Mainz 05 coach Bo Henriksen is "Coach of the Season"

Bo Henriksen, head coach of Mainz 05, has been voted "Coach of the Season" by the professional footballers. Quite rightly, says SWR sports reporter Achim Scheu.

When Bo Henriksen took over Mainz, which was almost relegated, in February 2024, his impulsive, extroverted manner initially made me feel a bit like an alien presence in Mainz. The club was in ruins, teetering almost defenselessly toward relegation. Henriksen, somewhat typical of the club, arrived in Mainz on Carnival Day 2024. Under his leadership, the Rhineland-Palatinate team played a brilliant second half of the season and managed to avoid relegation on the final matchday at Wolfsburg.

I, and I wasn't alone in this at the time, believed that coaches like Henriksen would quickly lose their momentum with their approach, and that motivational speeches in the locker room would soon fizzle out among the first team. But Bo Henriksen quickly proved me wrong. His critics often felt, and sometimes still feel, that his demeanor on the sidelines and in front of the media was a bit over the top. But the fact is that the 50-year-old Dane is extremely popular with his players, indeed with the entire Mainz 05 club.

Henriksen transformed a relegation candidate into a team that was in contention for Champions League spots for a long time. Sixth place at the end of the just-completed season, which meant qualification for the Conference League , is the reward for his work. In addition to the sporting success, Henriksen and his team have also created a genuine 05 hype in the city and among the fans, which can be felt everywhere.

Mainz 05 is a huge topic in the region: Never before have so many jerseys been sold, never before have so many spectators come to the stadium for home games, and never before has the team been supported by so many fans at away games. Fittingly, the club now has just over 26,500 members (as of May 2025). According to club information, this number has more than doubled since 2021. Mainz aims to break the 30,000 mark by the end of the year.

These numbers are not exclusively, but partly, due to Bo Henriksen. The award for "Coach of the Season" is therefore entirely understandable and all the more worthy of praise because the football professionals themselves voted. They chose Bo Henriksen as Coach of the Season. Not, as is usually the case, fans or journalists. Congratulations, Bo Henriksen!

Broadcast on Fri., 30.5.2025 12:00, Aktuell at 12, SWR1 Rhineland-Palatinate