Bo Henriksen: Who is the Danish coach who saved Mainz from the drop?
Bo Henriksen is probably most widely known in Germany for saving Mainz from relegation in 2023/24, but there is plenty more to the Danish head coach than that rescue act.
Data correct as of 28 August 2024
Bo Henriksen
Age: 49
Club: Mainz
Role: Head coach
Country: Denmark
Had it not been for Henriksen’s arrival, Mainz may well be playing in Bundesliga 2 right now. After 21 matchdays of the 2023/24 campaign, the club had amassed just 12 points and were nine adrift of safety. However, with their new Dane at the helm, they picked up 23 points from their final 13 games to guarantee their top-tier status for another campaign.
That was just the latest chapter in his 30-year footballing career. Long before he was standing in the dugout, Henriksen was a player himself and turned out for Kidderminster Harriers and Bristol Rovers in the lower tiers in England, as well numerous clubs in his homeland. He won the Danish Superliga with Herfølge in 2000 and was named the club’s Player of the Year in 2021, but it was at Brønshøj, the final stop of his playing days, that he began his coaching career.
As a player/manager, Henriksen led the Danish outfit to promotion in 2010 and kept them in the second tier for several seasons before moving to Horsens in 2014 after six years at the helm. Another solid tenure subsequently led to him joining Danish giants Midtyjlland in 2021, and he picked up the first trophy of his coaching career as he and his players lifted the domestic Cup.
He was on the move again in 2022, this time departing his homeland to take over at Switzerland’s FC Zürich. There, he first earned a reputation for putting out relegation fires, taking the reigning champions from the drop zone to complete safety. As such, when Mainz needed something of a miracle in February 2023, they knew exactly where to turn.
Coaches a bit like: Sebastian Hoeneß
Henriksen’s impact at Mainz, at least in the short-term, can be compared to that of Sebastian Hoeneß at VfB Stuttgart. With the latter staring relegation in the face in 2022/23, the former Hoffenheim boss got the best out of his players to steer them away from the automatic drop, and they had far too much for Hamburg in the relegation play-off.
Of course, Henriksen still has some way to match his Stuttgart counterpart’s subsequent achievements, but they both favour an energetic style of play and are do not mince their words. It remains to be seen whether Henriksen can also lead Mainz to a big leap up the table.
Watch: Mainz's relegation rollercoaster in 2023/24
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Did you know?
During his playing days, Henriksen was affectionately known as “Bomber Bo” at Kidderminster due to his goal threat. He was particularly popular at the club, and remains the only player to score a hat-trick for them in the Football League.
What they’re saying
“I've never experienced a football coach like Henriksen. He's a very positive person, full of energy and very good professionally. The way he approaches the players, the whole club, is unique. Everybody loves Bo. He's positively crazy and exactly the kind of coach Mainz needed.” - Mainz midfielder Nadiem Amiri
“He's a coach who has consistently succeeded in his career and under very different conditions. Bo is a very emotional, open and opinionated character who radiates incredibly positive energy and will fit very well with Mainz 05.” - Mainz sporting director Christian Heidel
“I’ve played all systems as a coach and for me, it’s not about formations, but about what players are capable of doing. What do they feel secure in? What do they feel comfortable in? I don’t play the game, they do. So, I ask my players a lot: what do they trust? What have they tried before? If I go into the dressing room and say, ‘We have to do this, this and this’ and the players are not comfortable, then I’m going to look stupid. Because we’d be doing it for my sake, so I can look good. I don’t have to look good. I don’t look good anyway. I haven’t looked good in 49 years, so why should I start now?!” - Bo Henriksen himself
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