Armindo Sieb and Gabriel Vidović at Mainz: Familiar faces, new cup stories?

On Wednesday, 30 October, Armindo Sieb and Gabriel Vidović will go from watching big fixtures at home to actually playing in one in the DFB Cup. The pair of forwards are still under contract at Bayern until 2027 and 2026 respectively but are currently on loan at fellow Bundesliga club Mainz. Last week they watched the Champions League action together; this week they’ll be taking on Bayern in the cup for the 05ers.

“Getting to face the club we’re on loan from is obviously a cool thing and really special for Armindo and me,” said 20-year-old Vidović to fcbayern.com about Wednesday’s knockout tie. Sieb believes that Mainz are up against a “huge challenge. Everyone wants to play against Bayern. I think a win will be really tough, but it’s possible. Obviously I want to score, even though it’s my parent club.”

Sieb’s good start at Mainz

Talking of wanting to play, that’s what Sieb is doing plenty of so far in his spell at the Mewa Arena. The 21-year-old has featured in every competitive fixture to date and has even forced his way into the starting line-up in recent weeks. The versatile attacker boasts two goals already across nine Bundesliga and DFB Cup games. “It’s going well so far because I’m taking in and implementing what the coach tells me,” said Sieb, who recalls his maiden Bundesliga goal against Augsburg with particular delight. “That was a special moment. It was an incredible feeling, a dream come true. I want to keep it going now.”

So, how do Sieb, Vidović and their current team plan to stop Bayern on Wednesday? The Bavarians haven’t gone beyond the quarter-finals since they last lifted the DFB Cup in 2020 and head to Mainz particularly motivated to put that right. “We’ll have a good game plan and build on the coach’s strategy. We need trust in ourselves,” stated Sieb, adding the old cliché: “The cup writes its own stories.” For Bayern, this tie three days after the 5-0 Bundesliga win in Bochum is about ensuring they go further than they did in 2020 against Holstein Kiel, or 2021 against Borussia Mönchengladbach, or last year against Saarbrücken, when the second round proved the final stop on the road to Berlin each time.

Advantage or disadvantage for Mainz?

The 05ers can take some confidence from having had longer to prepare for the game, given their 1-1 draw with Gladbach in the Bundesliga was on Friday night, compared to Bayern’s Sunday visit to Bochum. “Bayern obviously have a deep squad with exceptional players. It won’t make a difference to them,” said Sieb of the advantage his current club supposedly has. “We’re not used to playing in midweek, but having our match on Friday means we can prepare for Wednesday with greater focus.”

One thing that certainly doesn’t look to favour the hosts in this tie is that Bo Henriksen’s team are yet to win in five fixtures at home this season. “We’re good away from home. I hope we can soon show that more at home,” said Vidović, who so far has just one Mainz appearance against RB Leipzig after playing 40 games with Dinamo Zagreb last season. Gabi, as he’s known, needs to show patience and wait for his chance. “I want to keep developing at Mainz and help the team with good moves, goals and assists,” said the Augsburg-born Croatia youth international. He would no doubt like to do that on Wednesday against Bayern, for whose reserves he produced a combined 31 goals and assists in 2021/22, having joined the youth system in 2016.

Sieb’s cup debut for and against Bayern

Teammate Sieb first came to Munich from Hoffenheim in summer 2020 and enjoyed plenty of success with the Bayern reserves. The Halle native made his professional debut for the Reds under Hansi Flick in the 3-0 win over Düren in the first round of the DFB Cup. However, he got injured shortly after coming on. “That day was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far in football,” said a still positive Sieb. “It was an amazing feeling to play for Bayern’s first team. Who know how things would’ve progressed if I hadn’t gotten injured. But I’m pleased with how things have gone and now feel good at Mainz. It’s an honour to play for this club at the highest level.” Since graduating from the Campus, the Germany youth international had two seasons as a key player at Greuther Fürth in Bundesliga 2. He believes it was “the perfect place for me to develop further as a player”, where he had a hand in 21 goals in 66 competitive appearances.

Now settled at Mainz, in the Bundesliga and the DFB Cup, Sieb and Vidović want to establish themselves fully at the highest level in Germany and make a name for themselves. Even if the hurdle of Bayern proves to be too high despite the old acquaintances’ analysis watching on TV.

Read up on the facts ahead of the cup tie in Mainz:

We've been keeping track of Sieb, Vidović and others in Loan Watch: