In its search for defensive reinforcements, 1. FSV Mainz 05 has found what it was looking for in Italy. Stefan Posch, a defender with Bundesliga experience, is transferring to the Rheinhessen club.
Under coach Urs Fischer, 1. FSV Mainz 05 has gained new hope of avoiding relegation in recent weeks. The 05ers have earned half of their twelve points so far in the five games with the Swiss on the sidelines. The relegation spot is suddenly within reach again for the once-struggling bottom team.
Despite the slight upturn in form, the desire for reinforcements remained, and with Stefan Posch, the 17th-placed team has now been able to present the desired defender. The 28-year-old Austrian, who is likely to take up the right-back position in Fischer’s preferred back three, is joining Mainz on loan from Como until the end of the season. He had been loaned there by FC Bologna.
“Stefan Posch is an experienced defender who is strong in tackles and good at playing the ball. He can be used in central defense and on the defensive wing.
He has already proven his quality in both the Bundesliga and on the international stage, and his qualities make him exactly the immediate reinforcement for the defense that we were looking for in the second half of the season,” said sporting director Niko Bungert in the announcement.
For Posch, it’s all about World Cup nomination.
Posch brings with him the experience of 109 Bundesliga appearances for TSG Hoffenheim, where he was under contract between 2015 and 2022 before moving to Serie A. After two seasons as a regular at Bologna, the 49-time international was loaned to Atalanta Bergamo in the second half of last season. He also spent the first half of the current season in northern Italy with Como 1907, where he made 14 first division appearances, mainly as a substitute. For Posch, the aim in Mainz is now to gain playing experience in order to put himself in contention for a World Cup nomination in the summer.
“The big goal must of course be to get out of the bottom of the table as quickly as possible and put everything into the project of staying up. I am convinced that we can do it, and I am eager to make my contribution,” said Posch himself, who will wear the number 4 jersey in the future.
After the two attacking players Silas (VfB Stuttgart) and Phillip Tietz (FC Augsburg), Posch is Mainz’s third new signing this winter. He could make his debut as early as Saturday, when VfL Wolfsburg visit Mainz at 3:30 p.m.