“I always try to get better each year, to improve on what I did the previous one, and the goals and assists come on their own.” Diaz is more clinical under head coach Arne Slot and he is adding an end product to his play.
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Approaching three years at Anfield, Diaz is determined to improve every year. Although some Liverpool fans believe he should have more than the 29 goals he has netted since his £37.5 million transfer from Porto in January 2022, Diaz’s passion for the game is undeniable. He credits his enthusiasm for football to his childhood in Barrancas, Colombia.
Reflecting on his early love for the game, Diaz, 27, recalled, he even carried on playing as a kid when he kicked the ball and lost a toenail. “The toenail story, yes,” he said. “It was great. When we were playing on a pitch in front of my grandmother’s house, all we cared about was playing football and having a good time.”
“It used to be a dirt pitch, with stones, poor quality, but we were happy and we would play there. That’s where the story about my toenail comes in. There were too many stones and the ground was too dirty. I hit the ball wrong and my toenail came off.
“I said, ‘I don’t mind, I want to keep playing’. I wanted to keep playing, that’s all I wanted to do. I don’t know, I really didn’t care much about anything else. I put a plaster on and carried on playing.”
Diaz says that growing up in Barrancas, northern Colombia, fueled his ambition to succeed, as everyone there was driven to improve their lives. “La Guajira is the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he told UEFA.com.
“Barrancas is a place I’m proud of, knowing that I was born there, knowing that I came from there. The fact that my roots are in Barrancas has always been something that I’ve been proud of.
“Most people there know each other, they get along very well. They’re determined people, they also strive to better themselves. No matter how few opportunities they get and how little they have, they’re always trying to live life with a smile on their faces, trying to forge the best path forward for themselves, trying to be happy with what they have.
“They’re always cheerful, they’re always trying to forge the best path forward for themselves.”
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