Diego Mainz

Diego Mainz García (born 29 December 1982) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mainz and the second or maternal family name is García.
Diego Mainz
Mainz with Granada in 2015
Personal information
Full name Diego Mainz García
Date of birth (1982-12-29) 29 December 1982
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1999–2001 Rayo Vallecano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2007 Rayo Vallecano 100 (2)
2007–2009 Albacete 58 (1)
2009 Udinese 0 (0)
2009–2016 Granada 159 (13)
Total 317 (16)
National team
2002 Spain U21 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He spent most of his 15-year professional career with Rayo Vallecano and Granada, appearing in 171 competitive matches with the latter club and totalling La Liga 129 games with both.[1]

Club career

Rayo / Albacete

Born in Madrid, Mainz started his career at local Rayo Vallecano, going on to collect 36 appearances in La Liga (18 apiece from 2001 to 2003), his first being on 27 October as he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 home win against Deportivo de La Coruña.[2] In summer 2007, as the capital side had slumped to the third division, he joined Albacete Balompié in the second level.[3]

Granada

After two seasons as first-choice, Mainz was bought by Italy's Udinese Calcio, but was immediately transferred back to Spain with lowly Granada CF – eight other players made the same season-long move, after the two clubs' partnership agreement.[4] With the Andalusians he quickly established himself as an important player, helping to consecutive promotions in his first two seasons.[5]

Mainz, who acted as captain when available,[6] scored his first goal in the top flight on 20 March 2012, but in a 3–5 away loss to FC Barcelona.[7] He finished the campaign with 21 appearances in 1,780 minutes, to help his team retain their league status.

During 2014–15, Mainz netted three times in his own net.[8] He added a further three in the other end, however,[9][10][11] and the Nazaríes again managed to stay afloat; additionally, in a misty night on 17 December 2014, he scored at Córdoba CF to help the visitors to a 1–1 draw for the Copa del Rey and the subsequent 2–1 aggregate qualification.[12]

International career

Mainz played once with the Spain under-21 team, featuring the second half of the 3–0 friendly win over Slovenia in Ourense.[13]

References
  1. Diego Mainz pondrá fin el sabado a siete temporadas en el Granada (Diego Mainz curtain call to seven seasons in Granada on Saturday); Ideal, 11 May 2016 (in Spanish)
  2. El ímpetu del Rayo le basta para doblegar al Depor (Rayo's momentum is enough to down Depor); El Mundo, 27 October 2001 (in Spanish)
  3. Diego Mainz, nuevo jugador del Albacete (Diego Mainz, new Albacete player); Diario AS, 10 July 2007 (in Spanish)
  4. Diego Mainz e Iván Amaya jugarán en Segunda B con el Granada (Diego Mainz and Iván Amaya will play in Segunda B with Granada); Rayo Herald, 11 July 2009 (in Spanish)
  5. Diego Mainz y Dani Benítez, un año más en el Granada (Diego Mainz and Dani Benítez, another year in Granada); Marca, 20 June 2012 (in Spanish)
  6. Granada captain Diego Mainz looking forward to another Camp Nou test Archived 1 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Inside Spanish Football, 13 November 2013
  7. Barcelona 5–3 Granada: History-making Messi breaks club goalscoring record as gap at top of La Liga is reduced to five points; Goal, 20 March 2012
  8. La cara y la cruz de Diego Mainz (Heads and tails for Diego Mainz); Ideal, 21 April 2015 (in Spanish)
  9. Diego Mainz scores both in 1–1 Sevilla draw; Rayo Vallecano practically safe; ESPN FC, 19 April 2015
  10. El Granada, al borde del k.o. (Granada, nearing k.o.); Marca, 30 April 2015 (in Spanish)
  11. Sandoval cumple con lo pactado (Sandoval sticks to the plan); Marca, 9 May 2015 (in Spanish)
  12. Sólo el Granada lo ve claro (Only Granada see it clearly); Marca, 17 December 2014 (in Spanish)
  13. Los Sub'21 tumban a Eslovenia con tres golpes (The Under'21s down Slovenia with three blows); El Mundo, 15 October 2002 (in Spanish)
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