Liverpool have a plethora of attacking riches at the moment, with Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz all exceptional players in their own right.
The latter of that quintet, though, had to be forced by team-mates early in his career to actually display that talent, with Luis Diaz scared to make mistakes. He showed glimpses of the ability he had while playing for Porto, prior to his move to Liverpool, but not regularly enough.
Portugal international Danilo Pereira played with Diaz at Porto, and highlights how the Colombian could skip past opponents with relative ease.
Liverpool star Luis Diaz had to learn to be confident
“What always struck me most about Luis was his dribbling, his ability to change direction, his ball control and technique,” Danilo tells FourFourTwo. “He dribbles like no one else – that’s his greatest quality. Players who are very fast often mess up when they’re dribbling at high speed. He doesn’t – the speed with which he executes his moves is far above average.”
Diaz’s Champions League debut came at Manchester City in October 2020. Just 14 minutes in, the winger picked up the ball on the left, dribbled across the pitch then fired an angled shot past Ederson for a trademark solo goal.
He helped Porto to reach the Champions League quarter-finals that season – after scoring six league goals in his first two campaigns with the club, though, the feeling endured that he was capable of more.
“He was a bit afraid to shoot, always wanting to pass,” Danilo adds. “I told him, ‘Look, you’re a player who has to decide games – you have to take risks, mate. You can’t always play simple, afraid of making mistakes’.
“He said, ‘I’m scared, I don’t know what people will say if I shoot’. I told him, ‘Well, if you shoot and it’s a goal, what are they going to say? They’ll all celebrate with you!’ After that, he started shooting more. Because he dribbles very quickly, that opens up space for shots. It was something he improved a lot as he gained confidence. I think he already had the ability – he didn’t use it because he was afraid.”
Diaz took charge of games even when things weren't going his way
There were occasions when he did show what he was capable of, however, with his settling in Portugal over time eventually helping him to become a key figure in the Porto dressing room.
“One of his first games was against Benfica – I remember thinking, ‘This guy doesn’t realise who he’s playing against, how important this game is’,” the then-club captain Danilo tells FFT. “Against our rivals, he showed a lot of confidence, trying his tricks. You could see the quality he had, and his potential to improve.”
Porto won 2-0 at the Estadio da Luz.
“It didn’t take him long to integrate into the team, he quickly felt at ease and showed his personality. I remember moments when everyone was serious in the dressing room, he’d suddenly crack a joke and everyone would laugh. I don’t think I ever saw him upset about anything, he took it all in his stride. Sometimes he’d start dancing in the middle of the changing room without anyone expecting it – he’d turn on the music and just start on his own. Everyone liked him.
“He always trained very well,” Danilo explains. “His humility propelled him to greater heights. He’s a team player who tries to help everyone. Special players aren’t special because of how they play, but because of their character and how they drive the team forward, especially when things aren’t going well. With Luis, when things are going badly, he asks for the ball, takes charge of the game and tries to sort it out.”
