Júnior Díaz

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]

Júnior Díaz

Díaz before a match against Mexico at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Personal information
Full name	Júnior Enrique Díaz Campbell
Date of birth	(1983-09-12) 12 September 1983 (age 41)
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

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Díaz and the second or maternal family name is Campbell.

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

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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.

List of international goals scored by Júnior Díaz

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

• Ekstraklasa: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11

Alajuelense

• Liga FPD: Apertura 2020
• CONCACAF League: 2018, 2020

International

• UNCAF Nations Cup: 2005

References

1. Júnior Díaz at WorldFootball.net
2. "Junior Diaz". kicker.de (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2017.
3. "Archived copy". es.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. Junior Díaz: la madurez marcó el rumbo de un niño con convicción - Nación (in Spanish)
5. Junior jugará en Polonia - Nación (in Spanish)
6. Junior Díaz jugará en la liga belga - Nación (in Spanish)
7. Díaz se abre paso en la Bundesliga alemana - Nación (in Spanish)
8. "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.
9. Cazal, Jean-Michel (2 February 2005). "2003 Matches Intercontinental". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
10. Tabeira, Martín (6 December 2012). "Copa América 2004". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
11. Courtney, Barrie (2 March 2005). "Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup 2005 - Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
12. Courtney, Barrie; Saaid, Hamdan (30 July 2005). "CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2005 - Full Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
13. 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.
14. 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
• Júnior Díaz – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Júnior Díaz at National-Football-Teams.com