The Daily Bee (September 24, 2020): Mainz Players Boycott Training

Good morning, Fear the Wall.

Mainz Players go on Strike

This story has come out of nowhere, at least for me. Apparently things are not all nice and cuddly at the training grounds of FSV Mainz 05. According to Kicker, the boycott is the result of a quarrel between Adam Szalai, Mainz’s Hungarian veteran striker, and Managing Director Rouven Schroder, who has said that Szalai should look for a new club. When Szalai showed up to training the next day, he was asked to train with the rest of the squad. This did not sit well with the rest of the squad, who reportedly skipped their afternoon training session.

There are a lot of rumors circulating that this has to do with players’ wages from the first phase of the COVID pandemic being held back, and that Szalai was the representative for the squad’s position on this matter. The club has denied these rumors, and claims that the decision to push out Szalai was solely due to sporting considerations, and that the acrimony is the result of poor communication.

This is a very strange story, but it doesn’t appear that it will affect Mainz come their next match against Stuttgart on Saturday.

The Daily Buzz

We were discussing this in the FTW discord yesterday, but I want to hear your thoughts. Between the two second XIs of Bayern and BVB, which do you think is better?