Luis Diaz
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Juan Quintero was the other player that should have established himself as a genuine star in the game.
Has a very good spell at Pescara (Serie A) until Porto snapped him up around 2013.
It was the logical move, surrounded by South Americans at a club that has a fantastic track record in developing players - but not sure what happened but it never worked out for him at Porto and he's back in South America.
An incredibly talented attacking midfielder - a faster & more dynamic version of James Rodriguez.
Yeah, I remember the hype around him at the time; also not sure why he never kicked on. Luis Muriel is another super-talent, but in his case I think the problem was mostly injuries.
Or Barca have finally paid the 42 million they owed us for Coutinho?
What !? Modo you're a real twat (passes on the baton to the next SCMer) ...
Well in Dave, I’d never be able to work that one out all by myself. #classjournolism
Edwards role in this maybe massively exaggerated. I would bet he has had minimal involvement in any dealings since we knew he was going. That’s what any sensible business would do. And I could add a load more shit to that list to give it more context about everything Edwards does isn’t gold.
If this is true Salah isn’t going.
He’s just being a WUM. But he’s right. He’s never the best to play for us. Any list that places him there is overrating him. He’s second behind the king.
Did someone ask me for a scouting report recently? Anyway, here are some of my thoughts on Diaz.
Overall, he is very much in the mould of what we think of as a "Klopp winger" or wing-forward; I can't think of many players, other than Mane himself, who fit that role on the LW better. He is very quick, technically excellent and gets in goal-scoring positions. He scores a variety of goals and from what I've seen, he is a calm and clean finisher. He enjoys the intensity of the game, tracks back and presses well. He exaggerates contact sometimes, as many players in Portugal do, but nothing too egregious - in other words he doesn't seem like a cunt.
Two things I've picked up recently from watching him in games as opposed to highlights, is that he is pretty good at holding up the ball and that his ability to time a pass is actually superb. When Porto are defending deep, he is usually their most advanced player, much like Salah is for us, and a lot of times has to fight to receive the pass under pressure and use his dribbling skills to protect the ball until reinforcements arrive. There was one moment, I think from a recent game against Benfica, where he did exactly that and slowed the game down, keeping 2 or 3 defenders at bay, waiting and waiting until the precise moment his teammate was about to run into space and found him with the laser-like pass. It's was just superb timing and execution and I can remember several moments like this. Highlight reels tend to emphasize goals and dribbling, but I think passing and awareness of teammates is his underrated strength and in terms of the ability to execute a pass he would be an improvement over Mane. That said, his crossing is nothing special and I don't think Klopp will rely on that part of his toolkit too much.
I'm not sure I can find a perfect example of a player to compare him to, but one name I thought of is Angel de Maria. Diaz seems to have better goal-scoring numbers than Di Maria so far and hopefully that trend will continue, but the similarity is that they are both technically superb players who are also selfless and very team-oriented. You can also perhaps make a comparison to his compatriot Juan Cuadrado in terms of energy and intensity on the wing, although I think Diaz has a lot more attacking nous.
Thinking about how Diaz would fit in this Liverpool team, left-wing seems like by far the most natural position. I already mentioned that Diaz kind of plays a Salah role for his current team, so if we were to imagine him in Mane's place in the front 3, I think he would have to shuttle back and forth a lot more than he does currently, to match Mane's defensive output – that would be something he would need to adjust to. Also, while he does make some outside-in runs playing for Porto, a lot of times he seems simply stationed on the LW and waiting until the ball finds him – in Klopp's system he will have to make a lot more and more varied runs without the ball; I am sure he will enjoy it, but he'll probably need time to build up stamina for that kind of intensity and work for 95 minutes. On the positive side, making more runs will mean that he will be found in space more often, whereas currently he is often surrounded by 2 defenders by the time he gets the ball on the wing, which can be frustrating if that's almost the only situation your teammates can get the ball to you.
I also think it's not completely beyond the realm of possibility to imagine Diaz playing an attacking CM role in Klopp's system – if Ox can do it, I don't see why Diaz couldn't and maybe his ability to thread through a final ball will get more use this way. I don't see him as CF or a RWF in Klopp's system, so I don't think he can be a direct Salah replacement. In summary, Diaz looks like a very natural fit to the way we play and while he will need to make a few adjustments for Klopp's system, all of these potential adjustments seem to dovetail perfectly with the natural tendencies of his game. The one possible concern I have is whether with his seemingly humble personality and upbringing he will be psychologically ready for the kind of iconic status and media attention that being a star player for Liverpool will surely bring. Sometimes that can make players go into their shell; hopefully he'll have enough grounded and low-key characters around to help him feel at home and show the full extent of his talent.
Overall, he is very much in the mould of what we think of as a "Klopp winger" or wing-forward; I can't think of many players, other than Mane himself, who fit that role on the LW better. He is very quick, technically excellent and gets in goal-scoring positions. He scores a variety of goals and from what I've seen, he is a calm and clean finisher. He enjoys the intensity of the game, tracks back and presses well. He exaggerates contact sometimes, as many players in Portugal do, but nothing too egregious - in other words he doesn't seem like a cunt.
Two things I've picked up recently from watching him in games as opposed to highlights, is that he is pretty good at holding up the ball and that his ability to time a pass is actually superb. When Porto are defending deep, he is usually their most advanced player, much like Salah is for us, and a lot of times has to fight to receive the pass under pressure and use his dribbling skills to protect the ball until reinforcements arrive. There was one moment, I think from a recent game against Benfica, where he did exactly that and slowed the game down, keeping 2 or 3 defenders at bay, waiting and waiting until the precise moment his teammate was about to run into space and found him with the laser-like pass. It's was just superb timing and execution and I can remember several moments like this. Highlight reels tend to emphasize goals and dribbling, but I think passing and awareness of teammates is his underrated strength and in terms of the ability to execute a pass he would be an improvement over Mane. That said, his crossing is nothing special and I don't think Klopp will rely on that part of his toolkit too much.
I'm not sure I can find a perfect example of a player to compare him to, but one name I thought of is Angel de Maria. Diaz seems to have better goal-scoring numbers than Di Maria so far and hopefully that trend will continue, but the similarity is that they are both technically superb players who are also selfless and very team-oriented. You can also perhaps make a comparison to his compatriot Juan Cuadrado in terms of energy and intensity on the wing, although I think Diaz has a lot more attacking nous.
Thinking about how Diaz would fit in this Liverpool team, left-wing seems like by far the most natural position. I already mentioned that Diaz kind of plays a Salah role for his current team, so if we were to imagine him in Mane's place in the front 3, I think he would have to shuttle back and forth a lot more than he does currently, to match Mane's defensive output – that would be something he would need to adjust to. Also, while he does make some outside-in runs playing for Porto, a lot of times he seems simply stationed on the LW and waiting until the ball finds him – in Klopp's system he will have to make a lot more and more varied runs without the ball; I am sure he will enjoy it, but he'll probably need time to build up stamina for that kind of intensity and work for 95 minutes. On the positive side, making more runs will mean that he will be found in space more often, whereas currently he is often surrounded by 2 defenders by the time he gets the ball on the wing, which can be frustrating if that's almost the only situation your teammates can get the ball to you.
I also think it's not completely beyond the realm of possibility to imagine Diaz playing an attacking CM role in Klopp's system – if Ox can do it, I don't see why Diaz couldn't and maybe his ability to thread through a final ball will get more use this way. I don't see him as CF or a RWF in Klopp's system, so I don't think he can be a direct Salah replacement. In summary, Diaz looks like a very natural fit to the way we play and while he will need to make a few adjustments for Klopp's system, all of these potential adjustments seem to dovetail perfectly with the natural tendencies of his game. The one possible concern I have is whether with his seemingly humble personality and upbringing he will be psychologically ready for the kind of iconic status and media attention that being a star player for Liverpool will surely bring. Sometimes that can make players go into their shell; hopefully he'll have enough grounded and low-key characters around to help him feel at home and show the full extent of his talent.
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You fucking idiot!
That's about 3 separate posts crushed into one.
We'll never reach 100 pages with that sort of sloppy approach.
Twat? That kind of crude and vulgar language is not befitting a classy establishment such as this. I'm calling language police!
I hated dreamy doing that!
Good post.
On the last point I would just add that he's already pretty hero worshipped at Porto, especially in the last year. I get that Liverpool is another level globally, but day to day I can't see it being *that* different to his life. Both Mane and Firmino grew up in poverty, from humble beginnings, arrived from a smaller clubs, and adapted pretty well, being able to shun the lime light pretty comfortably. The fact Salah goes out it his way to snatch it probably helps, too.
The club seem to do a decent job is finding surroundings and living environments where the players can live a pretty normal life outside of football.
Even John Merro said 10/10. When was that last time even a bluenose said it was a very good signing?!
RIP Dreamy.
Thank you for sharing this rurikbird, really interesting, I too thought around his psychological readiness, hopefully he will have help around that and be able to gel quickly with those that will help/guide him. I’m feeling excited ..
Classic whoosh 😉
And here's me thinking I'd toned it down !
*baton passed on again in case there was any doubt*
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So Rurik how do you see him being utilised. I mean he looks nailed on a Mane replacement (for the Summer) and backup now. However although I'm possibly one of Mane's strongest critics on here I wouldn't actually want to see him leave. That would be an awesome 5 forwards to carry us through a whole season as Mane can cover Mo. as and when required.
I think a front 4 of Mane, Jota, Diaz and Salah is probably more viable than the one with Firmino. I think Klopp will experiment with that as well as simply rotating the front 3 with Diaz on the left and Mane either on the bench or through the middle.
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