Svensson declares Zentner, Widmer, and Kohr fit for Leverkusen
While FSV Mainz trainer Bo Svensson remained typically coy about who would feature in his starting XI this weekend against Leverkusen, prospects for returning actors Robin Zentner, Silvan Widmer, and Dominik Kohr appeared bright.
FSV Mainz 05 have had to do without first-choice keeper Robin Zentner, skipper Silvan Widmer, and midfield linchpin Dominik Kohr throughout much of the new calendar year. Despite these absences, die Nullfzuunter were still able to deliver their second big home win of the new calendar year last Saturday; a convincing 3-1 win over Augsburg at the MEWE Arena.
With the team coming off such a momentum-building win, Svensson understandably didn't want to commit to starting places for his returning trio. Widmer would be in line to displace Danny da Costa at the right-wingback position. Kohr could presumably step in for either Anton Stach or Leandro Barreiro. Zentner ostensibly should receive his #1 role back from back-up Finn Dahmen.
"Impressions in training count and no one gets anything for free," Svensson emphasized at his pre-match presser, "The competition for spaces is similar to at the beginning of the year. It's a neck-and-neck race at certain positions. The longer one doesn't play, the more things can shift."
"Robin trained well and proved capable of doing everything," Svensson said of his first-choice between the sticks, "The others [Widmer and Kohr] participated in full team training over the course of the week."
While it does seem likely that the trio will start again, Svensson pointed to his left-wingback role as evidence of how starting roles are always subject to change. Anthony Caci recently displaced Spanish fullback Aaron Martin, who had a wildly successful start to the current campaign as a set-piece specialist and scorer of three goals. Martin is noticeably dissatisfied and reportedly wants out of the club.
"That's how fast it can go sometimes," Svensson noted when discussing the situation, "You slow up. Someone else takes their chance. That's how it is profession ally in this business. I understand that Aaron is not happy about it."