Bundesliga: Mainz vs Heidenheim! 8 matches with 6 different formations tried, is the away coach out of ideas?

Let's begin today withthe Bundesliga: Mainz vs Heidenheim!

Ah, yesterday was truly infuriating to the point of laughter.

Victory's defense was generally solid, despite gifting a penalty that led to an equalizer, it still wasn't hopeless.

Who would have thought the goalkeeper would go and punch an opponent!!!

In the era of VAR, such behavior is impossible to avoid punishment for; it can be said he intentionally sought a red card.

As soon as this goalkeeper went off,the substitute goalkeeper was a kid who had never played in any professional league, not even a single minute!To come on and face the toughest Asian showdown? And as a mid-game substitute?

There was no way to hold up, and the match lost its suspense.

Recently, the matches we've discussed on video have been quite baffling, with all sorts of strange incidents happening.

The text-based discussions have been more normal, like yesterday’s Saihat Bay beating Dammam Agreement, Mainz drawing with Union Berlin before, Nigeria defeating Algeria... so why is it like this on video?

Hopefully, things will return to normal soon.

Today, we talk about two underdog matches: the goal-scoring challenged Mainz and the defensively fragile Heidenheim.

Heidenheim drew 2-2 with Cologne in the last game,which shocked me greatly!

You might not know how bad Cologne's situation is?

Firstly, after the experienced center-back Heinz was suddenly injured before the match, Cologne was missing 5 specialized central defenders!

Many teams only have 5 specialized central defenders in total, some even just 4.

So looking at Cologne’s starting central defenders, they are either players like Simpson making their Bundesliga debut or players out of position.

This defensive line quality has to be very poor.

Moreover, there are internal problems at Cologne; not only is the head coach’s performance poor, but his player selections also disappoint fans greatly.

Note: The worst team in the Bundesliga recently isn’t Mainz, but Cologne with 7 matches without a win! Only 2 points from 7 games!

After Mainz changed their coach, the whole team’s morale and form clearly rebounded.

But Cologne’s atmosphere is not good, with strong doubts inside the squad.

Still, Heidenheim, playing at home against Cologne, did not show much advantage and was even at a disadvantage in many aspects?

Heidenheim scored two goals: one was a bicycle kick own goal, the other was a chaotic deflection off a Cologne player’s leg.

Cologne only scored two but wasted too many chances in front of goal.

Note: What was Mainz’s biggest problem before?

It was poor offense, the second lowest goals scored in the Bundesliga, and the lowest winning rate at only 6.3%.

But Heidenheim’s attack is actually as weak as Mainz’s, also the second lowest in goals.

And what is an even bigger problem for Heidenheim?

Their defense is especially poor, the worst in the entire Bundesliga.

They are the only Bundesliga team never to have kept a clean sheet; they concede at least one goal every match.

For a relegation candidate, such poor defense is a major taboo.

Old fans know that famous survival experts are basically defensive coaches who rely on defense to stay up.

For a team with such terrible defense like Heidenheim, survival is extremely difficult.

That’s why, although Heidenheim is not last, they are by far the top favorite for relegation.

Since November, Heidenheim has played 8 matches, and coach Schmidt has tried 6 different formations, but there’s been no real improvement.

Even more embarrassing, the 3-4-2-1 and 3-5-2 formations that once brought them victories failed in their second attempts, resulting in losses.

It seems Schmidt, who has coached the team for 19 years, has run out of tricks and options.

No wonder, after historically leading the team into European competition in 23/24, Schmidt’s tactics have been scrutinized under the spotlight and thoroughly figured out by opponents.

Just like when Union Berlin’s coach joked after being sacked by Cologne that opponents even knew where he would cross the ball. Football is like this, sustained success is very hard; legendary coaches like Guardiola and Ancelotti are rare exceptions.

Schmidt’s prestige at Heidenheim is so high, even surpassing the owner and others, which makes it difficult to correct mistakes when he errs. It seems he won’t change course until hitting a wall.

In this regard, Mainz, who recently changed coaches, shows more innovation and better morale.

So, can Mainz satisfy their fans? What do you think? I’m looking forward to them getting three points.

Alright, for today’s other matches, I will still send text opinions tonight. If anything is unclear, feel free to ask me. “Watch football clearly,” see you then!

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