Júnior Díaz
Júnior Enrique Díaz Campbell (born 12 September 1983) is a Costa Rican former professional footballer who played as a left-back.
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.
 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 | ||
| 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, Díaz started his career at local side Herediano before moving abroad to join Polish side Wisła Kraków in January 2008. He moved on to Belgian club Club Brugge in September 2010 and was snapped up by German Bundesliga outfit FSV Mainz in summer 2012.
In 2015, after three years in Mainz, Díaz joined Darmstadt 98, a newly promoted team for the 2015–16 season.
International career
Júnior Díaz made his Costa Rica national team debut in a friendly against China on 7 September 2003. Díaz made one appearance at Copa América 2004, entering as a second-half substitute against Chile. He appeared in all four matches as Costa Rica won the UNCAF Nations Cup 2005 tournament. Díaz also appeared in one match at the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup finals.
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."
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.
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 | 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
- Júnior Díaz at Soccerway
- Júnior Díaz – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Júnior Díaz at National-Football-Teams.com
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