Júnior Díaz
Júnior Enrique Díaz Campbell (born 12 September 1983) was a Costa Rican professional footballer who last played as a left-back for LD Alajuelense.[2] He played for the Costa Rica national team. At a top speed of 33.8 km/h, he was deemed by FIFA as the fastest player of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[3]
| Díaz before a match against Mexico at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Júnior Enrique Díaz Campbell | ||
| Date of birth | 12 September 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Heredia, Costa Rica | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back[1] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2007 | Herediano | 129 | (10) |
| 2008–2010 | Wisła Kraków | 66 | (5) |
| 2010–2012 | Club Brugge | 13 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | → Wisła Kraków (loan) | 20 | (1) |
| 2012–2015 | Mainz 05 | 57 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | Darmstadt 98 | 12 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Würzburger Kickers | 24 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Herediano | 49 | (2) |
| 2019–2021 | LD Alajuelense | 58 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2002 | Costa Rica U20 | 6 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Costa Rica U23 | 17 | (4) |
| 2003–2016 | Costa Rica | 80 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:30, 5 April 2021 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Born in Heredia, Costa Rica,[4] Díaz started his career at local side Herediano before moving abroad to join Polish side Wisła Kraków in January 2008.[5] He moved on to Belgian club Club Brugge in September 2010[6] and was snapped up by German Bundesliga outfit FSV Mainz in summer 2012.[7]
In 2015, after three years in Mainz, Díaz joined Darmstadt 98, a newly promoted team for the 2015–16 season.[8]
International career
Júnior Díaz made his Costa Rica national team debut in a friendly against China on 7 September 2003.[9] Díaz made one appearance at Copa América 2004, entering as a second-half substitute against Chile.[10] He appeared in all four matches as Costa Rica won the UNCAF Nations Cup 2005 tournament.[11] Díaz also appeared in one match at the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup finals.[12]
Díaz was a member of the Costa Rica national team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Ten years later, he became a member of the squad that reached the quarterfinals at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was crucial in the victory against Italy, as he served a cross to assist Bryan Ruiz's header for the lone goal of the match. In a note for La Nación, Díaz reflected on the assist, stating that "I am sure that, once I retire, many will summarize my career in one single cross."[13]
Personal life
He is a son of former Costa Rica national team footballer Enrique Díaz and Yamileth Campbell, who divorced when he was 12. He has two brothers, Jefferson and Reydel.[4]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 8 July 2013
| Club | Season | Domestic League | Domestic Cups | Continental Cups | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Herediano | 2003–04 | Primera División | 36[14] | 1 | – | – | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2004–05 | 16 | 1 | – | 4 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |||
| 2005–06 | 26 | 3 | – | – | 26 | 3 | ||||
| 2006–07 | 33 | 2 | – | – | 33 | 2 | ||||
| Apertura 2007 | 18 | 3 | – | – | 18 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 129 | 10 | – | 4 | 0 | 133 | 10 | |||
| Wisła Kraków | 2007–08 | Ekstraklasa | 7 | 1 | 9 | 0 | – | 16 | 1 | |
| 2008–09 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 38 | 5 | ||
| 2009–10 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 3 | ||
| 2010–11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Total | 66 | 5 | 19 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 95 | 10 | ||
| Club Brugge | 2010–11 | Pro League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Wisła Kraków (loan) | 2011–12 | Ekstraklasa | 20 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 36 | 1 |
| Mainz 05 | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 18 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 21 | 1 | |
| 2013–14 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 20 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 20 | 1 | |||
| Total | 57 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | 61 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 285 | 18 | 27 | 3 | 30 | 2 | 342 | 23 | ||
International
- Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Díaz goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 October 2008 | Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, San José, Costa Rica | Haiti | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Wisła Kraków
Alajuelense
International
- UNCAF Nations Cup: 2005
References
- ^ Júnior Díaz at WorldFootball.net
- ^ "Junior Diaz". kicker.de (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ . es.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Junior Díaz: la madurez marcó el rumbo de un niño con convicción - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ Junior jugará en Polonia - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ Junior Díaz jugará en la liga belga - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ Díaz se abre paso en la Bundesliga alemana - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ "Costa-ricanischer Nationalspieler Júnior Díaz unterschreibt bei den Lilien". Darmstadt 98 (in German). Archived from the original on 29 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ Cazal, Jean-Michel (2 February 2005). "2003 Matches Intercontinental". RSSSF. from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ Tabeira, Martín (6 December 2012). "Copa América 2004". RSSSF. from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ Courtney, Barrie (2 March 2005). "Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup 2005 - Details". RSSSF. from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ Courtney, Barrie; Saaid, Hamdan (30 July 2005). "CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2005 - Full Details". RSSSF. from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ Díaz, Júnior; Goldberg, David (13 September 2019). ""Mucho más que un centro", escrito por Junior Díaz, mundialista de Brasil 2014". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Does not include these matches:
22 February 2004 Herediano – Guanacasteca 2–0
29 February 2004 Herediano – Saprissa 1–2
28 April 2004 Herediano – Alajuelense 2–0
External links
- Júnior Díaz at Soccerway
- – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Júnior Díaz at National-Football-Teams.com