Last January, Liverpool announced the signing of a special footballer. The chosen one was Luis Díaz and it was not a whim of Klopp. The ‘reds’ wanted a striker with immediate performance. And when they tried to adjust the profile, the results of the Big Data pointed to the Colombian.
The numbers made it clear: Porto’s game dynamics were very similar to Liverpool’s and the parameters of Luis Díaz pointed to a natural fit for Liverpool. Only he had to transfer the same automatisms to Liverpool.
The only doubt was in what the numbers do not say: his head. The pressure of playing for Liverpool. That was Klopp’s only doubt, which was soon cleared up.
“You cannot expect miracles from players who arrive in these circumstances. [el mercado de invierno]”, he began by saying to ‘Sky Sports”. “But it’s not far from being able to do exactly this. I hope he is here for a long time.”
Liverpool incorporated a striker prepared for Klopp’s ‘heavy metal’. Few players like him to play against. His fast-paced play and his breakaway runs made him a promising signing. The numbers, and key performances like against Villarreal in the Champions League, show the success of signing him.
The Colombian started the Champions League with Porto’s shirt and will finish it with Liverpool’s. With the ‘reds’ he has scored two goals in the European top in six games, the same as with Porto (two in the group stage). In the Premier, he has added four goals and three assists in 13 games.
Díaz has not taken long to win over the Liverpool fans. His goals have biography. The Colombian winger, indigenous Guajiro, was discovered in 2015 by Valderrama when they made the selection of players to play the Copa América de Pueblos Indígenas that was played in Chile.
Díaz scored two goals directed by Valderrama, although they lost in the final by the minimum against Paraguay. That tournament earned him to play in the subsidiary of Junior de Barranquilla. Three years later Porto would take him for seven million euros. In January, Liverpool paid 45 for a striker who has adapted in record time.