After his last competitive game so far, Silvan Widmer literally pulled the floor away.

That was a month ago, in the quarter-finals of the European Championship, the Swiss and his national team were eliminated from penalties against Spain.

“I came home and had no more energy,” he says, “that was a whole new experience.

And it took me a few days to gain a foothold again. "

Help was approaching from Rheinhessen. The responsible persons at FSV Mainz 05 had already tried to get the right back of FC Basel before the EM and intensified the discussions during the tournament. Other clubs have also expressed their interest, but only in discussions with 05 sports director Martin Schmidt and coach Bo Svensson did he feel from the start that “they really want me. And since the moment I signed the contract, the anticipation for the new challenge has predominated. "

Like the other EM participants from the Bundesliga club's squad, Widmer only started preparing for the season at the training camp in Tyrol, so he's still a bit behind.

Nevertheless, it can be assumed that he will be placed on the right wing and will be part of the first team in the DFB Cup game at SV Elversberg next Sunday as well as a week later at the league opener against RB Leipzig.

An indication of this was the Mainz team's last test match on Saturday against CFC Genoa - the newcomer was in the starting line-up when the game lasted 3: 2 in the 2 × 60 minute game.

"What is he doing there?"

Widmer himself describes his career path as atypical. The reason: After his youth at FC Aarau, he moved to Udinese Calcio in Serie A at the age of 20, became a regular player, but returned to Switzerland after five years, now to Basel. “At the time, some asked themselves: What was he doing there?” He says. “In retrospect, I can say that it was a great step.” Because he developed further in Basel, played more than 20 times in the Champions and Europa League, he matured “and is now definitely ready to step into a big league close".

Widmer seems to be well prepared for his new employer for two reasons. On the one hand because of the style of play. He is used to Bo Svensson's preferred 3-5-2 system from the Swiss national team. “I can do 4-4-2 too, but the three-man chain suits me better because I am willing to run to set offensive accents, but can also work backwards. We want to press up, find our way to the opposing goal quickly, and I assume that I'll be in the opposing half a lot. "

On the other hand, the role of the 05er in the Bundesliga is similar to that of the "Nati" in the European Championship. "We have a great team in Switzerland, everyone is up to play for it," he says. In terms of name, the German national team should be rated higher, "but we made it to the field better as a team". The situation in Mainz is comparable to this. Not a huge club, but a unit that is said to be extremely uncomfortable to play against. “In the previous second half of the season nobody wanted to play against Mainz because they knew it would hurt. This is how it should be in the new season. "

However, Silvan Widmer also made a not insignificant difference between his previous and the new station: The intensity and quality of training are higher than in Basel, which the 28-year-old sees in passing and pressing, for example. “Everything is faster, you have less time on the ball, you have to be on your guard and think about where you want to play in advance,” he says. That has to do with both the league and the coach. “Bo puts a lot of emphasis on things like pressing and high start-ups in the sprint. But also in general the speed and quality are higher than in Switzerland. ”Widmer's first task will be to adapt this.