The media often says that teams coached by Klopp are prone to injury crises.
But he was never heavily criticized for it.
And industry experts were even less likely to complain.
Because there was nothing to be done about it.
That's just how it was for smaller clubs.
Let alone Mainz—even at Hoffenheim, the 50+1 rule meant that no matter how rich their backers were, they couldn't just invest at will. Their squads lacked depth.
So, while both newly promoted teams made waves in the first half of the season, every expert knew it wouldn't last.
Come the second half of the season, they would struggle to recapture their early form.
In the long run, it all came down to squad depth.
Teams like Bayern, Dortmund, VfL Wolfsburg, Schalke 04, and Bayer Leverkusen—now those were the clubs with real resources.
Teams like Mainz and Hoffenheim, on the other hand, relied on a single core lineup.
