Ramón Díaz

Ramón Ángel Díaz (born 29 August 1959) is a former Argentine footballer and manager. He played for River Plate as a striker, and coached it for three tenures, winning eight titles. He is also known by the nickname of El Pelado ("Baldy").

For the Uruguayan journalist, lawyer and economist, see Ramón Díaz (economist).

Ramón Díaz
Díaz during his stint as coach of Paraguay
Personal information
Full name Ramón Ángel Díaz
Date of birth (1959-08-29) 29 August 1959
Place of birth La Rioja, Argentina
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Club Libertad (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1978–1982 River Plate 123 (57)
1982–1983 Napoli 25 (3)
1983–1986 Avellino 78 (22)
1986–1988 Fiorentina 53 (17)
1988–1989 Internazionale 33 (12)
1989–1991 Monaco 60 (24)
1991–1993 River Plate 52 (27)
1993–1995 Yokohama Marinos 75 (52)
Total 499 (215)
National team
1978–1979 Argentina U20 6 (8)
1979–1982 Argentina 22 (10)
Teams managed
1995–2002 River Plate
2004–2005 Oxford United
2007–2008 San Lorenzo
2008–2009 América
2010–2011 San Lorenzo
2011–2012 Independiente
2012–2014 River Plate
2014–2016 Paraguay
2016–2018 Al-Hilal
2018 Al-Ittihad
2019 Pyramids
2020– Club Libertad
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Díaz was born in the city of La Rioja in the province of the same name. He played as a forward and starred in River Plate's youth system under Norberto "El Pacha" Yacono. His opening game in the Argentine First Division was on 13 August 1978, a game where River Plate beat Colón de Santa Fe by 1–0. He scored his first goal on 30 August of that year, playing against Quilmes Atlético Club. Diaz went on to feature for clubs such as River Plate, Inter Milan, Yokohama Marinos, and Monaco under famed manager Arsène Wenger.[1]

International career
Diaz playing for Argentina at the 1979 U-20 World Cup

Diaz won the World Youth Cup in 1979 with the Argentina under-20 team alongside Diego Maradona, winning the golden boot for being the topscorer of the competition. He then went on to play in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and scored against Brazil in Argentina's 3–1 defeat. It had been rumoured that he and Maradona were involved in a feud which prevented Diaz from playing for Argentina in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups. However, this was denied by Maradona in his autobiography Yo soy el Diego, claiming that he had told the then-Argentina manager, Carlos Bilardo, that he wanted Diaz in both the 1986 and 1990 World Cup squads.[1][2]

Managerial career

Díaz served as the manager of River Plate between 1995 and 2003, in that time he guided the club to victory in the 1996 Copa Libertadores as well as collecting five league titles and the Supercopa Sudamericana.[1]

Oxford United

Ramón Díaz served as manager of League Two English club Oxford United between 2004 and 2005, despite already having achieved considerable success in his native Argentina. At the time, Diaz told the media: "I like English football and I wanted to get first-hand experience of it...I'd seen plenty of it on television... It's also very interesting to work at this level, because it's completely different from football at the top." It was also claimed that neither Diaz nor any of his five backroom staff were being paid by Oxford United for their services.[1]

San Lorenzo 1st Term

On 24 December 2006, he was appointed head coach of San Lorenzo in the Argentine Primera,[3] Díaz secured the title after the 17th round of fixtures, with two games still to play. Díaz led them to the Clausura 2007 championship title, the club's first title in six years,

Club América

On 15 May 2008, Diaz was confirmed as the new Club América coach. Although the club did not reveal specific details about Diaz' contract,[4] he was reportedly offered 1.5 million dollars per year including performance-related bonuses which could have taken his total earnings to 6 million dollars.[5] Díaz failed to make Club América qualify to Copa Libertadores. In the start of the Clausura 2009 season, Díaz won against Santos 2–1. After that, Díaz drew against Toluca 2-2. Díaz lost against Morelia 1–0. Díaz lost again against Pachuca 3–1. After two consecutive league losses, and the club being in 12th position in the league table, Club America sacked coach Ramón Díaz on Tuesday 10 February 2009.[6]

San Lorenzo 2nd Term

On 25 May 2010, it was made official by President Savino that Ramón Díaz was appointed for the second time. Díaz had a one-year contract with San Lorenzo.[7] Ramón Díaz resigned because of poor results and said there is no turning back. In addition, he said that this has nothing to do with Abdo: "I thank the president because he gave me everything, just like the players."[8]

Independiente

On 12 September 2011, Independiente hired Díaz to replace Antonio Mohamed who resigned. On 5 March 2012, Ramón Díaz quit Independiente, resigning from his position at the King of Cups, who had been struggling and found themselves at the very bottom of the table.[9] Ramón Díaz was replaced by Christian Díaz.

River Plate 3rd term

On 30 November 2012, Ramón Díaz was appointed coach of River Plate for the third time in his managing career.[10] Ramón won the Toreno Final in 2014, and he also won the Superfinal against San Lorenzo 1–0.[11] On 27 May 2014, Díaz left River Plate.[12]

Paraguay National Team
Díaz during a press conference as Paraguay manager, 2016

On 5 December 2014, Ramón left River Plate to become the manager of the Paraguay national team. He said "'It's one of the biggest challenges of my career... There's a lot of work to do".[13] Ramón first major competition was the 2015 Copa América. His first match in the Copa America was against Argentina which they drew 2-2. Ramón's second match was against Jamaica which they won 1–0. The last match of the group stages was against Uruguay which they drew 1-1. Paraguay finished 2nd with five points in their group. Paraguay won the quarterfinal against Brazil 1-1 (3-4 on penalties). Paraguay were hammered 6-1 by Argentina in the Semifinals which them go to the third group playoff which they lost 2–0 against Peru which made them fourth in the Copa America. Ramón continued in the national team. On the Copa America Centenario, Paraguay were out of the competition in the group stage, by drawing against Costa Rica and losing to Colombia 2-1 and the US 1–0. On 12 June 2016, following an unsuccessful run at Copa América Centenario, he resigned as manager of Paraguay.[14]

Al-Hilal

On 13 October 2016 Ramón Díaz was appointed manager of Al-Hilal FC after former manager Gustavo Matosas was sacked[15] with a one-year contract.

2016/17 Season

Ramón's first match was against Al-Fateh SC where Al-Hilal won 1–0. On 25 November, Rámon played his first important match against Al-Ahli where they won 2–1. Ramón drew the Riyadh Derby against Al-Nassr FC 1-1. Ramón won 4–2 against Al-Taawon FC. He won against Ittihad FC 3–1. Ramón Diaz drew 0–0 against Al-Ahli, but he won against Al-Shabab 2–1 to Secure the title. Al-Hilal lifted the league against Al-Nassr in the Riyadh Derby after winning 5–1 in the league. Ramón Díaz renewed his contract for one more year for 1.5 million dollars.[16] Ramón made Al-Hilal first in the Champions League group stages after winning against Al-Rayyan 4–3.[17] Ramón made Al-Hilal qualify to the King's Cup final after beating Al-Taawon 3–4. Ramón Díaz won the King's Cup against Al-Ahli in final 3–2.[18] Rámon Díaz won the Champions League Round of 16 first leg against Esteghlal Khuzestan F.C. 2–1.[19] Díaz won the second leg 2-1 again [2-4 on AGG] making Al-Hilal go to the Quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League.[20]

2017/18 Season

In 4 June, Díaz signed Mukhtar Fallatah to make him the first signing of the season.[21] On 19 June 2017, Ramòn Díaz made Omar Kharbin a permanent signing after he was on loan, the fee 11 million dollars (44 million riyals) and signed a four-year contract with Al-Hilal.[22] On 21 June, Díaz signed Ali Al Bulaihi for free from Al-Fateh.[23] On 3 July, Al-Hilal signed Mohamed Kanno and Hasan Kadish from Ettifaq.[24][25]
On 10 August, Díaz won the first match of the season 2–1 against league debutant Al-Fayha.[26] On 15 August, Ramón Díaz won his second match of the season which was against Al-Taawoun 4–3. On 21 August, Díaz made Al-Hilal draw against Al Ain 0–0 in the 2017 AFC Champions League quarter finals.[27]

On 11 September, Díaz made Al-Hilal qualify to the semi final of the AFC Champions League after beating Al-Ain 3–0. After that, he signed Gelmin Rivas to become his sixth registered foreigner player in the 2017/18 season.[28] On 16 September, Ramón Díaz won the third match of season against Ohod 1–0.[29] On 21 September, Al-Hilal drew against Al-Ittihad 1-1.[30] On 26 October, Diaz made Al-Hilal won the Riyadh Derby against Al-Nassr.
On 18 November, Diaz and his team drew in the first leg of the final of the AFC Champions League against Urawa 1–1 in Riyadh. On 25 November, they lost the second 1-0 making them runners-up in the tournament.[31] On 1 December, Diaz led his team to win against title challengers Al-Ahli 2–0. On 17 December, Diaz and his team lost their first match in the league against Al-Fayha 2–1. After that, Diaz won against Ohod 4–1. On 20 January, Al-Hilal were kicked out of the Kings Cup by Al-Qadisyah in the round of 16.[32] On 13 February, Al-Hilal drew their first match in their new stadium the King Saud University Stadium against Al-Ain 0–0 in the Champions League. On 20 February, Al-Hilal lost 1–0 against Esteghlal in Oman. On 21 February, Al-Hilal sacked Ramon Diaz due to unsatisfactory performances.[33]

Career statistics

Club

[34]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Total
Season Club League AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Argentina League Cup League Cup Total
1978River PlatePrimera División145145
197922122212
198040224022
198147184718
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Total
1982–83NapoliSerie A253253
1983–84AvellinoSerie A247247
1984–85275275
1985–8627102710
1986–87FiorentinaSerie A29102910
1987–88247247
1988–89InternazionaleSerie A331271324315
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Total
1989–90MonacoDivision 128152815
1990–91329329
Argentina League Cup League Cup Total
1991–92River PlatePrimera División31203120
1992–93217217
Japan League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup Total
1993Yokohama MarinosJ1 League322831534032
1994372342314426
19956100-61
CountryArgentina 1758417584
Italy 1895418954
France 60246024
Japan 755273849059
Total 4992147384514221

International
Argentina national team
YearAppsGoals
197911
198094
198141
198284
Total2210

Managerial statistics
As of 26 May 2018
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L Win %
Oxford United 9 December 2004 4 May 2005 25 10 7 8 040.00
San Lorenzo 24 December 2006 12 June 2008 69 38 14 17 055.07
América 25 June 2008 12 February 2009 24 7 8 9 029.17
San Lorenzo 25 May 2010 24 April 2011 30 10 9 11 033.33
Independiente 12 September 2011 5 March 2012 20 7 5 8 035.00
River Plate 30 November 2012 27 May 2014 67 31 17 19 046.27
Paraguay 4 December 2014 12 June 2016 20 3 9 8 015.00
Al-Hilal 15 October 2016 20 February 2018 70 44 19 7 062.86
Al-Ittihad 1 July 2018 15 September 2018 4 0 1 3 000.00
Pyramids FC 14 February 2019 June 2019 12 8 3 1 066.67
Total 341 158 92 91 046.33

Honours

Player
River Plate
Internazionale
Monaco
Argentina
  • FIFA World Youth Championship (1): 1979

Manager
River Plate
San Lorenzo
Al-Hilal

Individual
  • FIFA World Youth Championship top scorer: 1979
  • Primera División Argentina topscorer: 1991 Apertura
  • J. League Top Scorer: 1993
  • J. League Best Eleven: 1993

Notes
  1. The "Superfinal" is considered as a national cup by the Argentine Football Association.[35]
gollark: Maybe? There are other countries with her as head of state.
gollark: I would complain about our first-past-the-post and generally awful electoral system encouraging this sort of thing, but there are lots of voting systems and there are some theorems meaning that they *can't* work very well. A less awful system could exist, though, I guess.
gollark: Technically, the Queen has many powers. In practice she can't use them, but...
gollark: No.
gollark: Narrator: *They did not get Brexit done.*

References
  1. "Ramon Diaz: Globe-trotting thoroughbred commits to Oxford cause". Independent.co.uk.
  2. "Ramon Angel Diaz". Ramon Diaz.com.
  3. "San Lorenzo appoint former U's boss Diaz". ESPNFC.com.
  4. Ramón Díaz ya es nuevo técnico del América
  5. "Ramón fue presentado en América de México". www.lanacion.com.ar. 6 July 2008.
  6. "Club America Sacks Diaz | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  7. "Ramón Díaz acordó su regreso a San Lorenzo". www.clarin.com.
  8. ""Me gusta pelear arriba"". www.ole.com.ar.
  9. "Ramon Diaz quits Independiente | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  10. "Ramon Diaz returns to River Plate after being appointed coach | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  11. "River Plate claim the Copa Campeonato with victory over San Lorenzo (VIDEO)". 25 May 2014.
  12. https://www.fourfourtwo.com/my/news/diaz-leaves-river-plate
  13. "Paraguay appoint title-winning River Plate boss Diaz as national coach". Mail Online. 4 December 2014.
  14. "Paraguay manager Ramon Diaz resigns following Copa America elimination". ESPNFC.com.
  15. "صحيفة شبكة الاعلام السعودي رسميا .. الأرجنتيني رومان دياز مدربا للهلال - صحيفة شبكة الاعلام السعودي".
  16. "أخبار الهلال … حقيقة تجديد عقد رامون دياز مدرب الهلال - سبورت 360 عربية". arabic.sport360.com.
  17. "كووورة: الموقع العربي الرياضي الأول". m.kooora.com.
  18. "Al-Hilal wins King's Cup". Arab News. 19 May 2017.
  19. "دوري أبطال آسيا". m.kooora.com.
  20. "Al Hilal v Esteghlal Khuzestan Live Commentary & Result, 30/05/2017, AFC Champions League | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  21. http://prosports.mbc.net/ar/championships/jameel-league/articles/رسميا---مختار-فلاتة-هلالي.html Archived 6 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  22. "بالصور ... تعرف على تفاصيل إنتقال عمر خربين إلى نادي الهلال السعودي ومدة العقد والقيمة المالية له". 19 June 2017.
  23. "الهلال السعودي يعلن ضم مدافع الفتح". كووورة.
  24. نت, العربية (4 July 2017). "الهلال يضم محمد كنو وحسن كادش من الاتفاق". العربية نت.
  25. "ملخص كل ما قدمه عمر خربين مع ( الهلال ) وفيديوهات عنه". سيما لايت.
  26. https://www.slstat.com/spl2017-2018ar/matchdet.php?id=2
  27. "التعادل السلبي يحسم ذهاب قمة العين والهلال الآسيوية". كووورة.
  28. نت, العربية (11 September 2017). "الهلال يعزز خط هجومه بالفنزويلي ريفاس". العربية نت.
  29. http://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=ar&newsid=1666677
  30. "بالفيديو : الهلال يتعادل مع الاتحاد بهدفٍ لكلٍ منهما • صحيفة المرصد". 21 September 2017.
  31. McKirdy, Andrew (25 November 2017). "Urawa Reds clinch Asian Champions League title on late goal against Al Hilal" – via Japan Times Online.
  32. "بعد خروج الهلال من كأس الملك.. مغردون: سامي الجابر مطلب هلالي". صحيفة المواطن الإلكترونية. 20 January 2018.
  33. "Saudi giants Al Hilal sack Ramon Diaz". FOX Sports Asia. 21 February 2018.
  34. "Ramón Díaz". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  35. "La AFA homologó la Superfinal de River como una Copa Nacional", Cancha Llena.com, 28 May 2014
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