Wonderkid Factory | Part 12 | Great At Home, Terrible Away!

Mainz survived with relative ease in their first season back in Bundesliga. But the big challenge now facing Roberto Lazaró, moving into his third season in Germany, was to continue developing his young squad – some of whom were one year away from obtaining homegrown status.

They were joined by more exciting prospects in striker Damián Jorge for £6.5m from Racing Club, winger Santiago Quiroga for £6.5m from Boca, centre back Christian Adler for £8.5m from Salzburg, left back Agustín for £2.1m from Real Valladolid, midfielder Jean-Pierre Candela for £1.1m from Independiente Medellín and goalkeeper Santino Cerantola for £3.9m from River.

Second Season In Bundesliga

The bookies oddly made Mainz favourites for relegation, giving them 1000/1 title odds behind Werder Bremen and Heidenheim (800/1). Bayern remain favourites ahead of Leipzig (11/4), holders Dortmund (9/2) and Bayer Leverkusen (5/1). But Lazaró was confident the books were very much mistaken.

They began the season with a strong statement of just that as attacking midfielder Oscar Pérez, full back De Nilson Barbosa, midfielder Luis Gutiérrez and debutant Jorge secured a 4-1 win at home to Hamburg. A week later, Gruda and a solid defensive effort earned a 1-1 at Bayern and striker Hernán Acosta got off the mark for the season with a late winner at home to Stuttgart before being handed a 4-0 battering at Bochum. That trend of being solid at home and poor away continued, including Quiroga scoring both on his first start in a 2-1 win over Gladbach and scoring again to secure the same result over Leverkusen, while Pérez earned a 1-1 with Leipzig.

That took Mainz into the winter break sitting in an impressive 6th place. However, entertainment was very much not on the cards at MEWA Arena, as Mainz had scored and conceded 20 goals in 16 games!

Mainz’s good start saw the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea approach Lazaró, who asked the board to build a new stadium in order for him to stay… and they agreed! Although plans aren’t expected to be finalised until the end of the next season.

DFB-Pokal Run

Mainz’s good form carried over into DFB-Pokal, with Lazaró leading the club beyond the third round for the first time in this save. They nicked a quarter-final win over Hamburg on penalties but drew Dortmund in the semis. Henrique almost scored a total fluke after 30 seconds and they held Dortmund off until 66 minutes, when they scored a lucky goal from a freekick that proved to be the only moment of note.

Outside Shot At European Qualification

Lazaró’s plans were hit by losing Pérez to Arsenal for a decent £15m. But he unearthed a potential superstar midfielder in January 2035, signing Salvador Martínez for up to £10.5m from Pachuca.

Mainz began 2025 with a 1-0 loss at 3rd-place Wolfsburg before Martínez scored his first goal in a wild 3-3 at home to 4th-place Bayern. Their away struggles continued with a 2-0 defeat at Hamburg, but they claimed just a second away win as Jorge and Gruda snuck a 2-1 victory at Stuttgart. Henrique scored at both ends in a 2-2 at home to title-battling Dortmund but Mainz’s form remained hit and miss, which saw them remain in contention for the club’s third taste of European football in this save (having played in the Europa League in 2025 and 2030).

Mainz went into the final 6 games tied with 7th-place Hamburg, who occupied the final European position. But it was extremely tight with just 9 points separating 7th from 12th. The run-in began with easily the best performance of the season as Jorge and Quiroga scored early on to lead a 5-1 thumping of struggling Heidenheim. A week later, an even more impressive effort saw them hold title-chasing Leipzig to a 0-0 away to climb into 7th before another good defensive showing and Jorge’s second-half strike earned a 1-0 win over lowly Freiburg.

Gutiérrez earned a 1-1 in a poor game at home to Bremen the day after Hamburg lost at Leverkusen, which took Mainz 2 points clear of them with 2 games remaining. The penultimate game took Mainz to 12th-place Koln and they pulled off a 2-0 victory 2ith late goals by Gruda and centre back José Bertazzi. The next day, Hamburg drew 0-0 with Heidenheim, which ensured Mainz secured 7th place, and they moved just 1 point behind Bayern, who were lingering down in 6th! However, the final day saw Mainz host Wolfsburg, who needed to win for a chance to win the title in a thrilling final-day title battle. They did just that, with a 93rd-minute winner, but that wasn’t enough to win the league as Leipzig crushed Hamburg 6-0 to win their second title.

That saw Mainz finish in an impressive 7th place on 51 points – just 4 points behind Bayern – after 14 wins, 9 draws and 11 defeats, scoring 45 and conceding 41. Mainz had the 5th-best home record, taking 38 points and losing just once in 17 games, but the 5th-worst away record, taking 13 points and winning just 3 times in 17 games.

Mainz Homegrown Player Update

Ordinarily, to have finished 4 points behind Bayern you’d expect to be in a title fight. But Lazaró was more than happy to secure 7th place and European Conference League qualification as Bayern really fell off. Mainz were still lacking a regular goalscorer as Acosta led the way with 9 in 38 followed by Gruda (8), Quiroga (7) and Jorge and Gutiérrez (5), while Gruda again topped the assists with 9 followed by Henrique (7), Quiroga (6) and Jorge and Gutiérrez (3).

The potential at Mainz was confirmed by having 5 players included in the NxGn 2035 list, led by Quiroga in 3rd and Schroder in 11th. Jorge was 24th, Adler 39th and left back Marcelo 47th. They also saw captain Volker Breidenbach make his debut for Germany in a 3-2 friendly win over Tunisia. Even more promise arrived in another stellar, multinational youth intake led by Tunisian midfielder Hafedh Haddad, half-Malian, Mainz-born attacking midfielder Justin Thielmann and Portuguese left back Jorge Carrilho. Also worth keeping an eye on are Ghanaian attacker Anthony Asamoah, 6ft 4in Peruvian midfielder Franco Rodríguez and Italian centre back Andrea Occhiuzzi.

This could be a big summer at Mainz as captain and young starlet Breidenbach announced he wants to leave to play with better players and refused to sign a new deal. Lazaró was also weighing up a change of approach in a bid to gain more attacking momentum for the side.

Could Mainz continue to overperform and how would they fare in their first season back in Europe? Join us next week to find out!