Luis Diaz Looks To Climb Pantheon Of Premier League Colombian Footballers
The attacker is close to passing several compatriots’ goal tallies in Premier League play
Luis Diaz is in the midst of his best season with Liverpool, showing a more consistent finishing touch while being played closest to goal in most of his appearances. Lucho has scored nine times in the Premier League this season bringing his league total to 25. Diaz is looking to climb the pantheon of Colombian footballers who have played in the Premier League. He is currently fourth among his compatriots in goals scored behind Hugo Rodallega (29), Hamilton Ricard (31), and Juan Pablo Angel (44). For Diaz, surpassing his countrymen is a goal in the back of his mind.
”Now and again, I find out about the stats when people post them on social media. But how nice it is to be getting close to such great fellow Colombian players like Hugo and all the others. It’s a real pleasure for me to be right there close behind them and I realize that maybe I will catch them at some point.”
“You could say that it’s another one of those personal targets that I have. I know that things are going well for me and I’m in decent form. What I want the most is to keep making history and, first and foremost, that Colombians who come over to England to play really leave their mark. That’s key for us all now – to give a positive image of our country, just like they all did.”
“Now those of us here are trying to do just that. I’m very happy with that and we hope to continue doing the same things in future.”
It is conceivable for Diaz to surpass the three Colombian strikers ahead of him on the list, especially on his current form. He contributes part of his uptick in goals to manager Arne Slot, who has found new and different ways to get the best out of his players, even with all the competition for places.
“Our coach has settled in really well at the club. He’s known just exactly how to manage the group and every single player that he has in the squad because it cannot be easy for any coach when he has two or three excellent alternatives for each position on the field to make decisions on who to play and who to leave out.”
“It’s not an easy task but he’s been up to it and he’s also given confidence to every single player in his squad. He’s put into practice some very important things for us tactically. He is very good in that respect and he also will tell you and put you right when he feels the need to. So, that’s pretty much how it is. He’s managing the group really well.”
While Diaz has the long-term personal goal to be the leading Colombian goal scorer in Premier League history, he and the squad have their sights firmly focused on finishing the season with hardware, especially the Premier League.
“We all know already just how hard it is to win the Premier League title. I think it’s very obvious that it gets harder every year too. Even though [Manchester] City have won it a few times, it is still very difficult to manage to win it.”
“But we’re working and training very nicely, we’re creating a great squad of players, a big family if you like, and it’s a very humble group which wants to move forward and look to the future. It’s a squad that is looking to get results and to keep going game by game on the way to hopefully achieving big things for this club. That’s the key here.”
“As I say, it’s all about keeping working in the same way and staying focused and remaining grounded because there is still ages to go yet. We need to rest up between games too as that is going to be super-important for us.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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