Luis Diaz: El Quinto Beatle Liverpools 50m man by those who know him

It’s been a whirlwind week for Luis Diaz.

All the fanfare that accompanied his £50 million move from Porto to Liverpool was followed by a thunderous ovation when he came on at Anfield to make an eye-catching debut in the FA Cup tie against Cardiff City. Now he’s ready to announce his arrival on the Premier League stage.

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“I’m not sure I’ve seen a player smile that constantly during a rondo,” joked Jurgen Klopp on Wednesday about how quickly his new signing has settled into life at the AXA Training Centre.

Diaz speaks little English but with assistant manager Pep Lijnders fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese, the adaptation period has been smooth. Liverpool’s Brazilian contingent have also provided a helping hand.

The Athletic spoke to a former team-mate, his ex-manager, a TV reporter in his homeland and the Colombian Reds to gain some insight into what Diaz will bring to Liverpool’s push for glory.

Porto midfielder Marko Grujic reveals how Liverpool sought a character reference from him before making their move for Diaz and explains why the left-sided attacker has gone to the next level this season.

Meanwhile, former Atletico Junior boss Julio Comesana, who gave Diaz his debut in Colombia’s top-flight, explains what makes the 25-year-old so special.

The former team-mate

It was late November when Grujic’s opinion was sought in the bowels of Anfield.

Liverpool had just beaten Porto 2-0 in the group stage of the Champions League and the Serbian midfielder, who had come off the bench against his former club, was catching up with some old friends. The conversation turned to his team-mate Diaz.

“Some people from the club asked me what Luis was like as a person,” Grujic tells The Athletic.

“They asked me about his behaviour off the field. I told them that he was a great guy who would fit easily into any group of lads. I also spoke a bit with Luis about Liverpool. Luis was very happy that a club like Liverpool were interested in him.”

Initially, Liverpool had been eyeing a summer deal for Diaz. But the plan changed in late January after Porto reduced their asking price and Tottenham sought to secure his services.

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Liverpool moved smartly to hijack that deal as they agreed a fee of £37.5 million potentially rising to £50 million with add-ons. Diaz was away on international duty at the time and then flew to Merseyside via Paris once a work permit had been processed.

“As players, we didn’t expect it to happen. It all happened so fast after Luis went away with the national team so we didn’t get to say a proper goodbye to him,” adds Grujic.

“We will miss him so much because he’s a great player. He scored a lot of important goals for us. Any squad losing someone of his calibre would miss him because he has the quality to make a big difference in games. He’s capable of changing games in the space of just one second.”

Diaz scored six goals in 30 league appearances for Porto last season. This time around he had netted 14 times in just 18 league games for the Primeira Liga leaders before Liverpool came calling. Grujic is well placed to provide some insight into why the attacker’s game has gone to the next level.

“Luis has been unstoppable this season. He produced some crazy things for us in the final third,” he says.

“I’d say the biggest change to his game compared to the previous season has been the defensive side. He was defending so much better and always getting in the first XI. He always had that ability one-v-one to beat a defender and score a goal and make assists. But before his defending wasn’t always at the highest level. That side of his game has really developed from working with coach Sergio Conceicao.

“We saw that already on his debut against Cardiff last weekend. Deep in the opponents’ half he made such a good high pressure situation to recover the ball and then provide a great assist for Taki (Minamino). (The assist has since been officially credited to Diogo Jota.)

“By adding that to his game he has become the complete football player. And with how he has performed this season it’s not a surprise to me that a club as big as Liverpool have come and signed him.”

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Grujic spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Porto before Liverpool agreed to sell him for £10.5 million last summer. What advice would he give to the man who has gone in the opposite direction?

“It’s maybe a bit more difficult in the Premier League but he will adapt quite well, I’m sure about that. He has the physical attributes. He’s strong and his pace and acceleration are incredible. He has unbelievably quick feet and that gives him the quality to play against any defender.

“As a team-mate, he was always a positive guy, always laughing, just a great person to have around. I’m sure he will get on great with the Brazilian boys at Liverpool. I’m sure they will help him learn English fast.

“He will fit well into the group. There are many options in his position but he will have a lot of opportunities to show himself. The club paid a big fee for him because they believe in him. He has quality.

“I don’t see any other option than a successful relationship between Luis, the club and the fans. I’m already seeing that the fans are loving him because of his technical and offensive qualities. I’m sure the Liverpool fans will get more and more excited about Luis because he has so much to offer.”

The TV presenter

“This is the biggest story in Colombian football since James Rodriguez signed for Real Madrid in 2014,” says Carlos Aleman, a reporter and presenter for Bogota-based TV channel Win Sports.

“We’ve been talking about Luis Diaz on every show. Everyone was impressed by how he performed when he came on against Cardiff and now his Premier League debut will be a massive event here.

“Kick-off is in the middle of the afternoon here. People will be finishing work early or watching on their phones or on their computers.

“You can debate which is bigger out of James to Real or Diaz to Liverpool, but for me it’s Diaz to Liverpool — top league, top team, top manager. At this time the Premier League is the best league in the world. And for me, this is extra special knowing Luis Diaz’s story from the beginning.”

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Aleman has charted Diaz’s rise since his days at Barranquilla FC in Colombian’s second tier in 2016. The following year the pacy left-sided forward moved on to parent club Atletico Junior where his career really took off. Diaz’s father Manuel was recently a guest on Aleman’s show.

“He’s the proudest dad ever,” he smiles.

“Luis and him are very close. They still talk every day. Luis’ younger brother Jesus plays for Barranquilla and has similar skills.

“This is a poor country and where Luis started off in La Guajira in the north of the country is one of the poorest areas. The family had to endure a lot of struggles but throughout it all Manuel was always pushing Luis to try harder, no matter how difficult things were.

“It was his father who took him to Barranquilla, a big city in the north. He had to battle to make it at Junior. His rise since then has been awesome.

“The family still live in the same area but in a better place. Luis has invested in a youth academy in the region. He has never forgotten the community where he came from.

“He’s a humble, shy, quiet person. He’s not someone who loves being famous. He’s not one of those crazy Colombian players who is going to be out partying like (Faustino) Asprilla at Newcastle. This is a new world for him.”

Under the terms of the deal they agreed with Porto in 2019, Junior will pocket around £7.6 million from Diaz’s move to Liverpool.

“They are already one of the richest teams in the country so it won’t make a huge difference,” Aleman explains. “The son of the club’s owner is running for the presidency at the moment so they will sign good players ahead of the elections to make the people happy.”

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Bogota is situated 1,000km south of Junior’s base in Barranquilla. Aleman has spotted more and more Liverpool shirts on the streets over the past week. Diaz’s signing will open up some new commercial opportunities for the club in Colombia but the cost of Nike merchandise is an issue.

“People want to show their support for Luis but a lot of the jerseys I’ve seen around aren’t the official ones,” he says.

“The real ones are just so expensive. We’re talking $90 to $100 in a country where the minimum wage is around $350 per month.

“Traditionally, it’s been La Liga out of the European leagues which most fans have watched here. But that started to change when Ronaldo and then Messi left Spain.

“Attention has shifted to the Premier League. That increased when James went to Everton but it didn’t work out for him there and it dropped off again.

“This is different because Liverpool are a top team competing for the biggest trophies, Everton aren’t. Lots of people here already loved Liverpool because of how they play under Klopp. That’s only going to keep growing now that Diaz is there.”

For Aleman and his colleagues, much of the discussion around Diaz as he embarks on life in the Premier League surrounds how quickly he can get to grips with the physicality of the English game.

“I do think that’s one area where he has to improve but he’s capable of doing it,” Aleman says. “He’s fast but he can look fragile at times against big defenders. It’s going to be challenging for him in the Premier League.

“But he’s constantly evolving as a player. People asked questions about whether he could handle the physical side when he joined Junior and then when he went to Porto.

“I’m sure he will grow again as a player at Liverpool. He understands the game well. He’s smart. He didn’t play as a winger against Cardiff, it was more between the lines. It was his pressing that led to the second goal as he won the ball back. You could see that he’s learning from Klopp already.”

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Manuel Diaz watched his son’s lively cameo against Cardiff on a mobile phone. A poor signal meant the footage froze at times. He wept tears of joy at the sight of Diaz being mobbed by his new team-mates after setting up the goal for Takumi Minamino.

“The magic of Luis to enter and assist a colleague,” he told Blu Radio’s Blog Deportivo.

“He’s been received with great fanfare and much affection. Liverpool know that they are receiving a player who can give them a lot.

“After the game, Luis told me that it’s a team that works hard and one in which he will feel comfortable. He will have the chance to play with high-performance players.

“There were many suitors who wanted Luis’ services but he had the dream of reaching Liverpool because they are an elite team.

“Tottenham was one. Roma were also left behind in the process. They hesitated a lot and let themselves be caught by Liverpool. Liverpool were faster than them. They needed him and they took him away.“

The former manager

For veteran manager Comesana, the memories of watching Luis Diaz in action for the first time are still vivid.

Diaz was a young winger playing for feeder club Barranquilla against Comesana’s Atletico Junior side in a Colombia Cup tie. “We really suffered from everything he did on the field that day,” he tells The Athletic.

“He played on the left-wing and on the right. Just watching him I realised that he was a different player, different at that age from all the rest I had seen in my years in football.”

Within a few months, Diaz had been promoted to Junior’s squad in Colombia’s top division. Comesana gave him his debut against Cerro Porteno in a Copa Libertadores tie in September 2017. He didn’t look back.

“That game was played in Paraguay and Luis just played free,” he adds. “Without feeling any pressure or any type of difficulty to face that kind of test.

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“I always enjoyed coaching him because he was a soccer player who allowed himself to be directed. He allowed himself to be guided, he always listened, he paid close attention and was very focused on the tasks assigned to him.

“We had a good relationship. He was a man of few words but always respectful and disciplined. A boy who was willing to give all of himself to achieve his dream.

“He arrived at training with the determination to improve and learn new things. He was never closed to anything. He always pushed himself and paid close attention to his older team-mates.”

Comesana and his staff placed a strong emphasis on Diaz improving his physique by focusing on his diet and bulking up in the gym.

“When he came Luis was very thin, very light. He needed muscular development to gain strength and power,” he says.

“He had great speed. Sometimes fast players don’t work back and forth on the field but he worked from area to area for 90 minutes without any problem. He attacked and defended from the wing.

“Over time he became stronger mentally and his enthusiasm grew. He realised he was capable of achieving what he wanted. He also realised that older professional soccer players could not stop him.

“He always had tasks to complete in the gym prior to training or at other times to continue strengthening and improving that aspect so that he would be a player with more physical weight.”

Comesana has a remarkable CV. The 73-year-old Uruguayan played for Atletico Junior in the 1970s and has since had no fewer than nine spells in charge of the club during a nomadic managerial career that has spanned 40 years. He’s currently in charge of fellow Colombian top-flight side Independiente Medellin.

Did he always believe that Diaz would make the move to Europe and deliver at the highest level?

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“I can’t say I always thought he would reach what he’s reached today,” he says.

“In Liverpool, we’re talking about an elite team. They haven’t bought him to help anyone, it’s because they believe in him.

“I did realise right away that he was different but you need to be in good hands, supported and advised in the right way. We have cultural issues here that many times do not allow us to achieve success.

“We carry some backpacks from a very young age to be a very good soccer player and it burdens us. There’s the responsibility that we must earn money to support the family. Sometimes that pressure limits things.

“What I was sure about was that if he fell into good hands he would succeed. Portugal has always served as a good springboard for Colombian soccer. It is one step below the world elite but it’s a step to build confidence.”

Comesana and Diaz haven’t stayed in contact but his old manager will be watching his Liverpool career unfold with interest.

“As I tell most players in professional football, I’m not their father, mother, uncle or grandfather. I am the coach of the team and I don’t like paternalism, I just like respect,” he adds.

“The only thing I can tell Luis from a distance today is that he should not change his life. It will change but do not believe that money is going to make everyone happier human beings. Nothing is enough for us, we always want more — that’s a human characteristic.

“Happiness is giving the people who go to the stadiums positive emotions. When you do that with your performance and then put your head on the pillow, you know that you have fulfilled the commitment you have to the fans.

“Football belongs to the people and Luis has to keep playing with his heart. The only thing he needs to do is take care of his family and take care of his life.

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“Be the protagonist on the pitch where he should be the protagonist, not on social media networks or in the media. Keep showing the same effort and be an example for all Colombian soccer players. That’s what I hope for Luis.”

The Colombian Reds

‘El quinto Beatle’ (The fifth Beatle) screamed the headline on the front page of Colombian national newspaper El Espectador next to a photograph of Luis Diaz celebrating.

The story on the day the 25-year-old completed his £50 million move to Liverpool was written by Jesus Mesa. It was a labour of love for a journalist who is usually focused on world affairs on their news desk.

Mesa is one of the leaders of LFC Colombia, a fan group that has members from across the country. Their Facebook page is followed by around 1,500 people.

“A lot of my time is spent covering global politics but I always try to write about Liverpool when I can,” he says.

“I was 15 when Liverpool beat Barcelona in Camp Nou in 2007 and I’ve been a supporter of the club ever since. My favourite player was Luis Garcia.

“I’m a huge Beatles fan and that led to me doing a lot of research about the city. After the 2007 Champions League final in Athens, the Facebook page was set up to connect with other LFC fans across Colombia.

“We started the process of becoming an official supporters’ group in 2020. The club told us that applications were on hold due to the pandemic but they are going to review them again soon.

“Now Luis Diaz has signed we expect to keep growing. It would be great to have official status. We are very proud that we have a Colombian in our team now.”

Groups of supporters meet in the cities of Bogota, Medellin, Barranquilla and Cali to cheer on Klopp’s side. In Bogota, they assemble at El Ingles Pub.

“It’s run by an English guy who supports Southampton,” says Mesa.

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“A 3pm game in the UK is 10am here but he always opens up for us to watch. It’s been difficult with the pandemic but for a big game we might get 40 of us there.

“Growing up, the Premier League was not as popular here as other leagues because of the language and the players. We were more likely to watch Real Madrid or Barcelona.

“But the fanbase has grown steadily since Juan Pablo Angel joined Aston Villa in 2001. When the rumours first started about Liverpool and Luis Diaz, we didn’t really believe them.

“We were so happy when it came true. It felt like Liverpool was the last big team in the Premier League to have a Colombian player.”

Diaz’s rise to stardom and his big-money move to Anfield has provided a much-needed lift for supporters demoralised by the fortunes of their national team.

Colombia sit seventh out of 10 teams in the South American qualifying group for the World Cup and look destined to miss out on a place in Qatar later this year. Manager Reinaldo Rueda is on the brink after overseeing a winless run of seven qualifying matches. The recent international break saw them suffer back-to-back defeats to Peru and Argentina.

“We’re struggling with the Colombian team,” Mesa adds. “We have former star players who are not in a good moment and there are issues with discipline.

“After the last World Cup, we hired Carlos Queiroz but he didn’t have a good time here. He argued with some of the most important players and was sacked just over a year ago.

“The main issue right now is managing the situation with players who are not as good as they once were, but who still want and expect to start. Radamel Falcao is close to retirement and James is past his best.

“With Luis Diaz, it’s different. Whenever he pulls on the national shirt, he plays with his heart. You can see that he’s really humble. He’s a popular guy and he’s our big hope.

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“Everyone wants him to do well because his story is really inspirational. He’s the biggest star in Colombian football.

“You’re in the football elite if you play in the Champions League and play for a club competing for the biggest titles. Right now we only have two players doing that — Juan Cuadrado at Juventus and Luis Diaz at Liverpool.

“This is an exciting time to be a Colombian Liverpool fan. I’ve travelled to cities in America where the LFC fanbase is really engaged and we want to have that here too.”

(Photos: Getty Images; graphic: Sam Richardson)

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