1. FSV Mainz 05

History

Early years
A failed attempt to start a football team in the city in 1903 was followed up two years later by the successful creation of 1. Mainzer Fussballclub Hassia 1905. After a number of years of play in the Süddeutschen Fußballverband (South German Football League), the club merged with FC Hermannia 07 – the former football side of Mainzer TV 1817 – to form 1. Mainzer Fussballverein Hassia 05, which dropped "Hassia" from its name in August 1912. Another merger after World War I, in 1919, with Sportverein 1908 Mainz, resulted in the formation of 1. Mainzer Fußball- und Sportverein 05. Die Nullfünfer were a solid club that earned several regional league championships in the period between the wars and qualified for the opening round of the national championships in 1921.

Play under the Third Reich
In the late 20s and early 30s the club earned decent results in the Bezirksliga Main/Hessen - Gruppe Hessen, including first place finishes in 1932 and 1933. This merited the team a place in the Gauliga Südwest, one of sixteen new first division leagues formed in the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich . Unfortunately, they only managed a single season at that level before being relegated. In 1938, they were forced into a merger with Reichsbahn SV Mainz and played as Reichsbahn SV Mainz 05 until the end of World War II.

Long march to the Bundesliga
After the war the team again joined the upper ranks of league play in Germany's Oberliga Südwest, but were never better than a mid-table side. They played in the top flight until the founding of the new professional league, the Bundesliga, in 1963 and would go on to play as a second division side for most of the next four decades. They withdrew for a time – from the late 70's into the late 80's – to the Amateur Oberliga Sudwest (III), as the result of a series of financial problems. Mainz earned honours as the German amateur champions in 1982.
The club returned to professional play with promotion to the 2.Bundesliga for a single season in 1988 before finally returning for an extended run in 1990. Initially, they were perennial relegation candidates, struggling hard each season to avoid being sent down. However, under unorthodox trainer Wolfgang Frank, Mainz became one of the first clubs in German soccer to adopt a flat four zone defense, as opposed to the then-popular man-to-man defense using a libero.
Mainz failed in three attempts to make it to the top flight in 1997, 2002, and 2003 with close fourth place finishes just out of the promotion zone. The last failed attempt stung as they were denied promotion in the 93rd minute of the last game. A year earlier, they became the best non-promoted team of all time in the Second Bundesliga with 64 points. But their persistence paid dividends with an ascent into the Bundesliga in 2004. The team is playing their third season in the top flight.
Mainz also earned a spot in the UEFA Cup in their debut Bundesliga season as Germany's nominee in the "Fair Play" draw which acknowledges positive play, respect for one's opponent, respect for the referee, the behaviour of the crowd and of team officials, as well as cautions and dismissals. Three "Fair Play" sides earned admission into the first round of UEFA Cup play. Due to the Bruchweg stadium's limited capacity, the home games in UEFA cup were played in Frankfurt's Commerzbank-Arena.

Current position
Mainz finished the 2005-06 season in mid-table, five points clear of relegation, on the strength of a five game unbeaten streak to end the season. The 2006/07 season brought their three-year run in the Bundesliga to an end, where they won only 8 of their 34 games and finished third-last. Mainz were thus relegated and will play in the Second Bundesliga for the 2007/08 season.

Stadium
Die Nullfünfer play in Stadion am Bruchweg, built in 1928 and modified several times over the years to hold a crowd of over 20,300 spectators. Averaging crowds of about 15,000 while in the 2.Bundesliga, the team's recent and hard won success has them regularly filling their venue.
Despite relegation, the club has announced that they will build a new stadium in 2009.[1]

Club culture
Mainz is known for being one of the three foremost carnival cities in Germany, the others being Düsseldorf and Cologne. After every Mainzer goal scored at a home game, the Narhallamarsch, a famous German carnival tune, is played.

Honors
German amateur champions: 1982
UEFA Fair Play selection: 2005

Famous players
Sirous Dinmohammadi
Manuel Friedrich
Emil Kostadinov
Mohamed Zidan
Andriy Voronin
Elkin Soto
Félix Borja

Current squad (2007/08)
1

GK
Dimo Wache
2

DF
Bo Svensson
3

MF
Damir Vrančić
4

DF
Nikolce Noveski
5

DF
Christian Demirtas
6

DF
Tim Hoogland
7

MF
Markus Feulner
8

FW
Srdjan Baljak
9

FW
Félix Borja
11

FW
Petr Ruman
12

DF
Wellington Silva
13

MF
Milorad Peković
14

FW
Tobias Damm
17

DF
Marco Rose

18

MF
Fabian Liesenfeld
19

MF
Elkin Soto
20

FW
Ranisav Jovanović
21

MF
Miroslav Karhan
22

FW
Chadli Amri
24

DF
Stefan Markolf
25

MF
Mario Vrančić
27

MF
Daniel Gunkel
28

DF
Neven Subotic
29

GK
Christian Wetklo
30

GK
Daniel Ischdonat

External links
Official team site
Online Archive of Mainz 05
Abseits Guide to German Soccer
Mainz 05 statistics
Mainz Online Fanzine (in German)