What particularly set Mainz apart between 2020 and 2026 was this: managerial changes in mid-season almost always worked. After Svensson’s departure in 2023, Bo Henriksen took over — another Scandinavian — and stabilised the club. When Henriksen also left, proven Swiss pragmatist Urs Fischer arrived.
The red thread running through it all: sporting director Christian Heidel, who returned to Mainz in 2020 and pulled the strings in the background.