Mainz 05 have had two legendary managers Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel bring them to incredible highs within just years of each other. While Klopp brought Mainz their first ever promotion to the Bundesliga, and Thomas Tuchel brought them to the Europa League, neither of the two coaching icons achieved success as quickly as current manager Bo Henriksen. A former striker in England’s lower leagues, Henriksen took over Mainz in February 2024 with the club sitting in 17th out of 18th in the Bundesliga table. With relegation looming, The Danish manager instilled self-belief in his players while bringing back the heavy-metal playing style associated with Klopp’s Mainz, and saved them from the drop.
So how did Henriksen save a seemingly doomed Mainz side who were nine points from safety with just 13 games to play?
“By taking away the fear," he told Sky Sports. "I had to take that away immediately and create a culture where people dared to be themselves, dared to make mistakes. And it was so bad at that point, they would listen to anyone, even a long-haired Dane!”
"When we came in they were just kicking it high and long. We changed it around, wanted to play more in the half spaces, actually create chances. I think we have become one of the most intense teams in the Bundesliga, pressing high."
Immediately, there seemed to be new life at the Carnival Club. In his first game Mainz would beat Augsburg then narrowly lose with 10-men to eventual champions Bayer Leverkusen. Following a draw against Monchengladbach, Mainz were up against German giants Bayern Munich. You’d think, knowing how the story ends, that Mainz would draw or at least succumb to a narrow defeat where the players could be proud of themselves. No, Mainz lost 8-1.
But to Henriksen, having confidence in your players isn’t just about praising them when it's easy, but trying to build them up when it's the hardest.
“I believe in the people here,” he says. “And in what I see and feel at this club. I’m not afraid of anything other than not being brave enough to dare to win.”
“We have to unlock these players and give them the freedom to play and to make mistakes. I can’t teach them to play football in two days or five days or even five weeks. But hopefully, we can create a culture where we can do things together.
“That’s always the biggest part of every job I have. And it’s not just true in football. If people are not comfortable, if they’re not happy, and don’t feel like they can be open, then they won’t be the best version of themselves," he said via The Athletic.
The recent Danish Manager of the Year’s unwavering support of his players paid off, with Mainz miraculously going unbeaten in their last nine games featuring a 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund and back-to-back wins with four goals scored.
Mainz and its fans were alive, and Henriksen created a culture that not only accepted, but embraced him, his wild hair, and crazy celebrations. After all, for Henriksen, that is the thing that matters most.
"Culture for me is everything. And I am proud of the culture that we have created. Henriksen said. "If you do not like your boss, there is no chance you will do your best for him. Maybe you will do it out of fear for six months. After that, your body will not want it anymore. That is why I believe that if you do not create a good culture, success will not last for long."
The players continued to respond to Henriksen. Fast forward to November and Mainz became the first team to beat Bayern in the Bundesliga, which was then followed up by an away win to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Many players say they’ll ‘run through a brick wall’ for their manager, it's a common trope for a passionate coach who motivates a group of hungry, passionate players. But the reason behind Mainz’s success is that they would *actually* do it, and they show it on the pitch.
Mainz lead the Bundesliga in intensive runs up to date, as well as ranking third in aerial duels won, and fourth in total sprints and ground duels won. In addition, Mainz have the highest percentage of tackles won before their penalty area. They have the fourth most tackles in the opposition area, and the most in the middle third of the pitch, showing the combative and bold nature Henriksen has instilled in his players is showing up in the statistics.
Henriksen’s side is all about taking risks, while they’re certainly more than just a run-and-tackle kind of team, shown by their sixth highest xG for in the Bundesliga, pushing the boundaries and playing aggressive is what Mainz have built their season on. Mainz rank second in the Bundesliga for offsides, and while some fans may see an offside call as a mistake or a lapse of judgement, that doesn’t matter to Henriksen.
“I don’t care about mistakes, I care if you don’t track back,” Henriksen told the Athletic. “I care if you don’t put your team-mates above everyone else. That is the culture we are relying on now.”
What Henriksen has said about not fearing errors has given a new level of confidence to his players. After goalkeeper and boyhood Mainz supporter Robin Zentner’s awful mistake against Leverkusen in Henriksen’s third game in charge, it would be easy to make a quick goalkeeping change. Instead, Henriksen brought a level of self-belief that Zentner has never felt before.
“I said to him when he came into the dressing room, ‘Listen, you made a mistake — that’s part of life and it’s OK,” Henriksen recalled. ‘“If we don’t make mistakes, then we don’t have a chance of being successful. And you’re going to play next week. Next time, you will save us. Next time you will be the hero.’ ”
Now Zentner is in the form of his life, with the highest save percentage of his career and the second most saves in all of the Bundesliga.
Henriksen’s ability to get the best out of his players has unfortunately cost him, with three of their best players in Brajan Gruda, Leandro Barreiro, and Sepp Van Den Berg leaving the club after Mainz’s miraculous survival. And while this worried Henriksen at first, he saw it as just another motivational tool for his players.
“The problem at the beginning of the season was that the fear came back into the group again because we’d lost three of our most important players,” Henriksen told The Athletic. “There was noise in the dressing room because, of course, they all wanted to build on what they had done (last season). They had had a good experience, and now the team was being torn apart.”
“The belief was not there 100 percent. The fear was — and are we good enough?”. To answer the question, up stepped Jonathan Burkhardt, Kaishu Sono, and Nadiem Amiri.
Burkhardt ranks fourth in the Bundesliga for goals with 17 on the season, a difficult task for a striker in a team who has to do a lot of pressing and without a lot of possession. While Burkhardt is their pure goalscorer, Sono is more of a representative of their relentless defense. Signed from Kashima Antlers in the J-League, Sono has become Mainz’s defensive leader, ranking first in distance covered, as well as first in blocks and third in interceptions in the Bundesliga.
Lastly, while Amiri’s creativity is impressive (sixth in key passes) it's his return to the German national team that should be the story. After last appearing for Germany in 2020, Amiri left Bayer Leverkusen in the January of their title run, sacrificing a Bundesliga victory for first-team minutes. And thanks to Henriksen, Amiri as well as Burkhardt earned call-ups to Julian Nagelsmann’s set-up.
Amiri calls the man who helped rejuvenate his career ‘positively crazy’. “I think they think I am crazy because I dare to be myself,” Henriksen told Sky Sports. When I am dancing in the dressing room, I do not know why I am dancing, I am just dancing because I feel it. I want to make an environment where people can do what they feel. Light, not heavy.’”
"I know that Nadim has never seen that in football before. He probably thinks I am not a normal coach but I think I am the most normal coach in the world because I am just being me. I am not good at being someone else. It is logical to me. Just be yourself."
While Mainz’s former manager Klopp jokingly labeled himself as ‘The Normal One’ while at Liverpool, perhaps their latest magical manager can be ‘The Wild One’. Whatever he calls himself, Henriksen as well as Mainz supporters will continue to dance as they continue their journey together in Europe next season.