As Mainz 05 coach, Benjamin Hoffmann will face FC Schalke 04 in the DFB Cup junior semi-finals on Sunday. We spoke to the former BVB U19 coach.

When FC Schalke 04’s U19s host Mainz 05 in the DFB Cup semi-finals on Sunday, an old acquaintance will be on the sidelines for their opponents.

For the past three and a half years, Mainz have been coached by Benjamin Hoffmann, who was previously head coach of Borussia Dortmund’s A Juniors and faced Schalke in several derbies. After winning two league titles, Hoffmann said goodbye to BVB in 2019 and moved to Mainz.

At FSV, the 43-year-old continued his successful work. As champions of the south/southwest division of the Bundesliga, he may even achieve something historic: One week after the DFB Cup semi-final in Gelsenkirchen, the Rhineland-Palatinate team will be fighting against 1 FC Cologne for a place in the final of the German championship. And the double – no U19 team has ever been able to win that.

Hoffmann explains in an interview why Mainz can expect to have a chance, what the differences are between the west and southwest divisions of the Bundesliga and what young coaches can learn from S04 coach Norbert Elgert.

Benjamin Hoffmann, after a strong regular season you have the chance to win two titles with Mainz, now it’s time for the decisive phase. Do you feel any tension among yourself and your players?

Nothing has changed in the daily work. We are just as focused and having as much fun as we have been lately. We’ve always said that we see the DFB Cup and the championship games as a bonus. Many of the boys in the team only get this opportunity once in their junior years. These are great experiences for the whole club and the region.

How important would it still be for the club to win one of the two cups? That would also send a signal to the outside world, for example in the acquisition of talent.

That would be a great story. In 2009, Mainz won the German championship under Thomas Tuchel. The poster from back then still hangs in the NLZ today. It’s not a matter of course that we have the chance. There is great joy in the club, many people have already announced that they will support us at the away games in Gelsenkirchen and Cologne.

Has it already been decided whether you can rely on your top striker Nelson Weiper against Schalke or whether he will travel with the professionals to Leipzig for the Bundesliga match?

I’m often asked that question at the moment – and I can’t answer it yet because that will be decided at short notice. The professional department has priority, and that’s what we’re training for. When Nelson Weiper missed the last game, but was able to score his first Bundesliga goal, we at the U19s were also very happy. Nevertheless, we naturally want to send the best possible team onto the pitch against Schalke.

Profit coach Bo Svensson is your predecessor as U19 coach. Does that make it easier to work with him?

Of course, but it’s not just about Bo Svensson. Because what many don’t see: His co-coach Babak Keyhanfar was also my co-coach in the U19s, so most of the exchange goes through him – for example, he clarifies which players train where and when. But the second co-coach, Patrick Kaniuth, and the video analysts were also in the NLZ before. That’s why we are very close.

No U19 team has ever won the double. Why can Mainz do it this year?

Because so far we have presented ourselves as an absolute unit when it mattered. The team is selfless and has repeatedly proven that it can be there on the dot. The boys know when they can have fun – but also when one hundred percent focus is required. And that’s what finals like this are all about: you need a certain maturity. And we are very well positioned in all positions, even though we now have a few absentees.

In the south/south-west division, Mainz are at the top of the final table, and teams like Karlsruhe or Nuremberg also finished well ahead of top clubs like FC Bayern or Eintracht Frankfurt. How can this constellation be explained?

I don’t want to answer that question from the point of view of the other clubs. But what I do notice is that things are less results-oriented in our league. Of course, everyone wants to win as many games as possible, but Bayern, for example, uses a lot of U19 players in their third-league team. The same goes for teams like Hoffenheim, Freiburg or Frankfurt. We, on the other hand, have kept almost the entire team with us – and not sent some of them to the second team.

Before you moved to Mainz, you spent three years coaching in the West at Borussia Dortmund. Are there any notable differences between the two seasons?

You can’t really compare them. U19 teams change all the time, because the older players leave and the younger ones come in. What is noticeable, however, are the longer travel times. Most away trips involve long bus journeys and overnight stays in hotels. I didn’t know that from my time at BVB. That’s why it’s no disadvantage at all for us to travel a day earlier to the Schalke game.

Schalke’s DFB Cup opponents missed out on the finals by a hair’s breadth. How do you rate S04 this season?

Very strong. Of course I still follow the West, I have many friends there. I would have thought they would make it. Our preparation for the DFB Cup match showed once again that Schalke has top players in all positions. With Keke Topp they have a really strong nine, they have fast, dribbling outsiders, are robust in the centre and quick to act. The defence is strong in two fights. It’s a very complete team.

Because Norbert Elgert is simply a very good coach. He can lead every player to a higher level of performance – because of his experience and his professional competence.

Benjamin Hoffmann on Schalke’s long-time U19 coach

At Schalke, coach Norbert Elgert has been on the sidelines for 20 years. Why do you think he doesn’t wear out and still reaches the younger generation so well?

Because Norbert Elgert is simply a very good coach. He can lead any player to a higher level of performance – because of his experience and his professional competence.

Are there things you have copied from him during your time as BVB coach?

Of course, as a young coach you look beyond the end of your nose. It’s not so much a question of copying something, but rather of looking at things in general: What is his approach like? How does he behave in the game? How does he behave towards the press? It would be unwise if I didn’t learn anything from that.

You personally have now extended your contract, which was originally due to expire in the summer, until 2026. Have you set yourself concrete goals for this period?

I can answer that with a quick “no”. For me, it’s all about continuing to work constantly, making the boys better and making football fun for them. The conditions for that are right here. I feel very comfortable, Mainz is a great club. That’s what I’m looking forward to in the next few years.

So a new challenge or a move to the senior level was out of the question for you?

Actually, no. I see myself and continue to see myself as a trainer. That means first and foremost that I want to bring the players up to a higher level so that when you leave, they say to me: “Thanks, coach, that was a great time.” Of course, that doesn’t work for everyone, but when it does, it’s extremely fun. If other people then judge that and say at some point that they can also imagine doing that at the professional level, I won’t close myself off to that.