Emiliano Ramón Díaz (born 22 June 1982) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and former player who played mainly as a

right midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Born in Italy, Díaz holds Argentine citizenship. He is the son of

Ramón Díaz Ramón Ángel Díaz (; born 29 August 1959) is an Argentine Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Díaz notably played for Club Atlético River Plate, River Plate as a Forward (association fo ...

, with whom he worked as an assistant in more than 10 teams.

Playing career

Born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

when his father was representing

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

, Díaz played for the youth sides of

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

and Yokohama F. Marinos, and later also featured in two

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

for

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

, but never made an official appearance for the side. He then played for River Plate, making his first team – and Primera División – debut on 19 May 2002, coming on as a substitute for

Eduardo Coudet Eduardo Germán Coudet (born 12 September 1974), nicknamed El Chacho, is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. He is the current head coach of La Liga club Alavés. Coudet played mainly as a right midfielder, representin ...

in a 3–2 away win over

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

, in a match which landmarked his father's departure from the club. In 2003, after failing to play any further matches for River, Díaz joined

Talleres de Córdoba Club Atlético Talleres (; ), mostly known simply as Talleres ( in Rioplatense Spanish, Rioplatense accent and or in Cordobés Spanish, Cordobés accent; ), is an Football in Argentina, Argentine professional sports club based in the city of C ...

, where he also did not appear. In 2004, he moved to Uruguayan side

Deportivo Colonia Club Deportivo Colonia, usually known simply as Deportivo Colonia or Depor Colonia, is an Uruguayan football club based in Colonia. Stadium Their home field is Estadio Miguel Campomar, in Juan Lacaze. History They played in the Uruguayan S ...

, but soon reunited with his father after being signed up by

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

side

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

in January 2005. Sometimes referred as "one of Oxford's worst ever players", Díaz played seven times for the club before departing when his father left on 4 May 2005. He later returned to his home country, playing rarely for

Defensores de Belgrano Club Atlético Defensores de Belgrano (usually known as Defensores de Belgrano) is an Argentina, Argentine sports club from Nuñez, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in Primer ...

and

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...

sides

Defensa y Justicia Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935.

and Platense. In August 2007, Díaz and his brother were presented at

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...

, months after his father's arrival at the club. After managing to feature in 10 matches, he moved to Mexico with Indios de Chihuahua, the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

Indios de Ciudad Juárez Club de Fútbol Indios de Ciudad Juárez, commonly referred as Indios de Ciudad Juárez or simply Indios, was a Mexican football club. Founded in 2005 when CF Pachuca moved its Pachuca Juniors to Ciudad Juárez, it was promoted to the Primera Di ...

, on 26 June 2008. On 21 August 2009, Díaz was announced as an addition of

All Boys Club Atlético All Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Floresta, Buenos Aires. The institution is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Arge ...

. He retired in 2011, aged 29, after a short spell at

Huracán de Tres Arroyos Club Atlético Huracán (usually Huracán de Tres Arroyos) is an Argentine football club based in the city of Tres Arroyos, in Buenos Aires Province. The club is the biggest of Tres Arroyos City, and one of the largest in Southern Buenos Aires ...

, and would later state that he "was not up" to clubs like River and San Lorenzo during his playing career.

Coaching career

Shortly after retiring, Díaz joined his father's staff at Independiente, as his assistant. He continued to work in the same role at River Plate, the Paraguay national team, Al-Hilal,

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

Pyramids A pyramid () is a Nonbuilding structure, structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a Pyramid (geometry), pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid ca ...

, Libertad and

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

; in the latter, he was an interim head coach during his father's entire spell, as he was recovering from a surgery. The duo departed the club on 27 November, with Emiliano coaching the side on three losses in as many matches. Díaz would continue to work as an assistant of his father at Al Nasr and back at Al-Hilal, but remained at the latter after his father's resignation on 15 May 2023, being named interim manager. Late in that month, he also departed the side to return to Argentina. Díaz then followed his father to Brazil, where he worked as an assistant at

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

and

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

. After his departure from the latter, he stated a desire to take on a solo managerial career.

Personal life

Díaz's father

Ramón Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Br ...

and younger brother

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

were also footballers. His father played 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) ** Smal ...

and later went on to become a manager (with Emiliano working as his assistant), while his brother was a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

but never played at professional level.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

;Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Emiliano Living people Footballers from Naples Italian sportspeople of Argentine descent Argentine men's footballers Argentine Primera División players 1983 births Men's association football midfielders Botafogo FR managers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate football managers in Brazil All Boys footballers San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Oxford United F.C. players US Avellino 1912 players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Talleres de Córdoba footballers Club Atlético Platense footballers Defensa y Justicia footballers Deportivo Colonia players English Football League players 21st-century Argentine sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in England