Our next opponents: Youth to the fore at Mainz

Position

Everybody at Mainz hoped for such a start but only the optimists believed it would really happen. The team from the Rhineland Palatinate state capital have seven points from three Bundesliga games and are unbeaten – anything but a given after last season where Mainz narrowly avoided relegation. However, the basic attitude at Mainz is now completely different. "Last season we would have handled a blow like that differently," said coach Sandra Schwarz after his team went behind to Augsburg on 82 minutes but they were able to turn it round with two goals in a frenetic finish from substitutes Anthony Ujah and Alexandru Maxim. The reward for the last-minute win: Sixth place after three games. In the first round of the DFB Cup, Mainz overcame a tricky draw to beat Erzgebirge Aue and they will meet Augsburg in the next round at the end of October – this time at their ground.

Personnel

Sandro Schwarz had "tears in his eyes" following a statement at the end of the Augsburg game – and not just because of the emotional victory for his team in the closing stages but also due to the personnel who had achieved it. The FSV coach, who was previously the club's youth coach, gave two homegrown players their Bundesliga debuts: Striker Jonathan Burkardt was in the starting line-up and, at the age of 18 years and 66, He became the youngest Mainz Bundesliga player of all time. The story of the second debutant is also noteworthy: Central defender Ahmet Gürleyen was playing for the second team in the Regional League against SSV Ulm the night before but was surprisingly taken off at half-time. "I was told to get changed straightaway and drive to the pros team hotel," explained the 19-year-old to the kicker sports magazine. Key defender Stefan Bell had suffered concussion and Gürleyen was needed for the Bundesliga game – and he came off the bench in the hectic closing stages. Goalkeeper Florian Müller and midfielder Ridle Baku (both  20) were two other players from the FSV youth set-up to start against FC Augsburg. The Mainz way that made the club so successful in the past is set to continue – particularly under Schwarz.

Problems

With  all the romance of the homegrown players, one thing has to be made clear: Burkardt and Gürleyen would probably not have played if Mainz did not have such a long injury list. In central defence, where Alexander Hack has been out of action for a long time, Schwarz  ran out off options after Bell's concussion so that captain Niko Bungert made his comeback in the starting eleven after a year on the sidelines – only to get injured straightaway again to be replaced by Gürleyen. The diagnosis: a severe bruised calf for the 31-year-old. Both Bungert and Bell, under certain circumstances, could make a return against Bayer 04  and the same applies to striker Karim Onisiwo who also suffered concussion in the game against  Augsburg. The coach Schwarz is hoping long-term injured first-team regulars Danny Latza and Levin Öztunali (former Leverkusen player)  will be back on the subs bench for the first time against the Werkself. Winger Gerrit Holtmann and striker Emil Berggreen are sidelined.

Potential

In spite of all the sidelined players, Schwartz had other options to replace the missing first-team regulars but he chose to bring in two players from the clubs' youth system. That highlights the philosophy that Mainz 05 follow: Talented homegrown players should be carefully brought through to become a component of the first team. In addition, Mainz wants to be a springboard for young and talented players from abroad who would like to go on to bigger clubs – like Abdou Diallo, who had an impressive season in a Mainz shirt last term, and is now playing for Borussia Dortmund. That brought in sizeable funds for the club from Rhein-Hesse. Jean-Philippe Gbamin, the centre of attraction to bigger clubs in the summer, could follow a similar path and new signings Moussa Niakhaté, Pierre Kunde Malong and Jean-Philippe Mateta (pictured above) are also candidates. That sort of transfer policy in combination with the development of homegrown players ensures 'little' Mainz have a sustainable role on the Bundesliga stage.

Prediction

The start of the season has shown: Mainz are anything but easy to beat. The new signings have fitted in straightaway and strengthen the team that, in spite of numerous injuries, have not lost any of the first three games. If the young team and the young coach can remain calm when the first setbacks happen, then chances are more than good that Mainz 05 will again be in the Bundesliga next season.