Mainz 05 ready to test Bayern Munich, says Meikel Schonweitz

Mainz 05 technical director Meikel Schonweitz believes his team can once again make life difficult for Bayern Munich when the sides meet in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

The clubs were involved in two high-scoring matches last season, producing 11 goals between them. Their latest meeting, in April, ended with Bayern claiming a dramatic 4-3 victory.

Schonweitz says Mainz’s performances against the Bundesliga champions in recent seasons show they are capable of competing with them.

“Mainz is one of the clubs who did that in the last few years,” Schonweitz said during a media round table. “We managed to give Bayern a hard time every now and then and we’ll try to do it again on Saturday.”

The Mainz technical director warned that Bayern’s attacking threat extends well beyond England striker Harry Kane, who recently won the 2026 Men’s Ballon d’Or.

“Bayern Munich doesn’t only have Harry Kane, they have a lot of players that can score goals,” he said.

Bayern’s status means every opponent must produce a particularly disciplined performance, according to Schonweitz.

“Every year it’s a big challenge to play against Bayern Munich, that’s a big thing for everybody in Germany playing against Bayern Munich because it’s not only the best team in Germany, it’s one of the best teams in Europe and maybe in the world,” he added.

“Every time it’s really hard and it’s a big challenge to stop that team and you have to be a little bit more focused and more concentrated in this game if you wanna get some results.”

Kane’s Ballon d’Or success made him the first Bundesliga player to win the prestigious award in three decades.

Schonweitz praised the striker’s goalscoring record, but said Kane’s willingness to contribute to the team was equally important in earning the honour.

“To Harry Kane, he’s a great player, he’s a great guy, I think it’s one of the reasons that he won the Ballon D’or,” Schonweitz said.

“He’s a team player and that’s really a big thing to combine, being a great individual player to score that many goals and also be really a team player, that’s one of the biggest things as to why he deserves the Ballon D’or.”