Zander Diamond

Alexander Kevin "Zander" Diamond (born 12 March 1985) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Zander Diamond
Diamond in 2014
Personal information
Full name Alexander Kevin Diamond[1]
Date of birth (1985-03-12) 12 March 1985
Place of birth Alexandria, Scotland
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
0000–2003 Aberdeen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2011 Aberdeen 205 (16)
2011–2012 Oldham Athletic 23 (2)
2012–2014 Burton Albion 47 (5)
2014 → Northampton Town (loan) 14 (1)
2014–2017 Northampton Town 113 (2)
2017–2018 Mansfield Town 16 (0)
Total 418 (26)
National team
2004–2006 Scotland U21 11 (1)
2004 Scotland B 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He began his career with Scottish Premier League club Aberdeen, before moving to Oldham Athletic in 2011; he later played for Burton Albion, Northampton Town and Mansfield Town in England. He won eleven caps for Scotland under-21s.

Club career

Aberdeen

Raised in the west of Scotland in Dumbarton,[2] Alexandria-born Diamond graduated from the youth team at Aberdeen in his first full season and made his League debut against Dundee United at Tannadice, coming on as a substitute at half time in 2003–04 season. He made his first start for the club in a Scottish League Cup match v Dumbarton in September 2004. Later in the same season, he scored his first senior goal for the club in a 3–1 win against Kilmarnock at Pittodrie. He won the "Young Player of the Month" award for February.

In the 2005–06 season, Jimmy Calderwood was appointed Aberdeen manager. He quickly tied Diamond down on a long-term contract after his partnership with Aberdeen captain Russell Anderson helped the club narrowly miss out on European qualification.[3][4]

However, in season 2007–08, Aberdeen qualified for the UEFA Cup group section after beating Dnipro on away goals. They were drawn in Group B against Panathanaikos, Lokomotiv Moscow, Atlético Madrid and FC Copenhagen. Diamond scored in the 1–1 draw against Lokomotiv Moscow, Branislav Ivanovic scoring the equaliser.[2] After qualifying from the group, they faced Bayern Munich in the last 32, drawing 2–2 at Pittodrie in the first leg. They went out on aggregate 7–3 after a 5–1 defeat in the Allianz Arena.[5] On 18 January 2009, he achieved the feat of scoring twice against Celtic in an SPL match at Pittodrie which Aberdeen won 4–2.[6][2]

Diamond made 249 appearances for Aberdeen over eight seasons, scoring 19 goals.[5]

Oldham Athletic

Having previously been expected to sign for Hearts before an ankle injury was identified,[2] on 13 July 2011 Diamond signed a one-year contract with Oldham Athletic.[7] His first goal for the club on 30 July 2011 came with a headed goal against Fleetwood Town in a pre–season friendly, which Oldham Athletic won, 1–0.[8] He made his competitive club debut on the first day of the 2011–12 season, starting the Football League match against Sheffield United.[9]

Burton Albion

On 5 June 2012, Diamond signed with League Two club Burton Albion.[10]

He made his debut against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in the first round of the League Cup, which Burton won on penalties. Diamond scored his first goal for the club in a 6–2 home win against AFC Wimbledon. After finishing 4th, the highest in the club's history in the Football League, they were beaten in the playoffs by eventual winners Bradford City. On 26 May, Burton called him back to play in their Play-Off Final game against Fleetwood Town. He started on the bench but came on as a sub.[5]

Northampton Town

On 21 February 2014, Diamond joined League Two side Northampton Town on loan for the remainder of the 2013–14 season.[11] On 7 May 2014, Diamond signed a three-year contract for the Cobblers after a successful loan spell with the club. The move became effective at the start of pre-season,[12] at which time he spoke of his positive experiences in English football and the relative anonymity he enjoyed compared with living in Aberdeen.[2]

He made over 100 league appearances for Northampton, experiencing a promotion as winners of League Two in 2016 and maintaining the club's status in League One in the following season. He was named the club's 'Player of the year' for 2017, but despite this he was one of several players allowed to leave when their contracts expired.[13]

Mansfield Town

Diamond joined Mansfield Town of EFL League Two on 12 May 2017.[14]

He was transfer-listed by Mansfield at the end of the 2017–18 season.[15] Diamond retired in October 2018 due to injury.[16]

International career

Having earlier appeared for the Under-19s and Under-20s,[17] Diamond captained the Scottish under-21 international side,[4] winning 11 caps and scoring once, between 2004 and 2006.[18] He also appeared once for the B team in December 2004.[19]

Career statistics
As of match played 10 March 2018
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aberdeen 2002–03[20] Scottish Premier League 1000000010
2003–04[21] Scottish Premier League 192502000262
2004–05[22] Scottish Premier League 293101100314
2005–06[23] Scottish Premier League 330103000370
2006–07[24] Scottish Premier League 210000000210
2007–08[25] Scottish Premier League 263612071415
2008–09[26] Scottish Premier League 284301000324
2009–10[27] Scottish Premier League 163200000183
2010–11[28] Scottish Premier League 321504000411
Total 205162311317124819
Oldham Athletic 2011–12[29] League One 232401030312
Burton Albion 2012–13[30] League Two 374213020445
2013–14[31] League Two 101300010111
Total 475513030556
Northampton Town 2013–14[31] League Two 141000000141
2014–15[32] League Two 211002000231
2015–16[33] League Two 391311000422
2016–17[34] League One 390103020450
Total 11334160201254
Mansfield Town 2017–18[35] League Two 16320001100
Career total 4042938323113147834

References
  1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  2. "Former Aberdeen prodigy Zander Diamond reveals why he was happy to escape Pittodrie pressure cooker for England's third tier". Daily Record. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  3. Aberdeen Football Club website Archived 15 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine, afc.co.uk; accessed 14 August 2014.
  4. "Diamond shines brightly in captain's role for Scotland". The Independent. 8 September 2004. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  5. Zander Diamond at Soccerbase
  6. Aberdeen 4-2 Celtic, BBC Sport, 18 January 2009
  7. "Oldham sign up defender Zander Diamond from Aberdeen", 14 July 2011; accessed 14 August 2014.
  8. "Zander Diamond transferred from FC Aberdeen to Oldham Athletic on a free transfer", soccerfame.com; accessed 14 August 2014.
  9. "Oldham v Sheffield United". BBC Sport. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  10. "Diamond celebration as Albion net Zander". Burton Mail. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  11. "Zander Diamond Signs with Northampton". Northampton Town F.C. 21 February 2014.
  12. "Northampton Town Sign Zander Diamond". Northampton Town F.C. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  13. "Player of year Diamond and goalkeeper Smith among those released by Cobblers". Northampton Chronicle & Echo. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  14. "Zander Diamond: Mansfield Town sign ex-Northampton defender". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  15. "Mansfield Town release Rhys Bennett and six others transfer-listed". BBC Sport. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. "Zander Diamond retires from football". Mansfield Town. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  17. "Portugal trst for Under 20s". Scottish Football Association. 3 December 2003. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  18. "Scotland U21 profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  19. "Scotland B profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  20. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  21. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  22. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  23. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  24. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  25. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  26. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  27. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  28. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  29. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  30. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  31. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  32. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  33. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  34. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  35. "Games played by Zander Diamond in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
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