Luis Díaz (Colombian footballer)


Luis Fernando Díaz Marulanda is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Portuguese club Porto. He began his career with Atlético Junior, making 108 appearances and scoring 21 goals. In 2019, he signed for Porto for €7 million.
Díaz made his senior international debut for Colombia in 2018, and was part of their squad at the 2019 Copa América.

Club career

Atlético Junior

Díaz was born in Barrancas, La Guajira, and was included in Colombia's 22-man squad for the 2015 Copa Americana de Pueblos Indígenas, due to his Wayuu ethnicity. After impressing during the tournament, he joined Atlético Junior in 2016 after a trial period, being immediately assigned to farm team Barranquilla FC.
Díaz made his senior debut on 26 April 2016, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 Categoría Primera B home loss against Deportivo Pereira. His first senior goal came on 14 May, as he scored the winner in a 2–1 home defeat of Cúcuta Deportivo.
On 6 June 2017, after already making his first team debut in the year's Copa Colombia, Díaz was definitely promoted to Junior's main squad. He made his Categoría Primera A debut on 27 August, replacing Matías Mier in a 3–2 loss at Once Caldas, and scored his first goal on 20 September in a 3–1 Copa Sudamericana home win against Cerro Porteño.
Díaz became a regular starter during the 2018 season, and scored his first goal in the top tier on 4 February of that year, by netting the game's only in a home success over Atlético Bucaramanga. He also added braces against Once Caldas, Atlético Huila and Rionegro Águilas, ending the campaign with 16 goals overall.

Porto

On 10 July 2019, Díaz signed for FC Porto of Portugal, on a five-year contract, with the club buying 80% of his economic rights for a fee of €7 million. FC Zenit Saint Petersburg had also wanted to sign him, but he was convinced by compatriot former Porto players Radamel Falcao and James Rodríguez, as well as his national coach Carlos Queiroz, a Portuguese.
Díaz made his debut on 7 August in a 1–0 win at FC Krasnodar in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round first leg as a 55th-minute substitute for Romário Baró, and six days later in the return game he scored his first goal, albeit in a 3–2 loss at the Estádio do Dragão. Domestically, he made his Primeira Liga debut on 10 August in a 2–1 loss at Gil Vicente F.C. as a substitute, and a week later scored for the first to wrap up a 4–0 home win against Vitória F.C. as a starter.

International career

After representing Colombia at under-20 level in the 2017 South American U-20 Championship, Díaz was called up to the full squad on 27 August 2018, for friendlies against Venezuela and Argentina. He made his full international debut on 11 September, replacing Juan Cuadrado in a 0–0 draw against the latter at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Díaz scored his first international goal on 26 March 2019, equalising in a 2–1 friendly loss away to South Korea. He was part of Carlos Queiroz' 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.26 March 2019Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea1–11–2Friendly

Honours

Junior
Porto