NEWMAINS UNITED are on lockdown so we’re getting behind New Mainz! We’re adopting 1. FSV Mainz 05 as our Bundesliga team.
Ahead of this afternoon’s game against FC Koln our Stats Man Kevin Craigens gives us ten facts about the city:
- Mainz is the state capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate in West Germany with a population of 217,000 people.
- The River Rhine is the second largest river in Central and Western Europe. Its source is located in the Swiss Alps and flows through Mainz before emptying into the North Sea from the Netherlands.
- One of three cities alongside Cologne and Düsseldorf, Mainz is known for its carnival tradition. The Carnival begins on November 11 and finishes on Ash Wednesday and its traditions can be traced back to the 13th century.
- After a failed attempt to form a football team in 1903, 1. Mainzer Fussballclub Hassia 1905 were formed two years later. After several mergers with other football clubs 1. Mainz 05 as we know it today came to be at the end of the First World War in 1919. The nickname Die Nullfünfer (05ers) references the year in which the side was formed.
- Champions League-winning manager Jurgen Klopp is regarded as a legend at the club. He spent 11 years as a player at Mainz 05 and seven as manager. He retired as a player in 2001 and resigned from his managerial role in 2008. He earned promotion to the Bundesliga in 2004 but suffered relegation in 2007.
- 1. FSV Mainz have strong ties with their community and charitable activities. Their most recent is an initiative called ‘Heroes’ Tickets’ in association with discount supermarket PENNY. The scheme will give tickets to those who work on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus when fans can attend football matches safely. They will also receive discounts and vouchers in store as well.
- The team were a top tier side until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963 when they played football in the second division. They withdrew from the professional game in the 1970s to play in the amateur Oberliga Südwest where they were crowned German amateur champions in 1982
- With a 34,034 capacity The Opel Arena (or 1. FSV Mainz 05 Arena) was completed in 2011 with almost 20,000 seats and cost €60 million.
- Local rivalries with former European Cup finalists Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Kaiserslautern are the matches most looked forward to by fans of the Die Nullfünfer.
- The Carnival club also has a handball team and a table tennis department.
