Henriksen endorses Amiri for DFB return, praises Sano in great depth
| Kaishu Sano (center) backs up teammate Nadiem Amiri (left) in a Mainz match earlier this season. | Jürgen Schwarz, Getty Images |
Ahead of tomorrow's away fixture at VfL Wolfsburg, FSV Mainz 05 head-coach Bo Henriksen took special care to emphasize his confidence in midfield tandem Nadiem Amiri and Kaishu Sano. The former German national team representative and highly-touted summer addition have really begun to gel recently and are a big part of why the Rheinhessen enter Sunday's contest on a three-match winning-streak.
Sano has started all 14 league and cup fixtures. This despite arriving late to FSV camp following a legal dispute in his home country. Henriksen noted that the 23-year-old four-times-capped Samurai international has made great strides both on and off the pitch. The FSV trainer revealed that a special meeting needed to be held in order to address the language barrier.
“When he first came here, he couldn't speak to us – no German, no English, nothing,” Henriksen explained, ‘We had a meeting with him, his interpreter and Amiri. I told them that the cooperation between them is really important, that they need to talk and communicate more."
"We sat together for 35 minutes," Henriksen continued, “It was fun. We laughed. Making a player like him laugh is difficult because he tends to be introverted. For the first time, we could really see that he likes being here. You can see that on the pitch now.”
"He's not merely making steps, but gigantic strides," Henriksen went on to say, "In the last few games, one could see that he's getting better and better.He's very, very fast, technically very strong and a good footballer. He can become one of the best players at his position internationally."
After further noting that "ensuring that he and Amiri gel" was of vital importance, the gaffer was asked about Amiri's prospects of returning to the German national team. The 28-year-old - once again being linked with a move to the EPL - has certainly made a strong case for himself in recent weeks.
"The way he's playing right now," Henriksen glibly stated, "100 percent."
