Dimo Wache – The Old Hand: The goalkeeping legend made his breakthrough in professional football with Mainz in 1995. He displaced Stephan Kuhnert, later his own goalkeeping coach, and took over the captaincy in 1999 when Lars Schmidt left. Wache lived through the three near-promotions of 1997, 2002 and 2003 as the undisputed number one before promotion finally arrived in 2004. After a falling-out with Klopp and a spell on the bench, he felt betrayed by the club, but among fans the “Krake von Brake” remained hugely popular. Wache retired in 2010 and with 406 competitive appearances remained, as of December 2019, the club’s all-time record holder.
He also became proof that diabetes and elite sport can absolutely go together.