Not that FSV Mainz 05 lacked experience in dealing with crises.

On the pitch as well as at the top of the club.

In recent years, the Rheinhessen team has always managed to master even the most threatening situations, sometimes with more, sometimes with less luck - and last season with Bo Svensson.

Under the former 05 professional who was signed as head coach in January, the team managed to catch up with 32 points in the second half of the season, thanks to which they are now entering the 13th Bundesliga season in a row.

But before their opening game, for which they expect RB Leipzig on Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky), those responsible are faced with a completely new challenge.

After striker Karim Onisiwo had already tested positive for Corona before the DFB Cup game in Elversberg, ten other players and three members of the coaching staff had to go into quarantine at home over the course of the week.

Eight of the professionals were not infected with Covid-19, but had to go into isolation as contact persons who had not yet been vaccinated or had not been vaccinated at all.

But according to the country's "segregation ordinance", they too have to stay at home for two weeks, as the responsible district administration announced on request.

Rump squad for the start of the league

Should a loophole not be found, then coach Svensson would only have a rump squad available on matchday two in Bochum. At the press conference for the game against Leipzig on Friday afternoon, sports director Christian Heidel did not yet know what the match would look like in detail: “We will see players, at least on the bench, who are not yet known to many in Germany. We have many disadvantages, but the advantage that RB doesn't know who will play is something we don't want to be taken away from. ”Coach Bo Svensson, on the other hand, didn't want to say which players will definitely be missing.

Under normal circumstances, one could have assumed that Svensson would have nominated largely the same starting line-up as when they won the Cup on penalties. There were only two entrances: the winger players Silvan Widmer on the right and Anderson Lucoqui on the left, of whom the Swiss European Championship participant made the more stable and dynamic impression in Elversberg as during preparation. Lucoqui, who came from Arminia Bielefeld, has not been challenged defensively in any of the previous encounters, is still lacking the move forward. He also acted aggressively against the Saarland fourth division team.

The Spaniard Aarón, whom the 05er had awarded to Celta Vigo in January, scored plus points in this regard. Aarón would have liked to stay in his homeland, and because of this and the phlegm with which he had played himself offside in the year and a half before, he was actually considered a sales candidate. Now it seems as if he wants to get fully involved in Mainz again - if that is also reflected in his defensive behavior, he could regain his former regular place.