Marcelo Alfonso Díaz Rojas (; born 30 December 1986) is a Chilean 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

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Chilean Primera División The Chilean Primera División (English: First Division) is the top-tier league of the Chilean football league system. It is organized by the ''Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, ANFP''. The league is known as the Campeonato AFP PlanVital ...

side Universidad de Chile. Díaz came through Universidad de Chile youth academy, and was promoted to the first team in 2004, when he was 18. Making over 150 appearances Díaz was an integral part of the team with the club that won five titles including three consecutive

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

and the

2011 Copa Sudamericana The 2011 Copa Sudamericana de Clubes (officially the 2011 Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana de Clubes for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary international club football tournament organize ...

; the club's first international title. In 2012, he moved to Swiss side

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, where he won two consecutive league titles, before moving to Hamburger SV in 2015. Díaz has earned over 60 caps for Chile since his senior debut in 2011, and represented the nation at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

as well as the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

, winning the latter while being named in the Team of the tournament. Díaz has earned the nickname of "South American

Xavi Xavier Hernández Creus (born 25 January 1980), known as Xavi is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of La Liga club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely con ...

", as both of them have a great ball control capabilities and excellent passing skills. In June 2015, he scored a 91st minute free-kick goal that helped save Hamburger SV from its first ever relegation from the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

and is considered to be one of the most important goals in the club's 128-year history.

Club career

Universidad de Chile

Early years

Díaz began his career in Universidad de Chile youth academy, being immediately accepted by Jorge Cabrera, then coach of the club's lower divisions. He played in the Club Julio Covarrubias of

Padre Hurtado Padre Hurtado () is a Chilean commune in the Talagante Province, in the Metropolitan Region. Part of the Greater Santiago conurbation and one of the outermost communes of it, the commune is named after Saint Alberto Hurtado, who was popularly k ...

before arriving to Universidad de Chile, with Díaz saying that he felt kind of lucky for being accepted in the club, because he was a very low profile player. He progressed over all categories in the lower divisions, mainly acting as a

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...

. He was promoted to the first team in 2004 at the age of 18, but he was only called to three matches and not debuted in any of them. The next season, Díaz made his professional debut in a 3–2 loss with Everton for the first week of the 2005 Apertura Tournament. In the 2006 season, he played 29 matches between the Apertura and the Clausura Tournament. After the one season, in the Apertura Tournament 2008, Díaz was a frequently starter in the squad of

Arturo Salah Arturo Salah Cassani (born 4 December 1949) is a Chilean former footballer and manager. From January 2016 until 2019 he was the president of Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional. He studied civil engineering at the Pontifical Catholic Un ...

, and scored his first professional goal with the club on 23 March, in a 3–2 loss with Huachipato, it was his first goal for Universidad de Chile. During the year he played 36 games between the Apertura and Clausura tournaments. After of the departure of

and the arrival of the Uruguayan coach

Sergio Markarián Sergio Apraham Markarián Abrahamián (born 1 November 1944) is a Uruguayan-Argentine former football coach of Armenian descent. In 2015, he was the head coach of the Greece national football team. Early life Markarián lived in Argentina durin ...

, Díaz was used as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, unlike Salah that used him as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

. On 28 January 2009, he scored his first international goal in a 1–0 home victory to

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whic ...

. In the first semester of the season he won his first professional title, the Apertura Tournament, that his club won after beating 1–0 Unión Española in the playoffs final. The next season, now with the arrival of

Gerardo Pelusso Gerardo Cono Pelusso Boyrie (born February 25, 1954) is a Uruguayan football manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the ar ...

as the coach, Díaz was being used as

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and only played five league games. On 13 August 2010, the player confirmed his incorporation to Deportes La Serena. There, he returned to the midfield, being deployed as an

. On 22 August, Díaz debuted in a 4–0 home win over

Santiago Wanderers Club de Deportes Santiago Wanderers is a football club based in Valparaíso, a founding member of the Chilean Football Federation. Their home ground, Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, is in the north-west of the city. Wanderers have played their ...

at La Portada Stadium. In his third match for the club against

Audax Italiano Audax Club Sportivo Italiano () is a Chilean football club based in La Florida. Founded in 1910, it plays in the Campeonato Nacional and has spent most of its history in the top tier of Chilean football. Audax has been national champions four t ...

, he scored his side's goal in a 2–1 defeat in the 86th minute. On 3 October, Díaz scored a brace in a 3–3 draw with Everton, being red carded in the 91st minute. After a one match absence, and his return in the game against Unión Española, he again scored his side's goal in a 2–1 away defeat with Universidad Católica. On 28 November, Díaz had a successful performance against

Cobresal Club de Deportes Cobresal or simply Cobresal, is a Chilean football club based in El Salvador, Atacama, a Chilean mining camp, and participates in Campeonato Nacional. The team was founded on 5 May 1979, and the name of the club comes from the l ...

, being named the

man-of-the-match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

and scoring a goal in a 2–0 win. Having finished the 2010 season, Díaz had a deal with Huachipato for a loan, but Universidad de Chile's new coach

Jorge Sampaoli Jorge Luis Sampaoli Moya (; born 13 March 1960) is an Argentine football coach who is currently manager for Sevilla of La Liga. Sampaoli started out as a youth player and eventually switched to management after a severe injury. Sampaoli starte ...

wanted him to play for his team in 2011 and the player remained in the club.

Breakthrough seasons

Díaz began the season as a substitute player replacing to

Guillermo Marino Guillermo Andrés Marino (born 2 February 1981) is an Argentine football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. Marino was known for his teamwork and playmaking ability and could play in the center as well as on the wings. Career M ...

in all second halves of a game, but due to his good performances, he ended up replacing Marino on the starting lineup. On 4 June 2011, he scored a wonderful 26-yard free-kick versus O'Higgins, in Universidad de Chile's amazing 7–1 rout for the playoff's semi-final. Following the title obtained in the Apertura Tournament and the departure of

Felipe Seymour Felipe Ignacio Seymour Dobud (born 23 July 1987) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Chilean Primera División club Universidad de Chile. Club career Early career Born in Pirque, Santiago, Chile, Seymour ...

to Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, Díaz started to play in Seymour's former position in the starting lineup as a

, with a more defensive role. When the Clausura Tournament began, former Universidad de Chile midfielder

Manuel Iturra Manuel Rolando Iturra Urrutia (; born 23 June 1984) is a Chilean former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. He currently is an assistant coach at Club Universidad d ...

was heavy linked with the club, to replace to Seymour, but Sampaoli decided finally against Iturra and for Díaz, who with the given confidence stepped up his game and became one of the key players of the team. His great performances in the local tournament and in the

caught the eye of national team's coach Claudio Borghi to play in the

2014 World Cup qualifiers The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined b ...

. On 19 October, Díaz played in the Copa Sudamericana's round of 16 match against

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

. In that match, Universidad de Chile historically beat 4–0 as visitors, something never done by a Chilean team. In the second leg match, Díaz scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win at Estadio Nacional, winning the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

award. The next game of his club against the rivals, Colo-Colo, and he again was the man of the match in a 2–2 away draw. In that same match, Díaz was punished by the Anfp for obscene gestures to the

Garra Blanca Garra Blanca (White Claw) is the title given to a barra brava that was created in Chile by the supporters of Santiago based football club Colo-Colo. It is one of the three largest and most important barras bravas in the country, the other beings U ...

, the barra brava of Colo-Colo. After his performances, he was called up by Borghi for play against the

Uruguay national football team The Uruguay national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Uruguay) represents Uruguay in international Association football, football, and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. T ...

at Centenario Stadium for the World Cup qualifiers. On 23 November, for the semi-finals of the

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

against

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

, Díaz played in a 1–1 away draw at São Januário Stadium. He played an important role in the match, winning important balls in the middle of the pitch and assisting Osvaldo González, with a free kick to score the equalizing goal in the 79th minute. In the second leg game against the Brazilians, Díaz was named once again the man of the match in a 2–0 win. In the next game against LDU Quito for the first leg final, he made another assist to Eduardo Vargas, who scored the only goal of game. On 14 December, in the final of the tournament, Díaz played a good role in a 3–0 win over LDU, being crowned as the best champion of this tournament. According to the South American media, they compared to Universidad de Chile with

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and Díaz with

. Winning the Clausura Tournament, Universidad de Chile made a successful season earning three titles in one year, with Díaz as one of the key players of the season along with Johnny Herrera, Eduardo Vargas, Marcos González and José Rojas. On 4 January 2012, the club received a US$1.5 million bid of

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Th ...

side Newell's Old Boys for Díaz, but the same player rejected the deal, to play the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

, being also retained with pay rise of part of directive. He was candidate for be the club's captain, with the departures of José Rojas and Marcos González to the

Brazilian Série A Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may also ...

, but finally with the return of

Rojas Rojas is a surname found throughout the Spanish-speaking world, especially in Latin America. Rojas may refer to: People A *Adrián Rojas (born 1977), Chilean professional football player *Aguelmis Rojas (born 1978), Cuban long-distance runner ...

to the club because of problems with his new contract, Pepe remained as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Díaz started the season of fine form scoring a penalty goal in a 3–1 win over his old club Deportes La Serena in the first game of Universidad de Chile at the Apertura Tournament. On 25 February, he missed a penalty kick against O'Higgins in a 3–0 loss, that was saved by the adversary's keeper Luis Marín for the fifth week of the Apertura. On 10 March, he played a great match giving two notable assists in a 6–0 thrashing over

, then being called up by Borghi to the national team for play the

Copa del Pacífico Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...

against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

at Arica and

Tacna Tacna was known for its mining industry; it had significant deposits of sodium nitrate and other resources. Its economic prosperity attracted a wave of immigrants from Italy. Today, their Italian Peruvian descendants live in the city and many of t ...

. On 4 April, he was named the

in a Libertadores 1–0 victory over Godoy Cruz at Mendoza, making another excellent match for his team on 29 April in the Chilean derby against Colo-Colo, in where he scored the first goal of the game and also made three assists, after a successful free kick in a 5–0 home win at the Estadio Nacional. On 9 May, was confirmed that Díaz was sold to

Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...

side

for $4 million. On 11 May, he scored a 30-yard goal in a 6–0 rout over

Deportivo Quito Sociedad Deportivo Quito is an Ecuadorian non-professional club football club based in Quito. For most of its existence, it competed in Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. And currently competes in the Seg ...

for the Libertadores.

FC Basel

After winning the Apertura with Universidad de Chile, Díaz joined the Swiss side

in the summer of 2012, on a four-year deal. He joined Basel's first team during their 2012–13 season under head coach

Heiko Vogel Heiko Vogel (born 21 November 1975) is a German football manager who is the current sporting director and interim coach of FC Basel. Vogel grew up in Wachenheim and played football for his local clubs TuS Wachenheim and FC 08 Hassloch. Later he ...

. Díaz played his club debut on 17 July in the 2–0 away win against

Flora Tallinn FC Flora, commonly known as Flora Tallinn, or simply as Flora, is a professional Football team, football club based in Tallinn, Estonia, that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football league system, Estonian football. The ...

in the 1st Leg of the second qualifying round to the

2012–13 UEFA Champions League The 2012–13 UEFA Champions League was the 58th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 21st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was p ...

and he received good compliments. He played his domestic league debut for the club in the home game in the

St. Jakob-Park St. Jakob-Park () is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity w ...

four days later, on 21 July 2012, as Basel played a 2–2 draw with

Luzern , neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...

. Another three days later, on 24 July, Díaz scored his first goal for his new team during the return leg against

. It was a direct free kick and it was the final goal in the teams 3–0 win. He scored his first league goal for them during the 2–1 away win in the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise against

Lausanne-Sport FC Lausanne–Sport (also referred to as LS) is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport played in the Swiss Super League in their most recent 2021-22 season, the highest tier of football i ...

on 17 February 2013. At the end of the Swiss Super League season 2012–13 he won the Championship title with the team. In the

2012–13 Swiss Cup The 2012–13 Swiss Cup was the 88th season of Switzerland's annual football cup competition. The competition commenced on 14 September 2012 with the first game of Round 1 and ended on 20 May 2013 with the Final. The winners of the competition, Gr ...

Basel reached the final, but were runners up behind Grasshopper Club, being defeated 4–3 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Basel had started in the

in the qualifying rounds. But were knocked out of the competition by CFR Cluj in the play-off round. They then continued in the

2012–13 UEFA Europa League The 2012–13 UEFA Europa League was the 42nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 4th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played at the Amsterdam Aren ...

group stage. Ending the group in second position, Basel continued in the knockout phase. Winning in the round of 32 against

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Football Club Dnipro ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб «Дніпро́», ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club was owned by the Privat Group that also owns BC Dnipro and Budivelnyk Kyiv. In 2018 FC Dnipro was forced in ...

, Basel were matched against Zenit St. Petersburg in the round of 16. Following a 2–0 home win, the second leg was played in the Petrovsky Stadium. The home team took a goal lead in the 30th minute and after his second yellow card in the 44th minute Diaz was dismissed, but Basel held the result and advanced. Beating

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

in a thrilling quarter-final, 4–4 on aggregate then 4–1 on penalties, Basel advanced as far as the semi-finals, there being matched against the reigning

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

holders Chelsea. Chelsea won both games advancing 5–2 on aggregate, eventually winning the competition. At the start of their 2013–14 season season Díaz was member of the Basel team that won the 2013 Uhrencup, beating

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

in the final. Basel joined the 2013–14 Champions League in the qualifying rounds and they advanced to the group stage. Finishing in third place in their group, Basel qualified for Europa League knockout phase and here they advanced as far as the quarter-finals. But eventually they were beaten by

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

5-3 on aggregate, after extra time. At the end of the 2013–14 Super League season Díaz won his second league championship with Basel. The team also reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...

on 21 April 2014.

Gastón Sauro Gastón Sauro (born 23 February 1990) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a centre-back for Club Atlético Sarmiento. Career Boca Juniors Sauro made his professional debut with Boca Juniors during the 2008–09 season. FC Basel On 6 July 2 ...

and Giovanni Sio were both sent off as Basel fell to rivals

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

2–0 in added extra time, after a goalless 90 minutes. The 2014–15 season was also a successful one for Basel, but for Díaz it was an unlucky and unthankful season under their new trainer Paulo Sousa. Despite the fact that Basel won the championship later that season and despite the fact that Basel had entered the Champions League in the group stage reaching the

knockout phase A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

on 9 December 2014 as they managed a 1–1 draw at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, Díaz totaled just 24 appearances, the larger part as substitute, during the first half of the season, 13 (from 18) League, 2 Cup (of 3), and just 3 (of 6) in the Champions League, as well 6 further appearances in test games. Because Sousa did not rely upon Díaz, he was forced to leave the club during the winter break. On 2 February 2015 Basel announced that Díaz had joined Hamburger SV. During his time with the club, Díaz played a total of 118 games for Basel scoring a total of 15 goals. 58 of these games were in the

, 10 in the

, 51 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 19 were friendly games. He scored seven goals in the domestic league, two in the cup, four in the European games and the other two were scored during the test games.

Hamburger SV

On 2 February 2015, Díaz signed for German

club Hamburger SV on a three-and-a-half-year deal. On 1 June 2015, he scored his first goal for the club in its

relegation play-off In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

match which took place at the end of the

2014–15 Bundesliga The 2014–15 Bundesliga was the 52nd season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. The season started on 22 August 2014 and the final matchday took place on 23 May 2015. Bayern Munich won their 25th German title on 26 April ...

season, against

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the D ...

. Many Hamburg fans consider Díaz's 91st minute free-kick goal which helped save Hamburg from its first ever relegation to be one of the most important goals ever scored in the club's 128-year history. After the match, it was revealed that

Rafael van der Vaart Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and is currently the assistant manager of Danish 2nd Division club Esbjerg fB. Van der Vaart began his c ...

, Hamburg's captain and first choice for free-kicks, was to take the kick. Diaz, however, spontaneously told Van der Vaart that he could take a shot "tomorrow, my friend" and went on to perform the free-kick himself.

Celta de Vigo

In January 2016, Díaz transferred to Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

side

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 16 April 2017, in a 3–0 away win against Granada CF. On 17 August 2017, Díaz left Celta by mutual consent.

Pumas UNAM

On 17 August 2017, Díaz signed a contract with

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 ...

side

Pumas UNAM Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Fo ...

as a free agent.

Libertad

In June 2021, Paraguay's ''D10'' announced that would join Libertad. In July 2021, the announcement was made official by the club.

International career

Youth

In January 2005, aged 19, Díaz caught the attention of

José Sulantay José Manuel Sulantay Silva (born 3 April 1940) is a former football player and manager. He notably managed the Chile national under-20 football team, Chile U20 and Chile national under-17 football team, Chile U17 national team, leading the Chil ...

, who called up the player to play the South American Youth Championship held in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. He made his U-20 debut during the championship. Following the qualification of the Chilean national youth team to the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Worl ...

, he was in the 23-man squad to play the world championship, but he didn't play during the tournament.

Senior

Six years after his participation with the U-20 team, on 7 September 2011, Díaz was called up by Claudio Borghi to play in the 2014 World Cup qualification against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, in place of

Carlos Carmona Carlos Emilio Carmona Tello (; born 21 February 1987) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Carmona started his career as a centre midfielder in Coquimbo Unido. Two years later he moved to O'Higgins ...

, who was banned for his participation in the scandal of "Bautizazo". On 11 November, Díaz officially debuted for the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

senior team in a 4–0 away loss at Centenario Stadium, being replaced by

Milovan Mirosevic Milovan ( sr-Cyrl, Милован) is a Slavic name derived from the passive adjective ''milovati'' ("caress"). It is recorded in Serbia since the Late Middle Ages. Variants include Milovanac and Milovanče. Given name * Milovan Bojić (born 1955), ...

in the 61st minute. Due to his good performances for Universidad de Chile, he was called up for the match against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

at PPL Park, in where he played well in a 1–1 draw. He started again the qualifiers against

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, both 2–0 away victories, where Díaz excelled.

2015 Copa América

Díaz started all six matches in the

, helping Chile win in a penalty shootout against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, to win their first major international honor. For his performances he was named in the Team of the tournament.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

;Universidad de Chile *

(4): 2009 Apertura, 2011 Apertura, 2011 Clausura, 2012 Apertura *

(1):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

;Basel *

(2):

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2013–14 *

: Runner-up

, 2013–14 ;Racing Club * Superliga Argentina (1): 2018–19Racing se consagró campeón de la Superliga
/ref> * Trofeo de Campeones (1):

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Racing, campeón: superó por 2 a 0 a Tigre y se quedó con el Trofeo de Campeones
/ref> ;Libertad * Paraguayan Primera División (1): 2022 Apertura

International

;Chile *

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

(2):

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 ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

: Runner-up

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

* (1):

Individual

* Primera División de Chile Team of the Season :

* Copa América Team of the Tournament:

References

External links

*
Marcelo Díaz
at Football-Lineups * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Marcelo 1986 births Living people Footballers from Santiago Chilean men's footballers Chilean expatriate men's footballers Chile men's international footballers Chile men's under-20 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Chilean Primera División players Swiss Super League players Bundesliga players La Liga players Liga MX players Argentine Primera División players Paraguayan Primera División players Club Universidad de Chile footballers Copa Sudamericana-winning players Deportes La Serena footballers FC Basel players Hamburger SV players RC Celta de Vigo players Club Universidad Nacional footballers Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Club Libertad footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Paraguay Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Germany Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Spain Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players Copa América-winning players