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 lea ...

who plays as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Chilean Primera División The Chilean Primera División () is a professional association football league in Chile and the highest level of the Chilean football league system. Founded in 1933, it is organized by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP). The l ...

side

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile () is a public research university in Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the co ...

. Díaz came through

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 competition, 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 be ...

and the 2011 Copa Sudamericana; the club's first international title. In 2012, he moved to Swiss side

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, where he won two consecutive league titles, before moving to

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

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 list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

as well as the 2015 Copa América, winning the latter while being named in the Team of the tournament. Díaz has earned the nickname of "South American

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

", 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 and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

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

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 located in the Talagante Province of the Metropolitan Region. It is part of the Greater Santiago conurbation and is one of its outermost communes. The commune is named in honor of Saint Alberto Hurtado, ...

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 footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

. 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 The ' () and ' () tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is ...

and the Clausura Tournament. After the one season, in the Apertura Tournament 2008, Díaz was a frequently starter in the squad of Arturo Salah, 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 Arturo Salah and the arrival of the Uruguayan coach Sergio Markarián, Díaz was used as 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 ...

, unlike Salah that used him as an

attacking 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. ...

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

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

. 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 Club Unión Española S.A.D.P. is a professional football club based in the Independencia neighborhood, commune of Santiago, Chile currently participating in the Primera División de Chile. History Foundation, Amateur Era and First seasons ...

in the playoffs final. The next season, now with the arrival of Gerardo Pelusso as the coach, Díaz was being used as

right 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 ...

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 at La Portada Stadium. In his third match for the club against Audax Italiano, 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, being named the man-of-the-match 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 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 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 to Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, 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

midfielder Manuel Iturra 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 2011 Copa Sudamericana caught the eye of national team's coach Claudio Borghi to play in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. On 19 October, Díaz played in the Copa Sudamericana's round of 16 match against

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

. 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 award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) 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 chose ...

award. The next game of his club against the rivals,

Colo-Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...

, 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, the

barra brava () is the name of organized supporters' groups of association football, football teams in Hispanic America that provides fanatical support to their clubs in stadiums and provoke violence against rival fans as well as against the police. Actio ...

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 (), nicknamed ''La Celeste'' ("The Sky Blue") and ''Los Charrúas'' ("The Charrúa, Charrúas"), have represented Uruguay in international men's Association football, football since their first international m ...

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

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

against

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 ...

, 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

with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

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 (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

side

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

for Díaz, but the same player rejected the deal, to play the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

, 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: * Brazil, a country * Brazilians, its people * Brazilian Portuguese, its dialect Brazilian may also refer to: * "The Brazilian", a 1986 instrumental music piece by Genesis * Brazilian Café, Baghdad, Iraq (1937) * Bra ...

, but finally with the return of Rojas 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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. 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

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

. On 10 March, he played a great match giving two notable assists in a 6–0 thrashing over Audax Italiano, then being called up by Borghi to the national team for play the Copa del Pacífico against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...

and

Tacna Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland f ...

. 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

, 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 Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

side

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

FC Basel

After winning the Apertura with

, 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. Díaz played his club debut on 17 July in the 2–0 away win against Flora Tallinn in the 1st Leg of the second qualifying round to the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League and he received good compliments. He played his domestic league debut for the club in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park four days later, on 21 July 2012, as Basel played a 2–2 draw with

Luzern Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

. Another three days later, on 24 July, Díaz scored his first goal for his new team during the return leg against Flora Tallinn. It was a direct free kick and it was the final goal in the team's 3–0 win. He scored his first league goal for them during the 2–1 away win in the

Stade Olympique de la Pontaise Stade Olympique de la Pontaise is a multi-purpose stadium in Lausanne, Switzerland. The stadium holds 15,700 people and was opened in 1954. The stadium is used primarily for football matches. It is currently the home ground of FC Stade Lausann ...

against Lausanne-Sport 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 2012–13 UEFA Champions League in the qualifying rounds. But were knocked out of the competition by

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

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 Are ...

group stage. Ending the group in second position, Basel continued in the knockout phase. Winning in the round of 32 against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Basel were matched against Zenit St. Petersburg in the

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

. 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 simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

in a thrilling quarter-final, 4–4 on aggregate then 4–1 on penalties, Basel advanced as far as the

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

, there being matched against the reigning

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

holders Chelsea. Chelsea won both games advancing 5–2 on aggregate, eventually winning the competition. At the start of their 2013–14 season, Díaz was a 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 referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

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 ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

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 examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

on 21 April 2014. Gastón Sauro 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 professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...

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 A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

reaching the

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

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

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, 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

. 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

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 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 association football, football competition. The season started on 22 August 2014 and the final matchday took place on 23 May 2015. FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich w ...

season, against

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...

. 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, 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 as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, 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), the club was fou ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 16 April 2017, in a 3–0 away win against

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol (), known simply as Granada or ''"Graná"'', is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that currently plays in Segunda ...

. On 17 August 2017, Díaz left Celta by mutual consent.

Pumas UNAM

On 17 August 2017, Díaz signed a contract with

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

side Pumas UNAM 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, who called up the player to play the

South American Youth Championship South American Youth Championships may refer to: * South American Youth Football Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as South American U-20 Championship (; ), branded as CONMEBOL Sub 20, is a South American foo ...

held in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. 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, 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, in place of Carlos Carmona, 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 western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

senior team in a 4–0 away loss at Centenario Stadium, being replaced by Milovan Mirosevic in the 61st minute. Due to his good performances for

, he was called up for the match against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

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

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

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

2015 Copa América

Díaz started all six matches in the 2015 Copa América, helping Chile win in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

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

Personal life

Still a player of Universidad de Chile, Díaz graduated as a

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

at (National Institute of Football, Sports and Physical Activity of Chile) in December 2024.

Career statistics

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

Honours

Universidad de Chile *

: 2009 Apertura, 2011 Apertura, 2011 Clausura, 2012 Apertura *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Basel *

: 2012–13, 2013–14 *

runner-up: 2012–13, 2013–14 Racing Club * Superliga Argentina: 2018–19Racing se consagró campeón de la Superliga
/ref> * Trofeo de Campeones:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Racing, campeón: superó por 2 a 0 a Tigre y se quedó con el Trofeo de Campeones
/ref> Libertad *

Paraguayan Primera División The División Profesional de la Paraguayan Football Association, Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (; "first division"), or due to sponsorship ...

: 2022 Apertura Chile *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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, CONMEBO ...

runner-up:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

*: Individual *

Primera División de Chile Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

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, Chile Chilean men's footballers 21st-century Chilean sportsmen 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