The Tao of Tuchel

For some of the Bundesliga's lesser-lights, the prospect of facing a Bayern Munich side building up a head of steam would usually be a frightening one. But Mainz 05, the unassuming team from the Rhineland, are not about to freeze in the headlights of the oncoming Bayern juggernaught.

Thomas Tuchel's Mainz team has enjoyed an encouraging campaign by their standards which has seen them fly as high as fifth in the table. Although a pre-winter break blip saw them drop down the league to tenth, Tuchel has steadied the ship, strengthened the team's confidence and led them back up to eighth.

Last week's 1-0 victory over Hannover gave them their first win in eight attempts and although they were thumped 4-2 by league leaders Bayer Leverkusen and beaten 1-0 by title hopefuls Schalke 04 before Christmas, Mainz held their own against the likes of top five challengers Dortmund and Hamburg in a succession of draws during that spell.

First blood to Mainz

Although they travel to a Bayern Munich side on a six-match winning streak, Mainz have reason to feel confident going into Saturday's match. Their previous meeting with the Bavarian giants earlier in the season in Mainz, resulted in a 2-1 victory for Tuchel's side, with goals from Andreas Ivanschitz and Aristide Bance.

Tuchel was not in charge the last time Mainz made the trip to the Allianz Arena three seasons ago, when they were whipped 5-2. The 36-year-old took over coaching duties in August 2009 after predecessor Joern Anderson was fired before a ball was even kicked.

Since then, Tuchel has proved more than up to the task of maintaining Mainz's top league status and has even had the fans dreaming of European football.

Mainz's current record and position in the league reflects favorably on their young coach: Tuchel is managing a top league club for the first time in his short career.

He moved through the youth programs at Stuttgart and Augsburg before taking over the Under-19s at Mainz in 2008. One year later, he was overseeing a plucky 2-2 draw in his first Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen. Two weeks later, he recorded his first top flight victory – against Bayern.

A coach who inspires loyalty

Tuchel drives Mainz on with an exuberance and enthusiasm which have prompted comparisons to a former Mainz coach known for his youthful passion - Juergen Klopp, now coach at Borussia Dortmund.

Just as Klopp enjoyed the trust of his players in a seven year spell at Mainz, Tuchel has harnessed the belief of his young squad by employing similar tactics. In his own words, Tuchel is "direct, a perfectionist and pedantic but also fair and open to discussion," much like Klopp, and this approach has inspired a similar loyalty in his team.

His vision for his team can be seen on the pitch, a sure sign that his players trust his tactics and believe in their coach. Mainz have at times been the embodiment of Tuchel's belief that "you have to be brave and be afraid of no-one."

With Bayern now fully-recovered from their early-season setback and looking more dangerous than ever, Mainz will have to have nerves of steel in this weekend's return match. One expects that Tuchel will have instilled his team with enough belief to take on their opponents with little or no fear.

Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Rob Turner