Júnior Díaz (footballer, born 1983)
Costa Rican footballer (born 1983) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Júnior Enrique Díaz Campbell (born 12 September 1983) is a Costa Rican former professional footballer who played as a left-back.[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 | 81 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
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 international 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
External links
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