Throughout the last few years, many up-and-coming coaches entered the Bundesliga stage. One of them is Sandro Schwarz, head coach of Mainz 05. The 40-year-old German is the successor of world class coaches such as cureent Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp and PSG manager Thomas Tuchel.
After Mainz have barely managed to stay in the Bundesliga in recent seasons, they now seem to be more stable under Schwarz. He uses simple but effective tactical concepts at Mainz which are going to be outlined in the following analysis.
Simple build-up phase
Schwarzs side attempt to play out from the back if possible. However, if the risk to lose possession at the back is too high, Mainz use long balls to progress up the pitch. When playing out, Mainz deploy a back four behind one single pivot.
During build-up, single pivot Jean-Philippe Gbamin creates a central passing option for his central defenders. The full-backs stay in lower positions until the first line of press has been overplayed. Once Mainz have found Gbamin in a position ready to receive and turn, both full-backs push higher up the pitch.
Besides occasional long balls, the central defenders play diagonal balls towards the full-back on the far side. This way, Mainz can switch play and thereby change the angle of attack. Moreover, the opposition need to drop to get between ball and goal, which Mainz use to progress up the pitch.
Occasionally, an advanced midfielders drops into a full-back position and thereby allows the full-back to move up the line. Mainz preferably use this concept when the opposition is capable of closing down central areas.
