Wikipedia

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

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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

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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

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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

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Club

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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

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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

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Wisła Kraków

Alajuelense

International

References

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  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. ^ a b 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
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