Luis Diaz has been enjoying time in his native Colombia during the post-season and that has included trips down memory lane, the latest taking him to the first club he represented, Barranquilla.
Diaz’s journey to the top is an incredible one, his story started in Colombia’s La Guajira region and now sees him light up Anfield for Liverpool.
At the age of 17, Diaz was not a member of a professional club but following his success in a trial for the Copa America of Indigenous People, Barranquilla FC was to be his new home.
The club was an affiliate of Atletico Junior, who he would later join, but it was Barranquilla who gave him his start and immediately put him on a dietary plan to gain 10 kilograms.
Diaz swiftly rose in prominence at Barranquilla and only three years after making his first appearance for the club, he would sign for FC Porto.
And now, in 2022, the 25-year-old is plying his trade for Liverpool and has quickly become an integral remember of Jurgen Klopp‘s attacking contingent.
But while he enjoys his summer break, he’s been making stops to all the places that have landed him where he is today, first with Atletico Junior and now at Barranquilla.
His old team were playing a friendly match earlier in the week and Diaz turned up to show his support, and it meant a lot to the club and ‘Lucho’ himself.
Barranquilla’s technical assistant, Cesar Poveda, spoke glowingly of Diaz’s visit and the humility he continues to display and has been at the heart of his success.
“For us, it will always be a pleasure, an honour, a pride, an enormous happiness to be able to share with ‘Lucho’ whenever possible, for all those beautiful moments that were lived with him, it was a very pleasant moment,” Poveda told Blu Radio.
“Lucho with that humility that he has always had has known how to separate himself from all that environment and I think that has been one of the keys to what he has been able to achieve.
“Yesterday he arrived and went to see a Barranquilla FC game, took photos with everyone, went down to the field, greeted the players one by one, talked with everyone and was one of the last to leave the field.
“He transmits that joy of that human being that he always was and that has always characterized him.”
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