FSV Mainz 05 [2. Bundesliga]

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FSV Mainz 05 have signed Slovakian Miroslav Karhan and Serbian striker Srdjan Baljak.

Karhan moves from Wolfsburg on a free transfer after signing a two year contract.

Manager Christian Heidel announced “Miroslav Karhan possesses many assets besides his footballing quality. He is a versatile player, who has a lot of top class experience. He has shown that he wants this new challenge at Mainz.”

After spells at Real Betis and Besiktas, the player with the record number of caps for Slovakia, moved to Wolfsburg in 2001. In the Bundesliga the midfielder has made 173 appearances scoring 9 goals.

28 year old striker Baljak joins from FK Banat Zrenjanin for an undisclosed fee. With 18 goals last season he became the leading scorer in the Meridian Super Liga.

“He impressed us with his dynamism and determination in attack” explained Heidel. “These are the qualities we were looking for in a striker. He had other options here in Germany, but we are glad he chose us.”

Goal.com - Germany - Karhan And Baljak Join Mainz

[Oliver_Kahn]

Karhan is still a good midfielder, Mainz got a good player there for free

[Oliver_Kahn]

1. FSV Mainz 05 had a field day in their first pre-season friendly, slamming 18 goals past amateurs SV 07 Bischofsheim without reply.


The "Carnival Club" enjoyed a perfect start to their preparations for life in the 2. Bundesliga, as they went on the rampage against the 8th division (Kreisliga) outsiders, winning 18:0!

Goal hungry players

3,500 fans saw Ranisav Jovanovic bag four goals against Bischofsheim. Team mate Petr Ruman netted a hat-trick and there were also braces for Srdjan Baljak, Daniel Gunkel, Aleksandar Petreski and a new face in Mainz: Marco Lopez Silva. The Brazilian is currently on trial at the club.

Elkin Soto, Milorad Pekovic and Roman Neustädter also got on the score-sheet for Mainz.

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Not bad, not bad..

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After confounding the critics for two Bundesliga seasons, Mainz failed to beat the drop. bundesliga.de looks back at a rollercoaster season.

Mainz 05, the "Carnival Club� enjoyed a rosy start to the campaign, and were second in the standings after two rounds of play. But a steady decline soon saw the club crash to the bottom of the league.

That slump culminated in last place after the 12th round, and to make matters even worse, Mainz's sole win until then had been a 2-1 result over Bochum on the opening weekend!

13 goals for Zidan

Between the 18th and 25th rounds, Mainz managed to claw their way back up to mid-table, largely thanks to Egyptian striker Mohmed Zidan, who bagged 13 goals in 15 games following a switch in January 2007 from Werder Bremen.

But results continued to be disappointing for Mainz, and the club finished the season in 16th spot on 34 points.

Still, the club enjoyed what Klopp called "the longest farewell tour ever", and the fans will definitely cheering them on in the battle to get back into the Bundesliga next season.

1. FSV Mainz 05's season in pictures

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1. FSV Mainz 05 are preparing for life in the 2. Bundesliga. Sport Director Christian Heidel spoke with bundesliga.de about the clubs chances.

The tears have been wiped away, and the Mainz 05 are no longer mourning relegation, but looking ahead to a new season full of new challenges. The club is now focussed on life in the second division.

The "Carnival Club" is currently enjoying a training camp in Germany's picturesque Black Forest, where the squad has the chance to work on its team spirit. Sport Director Christian Heidel took time out to let Bundesliga.de pose some pre-season questions.

bundesliga.de: Christian Heidel, relegation has not dented the fans euphoric love for the club. 14,000 season tickets have already been sold, and 8,000 turned up to watch the first day of pre-season training.

Christian Heidel: We actually sold all 15,000 season tickets! Just 700 fans decided to cancel their subscription following relegation. On the other hand, we were able to register a lot of interest from fans wanting to secure a season ticket. Before we had even announced that there were some for sale, over 4,000 applications had been sent in. We can only imagine what it would be like if we could cater for all fans. That's why we're building a new stadium.

bundesliga.de: Is the euphoria surrounding the club animating the squad?

Heidel: The squad and especially the new players had the chance to feel the buzz during our first training session. The massive support we have is an important factor which could be a cornerstone for a positive start to the season.

bundesliga.de: There have been a few chages in the squad. Players such as Mohamed Zidan, Leon Andreasen or Manuel Friedrich have left. Will they be hard to replace?

, we don't have to.

bundesliga.de: Mainz have signed some interesting players. Miroslav Karhan and Bo Svennsson have joined, along with Drdan Baljak, who was the Serbian league's top scorer. What do you expect from the new faces?

Heidel: We decided on experienced players who will combine well with our younger ones. Our squad isn't that deep, meaning that every player has a perspective. Now we must form these players into a team. Looking at the squad's sporting mix and of course the characters in it, I'd say I'm optimistic that we will have a good team.

bundesliga.de: The 2. Bundesliga has some big-name clubs in it this season. The stadiums will be full and there will be one of the toughest promotion battles anywhere to be seen in Europe.

Heidel: It's too early to say that, but there are certain teams with a proud Bundesliga heritage who would dearly like to get back into the top flight. Additionally, there are some ambitous teams in the mix as well. Augsburg and Hoffenheim are just two examples.

bundesliga.de: Can Mainz get promoted? Are there certain pitfalls to be aware of?

Heidel: Naturally we would like to get promoted. Our three years in the Bundesliga were like a quantam leap for the club. But promotion is not our ultimate obejective. There's a lot of stiff competition for the three promotion berths, and nobody is guaranteed promotion. It's important for us to form a team which will have a good perspective; one that can even play a second season in the 2. Bundesliga. It goes without saying that we will be very careful about our financial options.

bundesliga.de: Howe big is the relief in Mainz that Head Coach Jürgen Klopp is staying with the club. After all, many clubs would like to have a coach of his calibre.

Heidel: The relief is huge! During the early stages of our planning for the new season, we felt that Jürgen wanted to fulfill his contract. The debate surrounding his future was a topic for the media, but never for us internally. The relationship between Mainz 05 and Jürgen Klopp is a very special one, and they complement each other perfectly.

[Oliver_Kahn]

2. Bundesliga side 1. FSV Mainz 05 have won a friendly at Regional League South outfit SV 07 Elfversberg 2-1.


In front of 1.000 spectators in Elversberg, Petr Ruman scored for Mainz after a solo from Milorad Pekovic (36th) and Jan Velkoborsky scored for the hosts after a corner kick (45th).

Daghfous winner

Nejmeddin Daghfous scored the winning goal for Mainz after a pass from Tobias Damm two minutes before the end of the match.

05-Coach Jürgen Klopp had to miss out on the injured players Marco Rose (broken foot), Daniel Gunkel (muscle inflamation in his thigh), Damir Vrancic (ligament rupture in his ankle), Chadli Amri (adductor problems) and Ranisav Jovanovic (inflamation in his thigh) at the test game in Elversberg. Nikolce Noveski played despite his broken nose.

Mainz 05: Wache - Hoogland (77th Liesenfeld), Svensson, Noveski (77th Subotic), Markolf (46th Demirtas) - Feulner (63rd Laurent), Karhan (77th Landeka), Pekovic (44th Neustädter), Soto (46th Mario Vrancic) - Baljak (63rd Daghfous), Ruman (46th Damm)

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Narrow win over a much lower side isn't anything big.

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2. Bundesliga side 1. FSV Mainz 05 have beaten Ghanaian team Kumasi Asante Kotoko 1-0 in a friendly.

In front of 3,500 fans in the Bruchwegstadion in Mainz Markus Feulner scored with a header from Petr Ruman's cross nine minutes into the second half.

The 05ers will play their final test ahead of the upcoming season on Tuesday, July 31, against amateur side Alemannia Waldalgesheim.

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2. Bundesliga club 1. FSV Mainz 05 are about to sign the Ecuadorian national player Felix Borja from Greek champions Olympiakos Piräus.

05-Manager Christian Heidel and Olympiakos-Sports Director Ilja Ivic agreed on a one-year loan transfer with an option for the 05er to buy afterwards. Borja is supposed to sign his contract in Mainz on Thursday after the medical check.

Felix Borja has scored five goals in 23 league games last season for Olympiakos Piräus. Before 2006 the today 24-year-old scored 50 times in 121 games for the Ecuadorian club Nacional, from whose youth he comes from.

15 caps for Ecuador

Borja played in 15 international matches (2 goals) for his home country and participated in the World Cup 2006 (one appearance in the preliminary round match against Germany). Recently he played in two games at the Copa America 2007.

"Felix Borja matches the striker type that Coach Jürgen Klopp was looking for. He is a fast, dynamic striker with an outstanding power to jump and because of that flexible usable in the offense," said 05-Manager Christian Heidel, who arranged the transfer in the training camp of Olympiakos Piräus in Seefeld (Austria).

[Oliver_Kahn]

Dimo Wache remains captain of 1.FSV Mainz 05.


Coach Jürgen Klopp on Tuesday informed his team about his decision to keep Wache as skipper.

Marco Rose will be Wache´s new deputy. The team council well be elected by the squad on Wednesday.

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A firey game sees 1. FSV Mainz 05 through to the next round of the DFB Cup after a 6:1 (1:1) victory over Wormatia Worms of the Oberliga.

The game saw two players sent off in Sven Bopp (23.) and Christian Bolm (33.) for unsporting behaviour.

Ruman strikes twice

12.000 fans saw Pekovic (21.) give Mainz the lead before Matthias Gutzler (39.) equalised for Worms who were appearing in the first round of the cup for 30 years.

Coach Jürgen Klopp saw Markus Feulner (46.), Petr Ruman (54. and 74.) Daniel Gunkel (88., 90./penalty) wrap the game up.

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Bad news for 1. FSV Mainz 05: Elkin Soto suffered a cruciate rupture in his right knee on Wednesday afternoon during team practice.

This is the result of an examination at the hospital in Bingen on Wednesday evening.

Furthermore, the Columbian midfielder suffered also from a inner meniscal tear and a capsule rupture in the right knee at the training accident.

Ruled out of 2007

Soto will be operated on Thursday already from the knee specialist Dr. Jürgen Eichhorn in Bad Griesbach. He will miss the complete first half of the season.

Already in last season's second half the Columbian had bad luck. Back then he had to pause for two months because of an inner ligament rupture in his knee.

[Oliver_Kahn]

2. Bundesliga side 1. FSV Mainz 05 have parted ways with Tobias Damm.


The striker will now play for Wuppertaler SV in the Regional League North.

The 23-year-old had already spent the second half of last season on loan at WSV.