Mainz bid emotional farewell to club-man Martin Schmidt: “Over a decade of solid work.” | OneFootball

The small-market Bundesliga club known for grooming talent for coaching and administrative careers experienced another emotional farewell on Friday. Mainz – the Palatinate club that produced Jürgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel, Marco Rose, and Bo Svensson – officially parted company with former player and trainer Martin Schmidt.

Schmidt returned to the club that launched his coaching career – together with long-time front office boss Christian Heidel – in December 2020 to help re-shape the Rheinhessen. It was Heidel and Schmidt who opted to hire Svensson, the man who ended up leading Mainz’ historic escape from relegation during the 2020/21 campaign. The duo also brought in Bo Henriksen to rescue the club last year.

Schmidt, like Heidel, took some professional detours after leaving the Pfälzer capital. After brief stints coaching  Wolfsburg and Augsburg, Schmidt returned as Mainz’s sporting director. Heidel returned from a horrendous three-year-stint in the Schalke 04 front office to work as Mainz’ sporting CEO. Schmidt and Heidel always worked in close concert.

Schmidt officially stepped down as club sporting director this past autumn for personal reasons, yet maintained an advisory position underneath replacement Nico Bungert. On Friday, Schmidt and club officially ended all cooperation together. Heidel – who worked with Schmidt for a cumulative total of nine years – issued a long statement.

“Since 2010, we have experienced many special moments together during our time working together at Mainz 05,” Heidel’s statement read. “He successfully fought several emotional relegation battles both as a coach and as a sporting director and was able to help us advance directly to the group stage of the Europa League for the first time in the club’s history.

“Moreover, Martin’s cheerful nature makes him an excellent fit for the open, warm culture of our club and our city,” Heidel’s statement continued. “More than ten years of good work together have created a bond – Martin will always remain my personal friend and a friend of the club.”

“Mainz has shaped my life,” Schmidt himself added in his own statement. “I leave with many emotions and a huge bundle of experiences, successes and unforgettable moments of joy. I now look forward to new projects and challenges.“

GGFN | Peter Weis