Mainz defender Stefan Bell speaks on team’s crisis: “Bundesliga level players who can’t compete on the Bundesliga level.”

As one of the most important faces of FSV Mainz 05, veteran defender Stefan Bell finds himself frustrated with the current state of his Bundesliga club. The 34-year-old has never represented another club in the German top flight. Bell – the current longest serving player with a German top division side – has little to celebrate as he closes in on the milestone of 300 Bundesliga appearances with Mainz.

The Pfälzer capital city side presently occupies last place in the Bundesliga table and appears to be on the verge of pulling the trigger on a coaching change. Bell defended head coach Bo Henriksen and his staff during his post-match interview with DAZN, yet ultimately sounded just as disenchanted as Henriksen when assessing the overall mood about the current Mainz project.

“We didn’t stand a chance from the very first minute onwards,” Bell told DAZN. “Today, we demonstrated that we are not capable of competing at the Bundesliga level. It’s just not good enough. We have no one who is on the level form-wise and that’s just a shame. We’re just not good enough at football at the moment, both individually and in terms of team tactics.“

Bell’s reference to “team tactics” might have been interpreted as a swipe at the coaching staff, but Bell wished to re-assure his interviewer that this was absolutely not the case. The centre-back took care to emphasize that he felt that Henriksen and the staff had prepared the team adequately.

“We had a good match plan, but left the coaching staff out in the rain,” Bell said. “We have to do our part on the pitch. We have players of established quality and experience, but we’re just not performing well enough. Most of our players are miles away from last season’s form. Every player must question himself individually.“

GGFN | Peter Weis