Luis Díaz is a remarkable player who will do great things at Liverpool.
His story is also incredible & despite all the talent, it’s a miracle he was able to have a professional career.
At 17 he was severely underweight, unknown & playing on a dusty pitch in his remote village.
Luis Díaz grew up close to a mining settlement, he ate goat for almost every meal, he didn’t have a television and in the evenings he would listen to his grandma tell stories.
He is from an indigenous Wayuu family and he played football in the village team run by his family.
Colombia was looking to put together a team for the Copa America of Indigenous People in Chile
Luis Díaz’ family was invited to send some players from the club to Bogota for a trial
Luis went but was initially written off as too skinny but in training he impressed & was picked
He impressed in Chile & caught the eye of Colombian legend Carlos Valderrama.
‘El Pibe’ took him to his former club Junior for a trial, they liked him & sent him to their second division affiliate Barranquilla FC.
They said he needed to add 10kg & was on a high protein diet.
He impressed at Barranquilla & was brought across to Junior in 2017
By 2019 he was off to Europe with Porto where he has scored some spectacular goals & showcased his incredible dribbling ability
In 2021 he finished joint top scorer at the Copa America alongside Lionel Messi
How did he celebrate this incredible achievement?
He went back to his village in La Guajira to have a kick about with his friends and family.
Those wondering about the hairstyle in this photo:
It’s a tradition in South America that on a players professional debut they agree to let the rest of the team give them a trim in the hotel the night before.
This was the photo from his first ever league game for Barranquilla.
Basically, it could have been much worse!
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