Alejandro Díaz Liceága (born 27 January 1996) is a Mexican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

club

Vancouver FC Vancouver Football Club, commonly known as Vancouver FC, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club in Langley, British Columbia (district municipality), Langley, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier Le ...

, on loan from

Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon and OBOS-ligaen (named sponsor is property developer OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are p ...

club

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...

Club career

América

Díaz was a fan of rivals

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

. He played for an academy of Real Madrid based in Mexico and later moved to Club America's academy. A product of América's academy programme, Díaz made his debut for the club in

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

on 22 November 2014 as an 84th-minute substitute in a 2–1 loss to

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

. On 8 April 2015, he scored his first goal for the club in

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

in a 6–0 win over Costa Rican side

Herediano Club Sport Herediano (), commonly known as Herediano and nicknamed El Team, is a Costa Rican multisport club based in Heredia, Heredia province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Herediano is mostly known for its association ...

. That season, he made a total of three league appearances, one appearance in the

Copa MX The Copa MX (formerly called Copa Tower Monterrey, Copa Eliminatoria, Copa México and Copa Corona MX (for sponsorship reasons)) was a Mexican football cup competition that was established in 1907. After a lengthy hiatus that began in 1997, it wa ...

and two appearances in Champions League. The following season, he made one league appearance and one appearance in Champions League.

Loan to Necaxa

On 8 June 2016, Díaz was loaned to

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Necaxa, is a Mexican professional football club in Liga MX based in the city of Aguascalientes. It plays in the Estadio Victoria. History Foundation (Light and Power Comp ...

until the end of the season. He made twelve league appearances that season, one in the Liguilla Apertura and five in the

. His only goal for Necaxa came in a 5–1 Copa MX victory over

Potros UAEM Club de Fútbol Potros de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México was a Mexican Association football, football team. They were nicknamed Potros (Broncos). Their uniform color was white and green, wearing a white and green vertical stripe s ...

Return to América

Diaz returned to America for the 2017–2018 campaign, where he was finally promoted to América's first team on a regular basis. He made eighteen league appearances that season, four in the Liguilla Apertura, five in the

and two in Champions League, scoring a goal in the league and another in Champions League against Panamanian side Tauro.

Loan to Atlas

In the 2018–19 season, Díaz was loaned to

, where he made eleven league appearances and two Copa MX appearances, but failed to score.

Loan to Zacatepec

On 5 August 2019, Díaz was loaned to

Ascenso MX Ascenso MX was the second tier of professional football in Mexico of the Mexican football league system. The champion of the competition was promoted to Liga MX (top-flight tier). The bottom team was relegated to Liga Premier (the third tier). ...

side Zacatepec. That season, he made three league appearances, three appearances in the Liguilla Apertura and three appearances in the Copa MX, but again failed to score.

Pacific FC

On 6 February 2020, Díaz signed with

club

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 201 ...

. He made his debut on August 15 against the

HFX Wanderers HFX Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as HFX Wanderers, and spoken as Halifax Wanderers, is a Canadian professional soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League at the top of the Canadian soccer le ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on August 25, in a 2–0 victory over

Valour FC Valour Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home matches at IG Field. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned thro ...

. On July 21, 2021, Díaz scored his first hat-trick with Pacific FC in a 4–2 win over

Atlético Ottawa Atlético Ottawa is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at TD Place Stadium, TD Place. The team was founded in 2020 by Spa ...

. That season, he scored 10 goals and helped lead the club to their first ever league championship. After the title-winning 2021 season, it was rumoured that Díaz would depart the club, but he returned for 2022. His 2022 with Pacific was very successful, as he scored 13 goals in 18 league matches, factoring into the golden boot race. As league champions, Pacific also got to participate in the

2022 Concacaf League The 2022 CONCACAF League (officially the 2022 Scotiabank CONCACAF League for sponsorship purposes) will be the sixth and final edition of the CONCACAF League, a football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North ...

, and in the second leg their first ever continental matchup Díaz scored a hat trick against

Waterhouse Waterhouse may refer to: People *Waterhouse (surname) Places * Waterhouse, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Waterhouse Island (disambiguation) * Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica ** Waterhouse F.C., a football club based in the Waterho ...

, helping to ensure Pacific advanced. When Díaz departed the club midseason, he was the leading scorer in the league, with 13.

Sogndal

On 10 August 2022, Díaz signed with

side

for a club-record fee, the second-largest transfer fee in

history. On 11 July 2023, he joined

in the

on a one-year loan.

International career

Youth

In 2013, Díaz played for the under-17 squad at the

2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship The 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship was a North American international association football tournament that determined the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup participants from the CONCACAF region. The 2013 edition of the competition was held in Panama. Qu ...

, making five appearances and scoring one goal against

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

as Mexico went on to win the tournament. At the

2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fifteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The tournament was held in the United Arab Emirates between 17 October and 8 November. Nigeria won the tournament after defeating Mexico 3–0 in the final, cla ...

he again featured heavily for Mexico, making seven appearances and scoring goals against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on route to a finals run in which Mexico lost 3–0 to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. In 2015, Díaz represented the

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

side at the

2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2015 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was an association football tournament that took place from 9 to 24 January 2015 in Jamaica. It determined the four CONCACAF teams that would participate at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. Q ...

, making five appearances as Mexico went on to win the tournament. He scored four goals, the first two coming in a 9–1 victory over

, the third in a 3–0 win over

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

and the fourth in a 3–1 win over

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. At the

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand, the third time on Oceanian soil after ...

, Díaz made appearances against

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

as Mexico were knocked out in the group stage. In 2016, Díaz represented the under-23 team at the

2016 Toulon Tournament The 2016 Toulon Tournament was the 44th edition of the Toulon Tournament. It took place 18–29 May 2016. The tournament was used by several teams as preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The tournament was won by England. Participants ;AFC ...

, making three appearances.

Career statistics

Honours

América *

: Apertura 2014 *

: 2014–15, 2015–16 Pacific FC *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Mexico Youth *

CONCACAF U-17 Championship The CONCACAF U-17 Championship is an international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Results In 2009 the tournament returned ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fédération ...

runner-up:

CONCACAF U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the second longest running international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, CONCACAF, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual *

Best XI:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Alejandro 1996 births Living people Men's association football forwards Mexican men's footballers Footballers from Mexico City Mexican expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Norway Club América footballers Club Necaxa footballers Atlas F.C. footballers Atlético Zacatepec players Pacific FC players Sogndal Fotball players Vancouver FC players Liga MX players Ascenso MX players Canadian Premier League players Mexico men's youth international footballers Mexico men's under-20 international footballers