MAINZ, Germany (AP) — Bo Svensson has quit as coach of Mainz after a winless start to the Bundesliga season left the team bottom of the standings.
Mainz announced late Thursday that Svensson decided to step down following a meeting with club officials.
“Unfortunately, there are always many sides to the story in football, which can bring a successful collaboration to a point whereby it is perhaps better to go a different way,” Mainz sporting chairman Christian Heideil said. “Bo also felt the same and told us about this. Hats off to him for his openness and his close bond with Mainz 05.”
Svensson, a former Denmark defender, played for Mainz from 2007 through 2014 and returned as coach in 2021 with the club in the relegation zone. He managed a dramatic turnaround to keep the club in the top division and achieve an eighth-place finish the following season.
He couldn’t manage a similar recovery this season, with Mainz on three points from nine games and in last place in the 18-team league.
Svensson’s last game in charge saw Mainz eliminated from the German Cup in a 3-0 loss to second-division Hertha Berlin in the second round on Wednesday.
Mainz under-23 team coach Jan Siewert has replaced Svensson and will be in charge for a home Bundesliga game against Leipzig on Saturday.
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