of CEO Christian Heidel and sporting director Nico Bungert since previous sporting director Martin Schmidt left the club. Heidel and Schmidt twice hit the jackpot with Danes named Bo. Svensson and Henriksen both helped Mainz sensationally avoid the drop. In Svensson’s case, the relegation escape was historic.
Heidel and Schmidt nevertheless got it absolutely wrong when they initially tapped Jan Siewert to serve as Svensson’s successor. Siewert – filling as an interim head coach after Svensson’s departure – won his first game in charge, then failed to win his next 11 games. Despite a poor record of one win, four draws, and two losses, Heidel and Schmidt opted to name Siewert the new permanent head coach of the club in December.
Siewert – who also only won one match during eight months in charge of Huddersfield town – was finally sacked in February. Whether Fischer proves the next “Power Bo” or the next “Torrid Jan” remains to be seen. It shall be immensely interesting to see how Fischer works after so long a layoff. If he fails to win at least one of the remaining four competitive fixtures before the winter break, the second guessing will already begin.
