“Mainz 05 U19s Dominate German A-Junior Championship, Hope to Repeat History in Semi-Finals Against 1. FC Köln”

Sunday, June 28th, 2009: 11,000 spectators watched the A-Juniors final for the German championship in Mainz’s Bruchweg Stadium. Mainz 05 versus Borussia Dortmund. Mainz won the game 2-1 and brought the U19 championship title to Mainz for the first and only time so far. This feat could succeed a second time in 2023. The current U19s of Rheinhessen are at least in the semi-finals of the German championship and will meet 1. FC Köln in the first leg on Easter Sunday, April 9th. The second leg then on April 16 in the cathedral city. The U19 teams from Hertha BSC Berlin and Borussia Dortmund contest the other semi-final.

Repeat against BVB?

In 2009 Borussia Dortmund was the opponent in the final. A repeat seems quite realistic, because the youngsters of BVB finished the west season as the table first. 14 years ago there were great talents on the pitch in the final. Two of them even became world champions in 2014. On the Mainz side André Schürrle, who crossed a certain Mario Götze in the World Cup final. Rio’s World Cup final goalscorer was on the pitch in 2009 in a BVB jersey. Back then, the 05ers were coached by Thomas Tuchel, who then went on to have a world career as a coach.

Bo Svensson praises Benjamin Hoffmann

The current coach of the 05 professionals, Bo Svensson, once gained his first experience on the coaching bench as a B and later as an A junior coach in Mainz. The entire team of professionals comes from their own NLZ. The cooperation is very close: “We are in constant exchange, our offices are in the training center on the same floor, the cooperation with Bo is very close,” says U19 coach Benjamin Hoffmann.

And Bo Svensson has nothing but praise for the 05 offspring: “It’s a great success. It’s not a matter of course when you see the resources we used to do it compared to other clubs. It’s proof of the great work that Benni Hoffmann made there”.

Mainz 05 has “golden vintages” at the start

The players in the current A-Junior vintage were all born in 2004 or 2005. There are some hopeful talents in the squad at Mainz. Nelson Weiper (2005) and Brajan Gruda (2004) have even played their first minutes in the Bundesliga. A few weeks ago, Weiper scored his first Bundesliga goal against Hoffenheim.

Both have been training with Bo Svensson’s team for the past few weeks and already have long-term professional contracts in Mainz – just like defender Philipp Schulz. With Dennis Kaygin (14 goals) and Lovis Bierschenk there are two other players in Benjamin Hoffmann’s team who are definitely capable of a professional career.

Since the U8 at Mainz 05

Weiper, Schulz and Kaygin have been playing for the 05ers since they were seven or eight years old. Talent promotion from an early age in the youth management center in Mainz. They are quite proud of that at Bruchweg: “It’s the way Mainz 05 trained, it’s no coincidence,” says Benjamin Hoffmann.

“That’s nice and also appreciative of the boys, because we mustn’t forget that one or the other has already had offers from other clubs and they’re staying with us. That confirms us and the path of Mainz 05,” said the 43 -year-old junior coach. The players mentioned are not the first to make the leap from the NLZ to the pros. Over the past few years, there have always been youngsters from our own offspring who came to Mainz 05 at a very young age. Examples: Paul Nebel (currently KSC), Niklas Tauer (currently Schalke 04) or the current third keeper of Mainz, Lasse Rieß.

German championship and DFB cup victory possible

The youngsters from Mainz are not only in the semi-finals of the German Championship, but also in the semi-finals of the A-Juniors DFB Cup. There, the 05ers meet Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen on April 2nd. The goals are clear: the DFB Cup final for the A-Juniors on April 30th in Potsdam and the final for the German championship. At best, Mainz will win one or even both titles and thus write club history.