Schmidt brushes off talk of Europe: "We clinched class preservation today."
FSV Mainz 05 sporting director Martin Schmidt radiated joy during his post-match interview after the 3-0 upset thrashing of RB Leipzig.
The former Mainzer head-coach nevertheless wanted to talk about securing Bundesliga football for next season, not Europe, when speaking to Sky.
The former Mainzer head-coach nevertheless wanted to talk about securing Bundesliga football for next season, not Europe, when speaking to Sky.
| Martin Schmidt. |
Forty points from a Bundesliga campaign, of course, generally connotes a different milestone. While top tier German footballing sides generally only need about 35 points to avoid relegation, 40 points usually serves as the official confirmation that the club will be staying up next year. FSV sporting director Martin Schmidt wished to emphasize that this, not Europe, was on his mind after the 3-0 defeat of Leipzig.
"Remaining in the league has been confirmed," Schmidt remarked in his post-match interview with Sky Germany, "Our goal was to stay here [in the Bundesliga] and we've done that. Now we'll want to claw our way up, but the goal of the team remains to improve steadily [as opposed to sensationally]."
Schmidt did naturally take time to praise the incredibly thorough performance in the shockingly one-sided upset victory. The former Mainz head-coach called the performance of Bo Svensson's XI "flawless and unbelievable." Schmidt credited the win to a "unified team effort" and specifically lauded the "hard-nosed defensive discipline."
