Da costa praises Bell’s defensive direction: “He leads us for the full 90 minutes.”

Speaking to German broadcaster DAZN after he and his teammates kept a clean sheet victory on Sunday, makeshift Mainz central defender Danny da Costa praised defensive anchor Stefan Bell for helping him excel outside of his natural position. 

Despite the fact that Mainz 05 trainer Bo Henriksen now has more natural central defenders at his disposal, the FSV gaffer opted to stick with his makeshift arrangement against Kiel on Sunday. Dominik Kohr (for years a natural midfielder) and Danny da Costa (a natural wingback) served alongside veteran Stefan “boss” Bell for the second consecutive match. 

Both Kohr and da Costa were brought to Mainz by Henriksen’s compatriot and former Mainz trainer Bo Svensson after both struggled to earn playing time whilst working at Eintracht Frankfurt. Bell himself was always known as one of Svensson’s pet projects; a player who received new life under Svensson in Mainz’s great escape from relegation during the 2020/21 season.

“Bell brings a lot of experience to the center of our chain,” da Costa told German broadcaster DAZN in his post-match interview, “He leads us for the full 90 minutes. I have a radio operator on my left. He makes it very easy to work alongside him and make runs.” 

“We all train together well,” da Costa continued, “It’s naturally great when that translates well to the game. Our wingbacks and midfielders also deserve credit. We have a great general construct.”