The Mainz 05 Chronicle
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Mainz 05
Karim Konaté was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Real improvement from Frank Feller at Mainz 05
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Frank Feller is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Market14 Sep 2026
Benedict Hollerbach wants more than Mainz 05 are offering
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Mainz 05 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kaishu Sano is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Paul Nebel beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Anthony Caci pulls a muscle — 15 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
The terraces14 Sep 2026
Mainz 05 supporters have found a favourite in Karim Konaté
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Karim Konaté has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Market14 Sep 2026
Patrick Meyer steps up from the Mainz 05 academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Patrick Meyer has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market14 Sep 2026
Peter Simon steps up from the Mainz 05 academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Peter Simon has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Match Mainz 05 get the job done against SC Freiburg
- Player ratings One of those days for Nadiem Amiri
- The dugout No hiding place for Sheraldo Becker