Mainz 05 were happy to celebrate the performance of brace-scorer Phillip Tietz after Saturday’s massive Bundesliga upset win over Hoffenheim. One of Mainz’s January transfer additions – despite scoring only one goal for Mainz prior to yesterday – has played an important role in Mainz’s incredible revival. Tietz’s unnoticed work has helped the Rheinhessen rise from dead last in table to a legitimate European contender in a span of less than four months.
How has Phillip Tietz helped Mainz?
Those keeping close tabs on Tietz’s Bundesliga club over the past few months have noticed how hard he works even if he doesn’t often get his name on the scoresheet. The 28-year-old has started all 13 league fixtures since joining the club on a €4m transfer at the beginning of January, playing the full 90 minutes on eight occasions. Tietz collected three assists during the run, yet still only scored once and missed a penalty.
Tietz – who has always been a streaky scorer – arrived in the Pfälzer capital under plenty of pressure. The fact that Mainz opted to fork over a significant transfer fee for him didn’t help matters. Other attackers (Silas and Sherlado Becker) arrived at little to no cost. Silas and Becker were also feted during the extraordinary spell that saw Mainz collect 25 points during Tietz’s 13 consecutive starts.
Those watching Tietz nevertheless observe what a vital role the former Germany U20 international plays on the Mainzer front line. The one-time 2. Bundesliga scoring wizard draws quite a bit of coverage from the opponent and works exceptionally hard on initiating attacks and counters via his deep drops. Tietz functioned more as a classic target forward against Hoffenheim, ultimately converting two Phillipp Mwene crosses into goals.
To date, Tietz has only scored 19 Bundesliga goals in his three plus top flight seasons. The brace scored against Champions League contenders Hoffenheim was just the second of Tietz’s Bundesliga career. His previous two-goal performance came against a rattled Darmstadt side in March 2024. Tietz didn’t have to work terribly hard against his former club on that day as die Lilien totally fell apart and quit; conceding five goals in the first half-hour.
This performance felt much more earned.
Mainz back Phillip Tietz
Mainz’s head coach Urs Fischer and sporting director Niko Bungert tipped their cap to Tietz in their post-match statements. The striker himself – who famously has a great demeanor with youngsters who support his Bundesliga clubs – brought his daughter to Hamburg with him on Saturday.
The four-year-old Mary Lou and Nadiem Amiri’s daughter ran about playing together in the mixed zone as Tietz conducted interviews. Tietz spoke of a very special day for himself and his family. A close friend also travelled to the Hanseatic city state to watch Tietz succeed.
“Internally [Tietz’s scoring drought] that wasn’t an issue for us because we all know how hard he works,” sporting director Bungert noted in the mixed zone. “[We know] how much he elevates our play, and how he’s helped us from Day One. That can’t be measured solely by scoring stats. He leads the way vocally and does the dirty work.”
“He’s had a rough time and there’s always going to be a little pressure from the outside,” Fischer remarked at the post-match press conference. “We told him just to stick to his game.“
“The rough patch didn’t leave me unscathed,” Tietz himself said. “I’ve watched games in which I’ve missed scoring chances [like the matchday 25 2-2 draw against Stuttgart and really thought things over.
“Now I’m extremely happy,” Tietz nevertheless continued. “My best friend and [daughter] Mary-Lou drove all the way from Mainz for this day.“
