For the Haters — Mainz 05
“European football just isn’t very Mainz”: A 6:1 defeat at Anderlecht in 2015 remains Mainz’s worst loss in a European competition.
For the Haters
“European football just isn’t very Mainz”: A 6:1 defeat at Anderlecht in 2015 remains Mainz’s worst loss in a European competition.
“European football just isn’t very Mainz”: A 6:1
“European football just isn’t very Mainz”: A 6:1 defeat at Anderlecht in 2015 remains Mainz’s worst loss in a European competition.
“European football just isn’t very Mainz”: A 6:1 defeat at Anderlecht in 2015 remains Mainz’s worst loss in a European competition. Painfully, Mainz collected nine points in the group stage — enough to advance in eight of the twelve groups that year. In Frankfurt, the local rival’s exit was greeted with great amusement. A banner at the Commerzbank-Arena read: “European football just isn’t very Mainz.”
Mainz miss promotion by one goal: The 4:1
Mainz miss promotion by one goal: The 4:1 win at Eintracht Braunschweig on the final day of the 2002/03 second-division season is a match no Mainz fan will ever forget.
Mainz miss promotion by one goal: The 4:1 win at Eintracht Braunschweig on the final day of the 2002/03 second-division season is a match no Mainz fan will ever forget. Mainz missed promotion by one single goal. The beneficiaries were bitter rivals Eintracht Frankfurt, who in the third minute of injury time made it 6:3 against already-relegated Reutlingen through Alexander Schur and overtook Mainz on goal difference by precisely one strike. Jürgen Klopp and his players followed the drama by mobile phone and collapsed into tears in the stadium on Hamburger Straße.
Champions — and still no promotion: Mainz might
Champions — and still no promotion: Mainz might have become part of the professional landscape much earlier.
Champions — and still no promotion: Mainz might have become part of the professional landscape much earlier. In the newly founded Amateur-Oberliga Südwest, the Nullfünfer won the title in 1980/81. Yet they were not promoted, because in that very season the 2. Bundesliga was being reduced to a single division and no promotion place existed. Thanks a lot, DFB.
The Bayern balance: minus 53 was Mainz’s goal
The Bayern balance: minus 53 was Mainz’s goal difference against Bayern Munich by the end of the first half of 2019/20, worse than against any other opponent.
The Bayern balance: minus 53 was Mainz’s goal difference against Bayern Munich by the end of the first half of 2019/20, worse than against any other opponent. On March 17, 2019, they suffered what was then their record Bundesliga defeat, losing 6:0 at the Allianz Arena, only to do even worse on November 1, 2019 in Leipzig, where they were hammered 8:0 by RB Leipzig.
Highest away defeat in a derby: Mainz’s heaviest
Highest away defeat in a derby: Mainz’s heaviest away defeat in a derby came in the 1988/89 second division season, when they lost 7:0 at SV Darmstadt...
Highest away defeat in a derby: Mainz’s heaviest away defeat in a derby came in the 1988/89 second division season, when they lost 7:0 at SV Darmstadt 98 on matchday 37.
The really cruel one: On the final day
The really cruel one: On the final day of 1996/97, Mainz went to Wolfsburg for a straight shootout over third place.
The really cruel one: On the final day of 1996/97, Mainz went to Wolfsburg for a straight shootout over third place. Wolfsburg had one more point, so Mainz had to win. For seven minutes, after Sven Demandt made it 1:0, Mainz were in the Bundesliga. Then Wolfsburg roared back to 3:1. Even after Steffen Herzberger’s red card in the 41st minute, Mainz dragged themselves back to 3:3 thanks in part to a Klopp goal — only for Wolfsburg’s greater reserves to tell in the end. They won 5:4 and went up; Mainz had to wait another seven years.
Rank 19: Mainz’s worst season in professional football
Rank 19: Mainz’s worst season in professional football came in 1988/89.
Rank 19: Mainz’s worst season in professional football came in 1988/89. Under Robert Jung, who promptly led them back up the following year in what he called a “hussar ride,” Mainz finished 19th in the second division — their lowest placing in the top two tiers.
The chronicles of 2006/07: Haters of Mainz love
The chronicles of 2006/07: Haters of Mainz love to linger in the chronicles of the 2006/07 season.
The chronicles of 2006/07: Haters of Mainz love to linger in the chronicles of the 2006/07 season. It brought the club’s worst Bundesliga points tally, 34 points and direct relegation in 16th place. Mainz won only on matchday one of the first half of the season, then went 16 matches without victory, a club record. The goal difference of minus 23 was their worst in the Bundesliga. Their heaviest Bundesliga home defeat, 1:6 against Werder Bremen, also came that season. And then, in November 2019, came the 0:8 in Leipzig — one of the club’s greatest humiliations.
For the Haters — Update 2020–2026
The 2020/21 season started disastrously.
The 2020/21 season started disastrously. Under coach Jan-Mor...
The 2020/21 season started disastrously.
The 2020/21 season started disastrously. Under coach Jan-Moritz Lichte, who had succeeded the dismissed Achim Beierlorzer, Mainz plunged into a relegation battle. On matchday 17 they sat in seventeenth place. Only Bo Svensson’s arrival turned the season around. The 2023/24 season also became uncomfortable — Mainz surviving only narrowly.