Schmidt thanks Mainz citizens for "never give up" stickers, Henriksen off to dance with his wife
Afterwards, club sporting director Martin Schmidt raved about the city and club supporters who helped the club through an "indescribably brutal" time. Nadiem Amiri noted that head-coach Bo Henriksen animated and motivated the team by "dancing in the locker room" before every match.
Henriksen - proudly sporting his "Niemals aufgeben" shirt - said he was off to go dance with his wife now that the relegation stress had been lifted.
FSV Mainz 05 supporters - in conjunction with their club - have been distributing "Niemals aufgeben" ("never give up") stickers ever since their team found themselves in a seemingly hopeless relegation battle in the dead of winter. The sporting management duo of Christian Heidel and Martin Schmidt - both highly emotional after Mainz secured safety by beating Wolfsburg on Saturday - thanked the fans directly for their support.
"We were so far down and everything was lost," Heidel - with tears in his eyes - remarked in his post-match interview, "but we managed to claw our way back up. [Head-coach] Bo [Henriksen] turned everything around and gave this team belief again. The fact that everyone stood behind this club without hesitation makes me proud."
"There are these 'never give up' signs everywhere," Schmidt added, "normal construction workers or tradesmen believe that they must never give up in the face of a problem. This is the greatest thing for us as its indescribably brutal what this relegation battle has done to the players and employees."
Nadiem Amiri also credited Henriksen with the rescue, noting that the club's third trainer of the season "comes into the locker room shouting and dancing"; something befitting for a "Carnival club". For his part, Henriksen himself admitted that he liked to dance before every game.
"I like to dance before every game and have my movements down," Henriksen said, "But today I'm only going to dance with my wife. She moved here with me and did everything with me. What a wonderful moment for us all."
