Ramón Ángel Díaz (Spanish pronunciation:[raˈmonˈaŋxelˈdi.as]; born 29 August 1959) is an Argentinefootballmanager and former player. He is the current head coach of Brazilian clubInternacional.
Díaz notably played forRiver Plate as astriker, and coached the club on three occasions, winning eight titles. He is also known by the nickname ofEl Pelado ("Baldy").
Born inLa Rioja, Díaz was a youth product ofRiver Plate, being a spotlight under youth managerNorberto Yácono. He made his first team –Primera División – debut on 13 August 1978, starting in a 1–0 win overColón, as the club used an alternative lineup as the first team regulars were out on a trip to Europe.[1]
Díaz scored his first goal on 30 August 1978, in a 1–1 draw againstQuilmes. He went on to become a regular starter for the club, notably scoring 22 league goals in the1980 season.
In 1982, Díaz moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing for ItalianSerie A sideNapoli. Despite finishinghis first and only season at the club as the top scorer with eight goals overall, Napoli's campaign was disappointing as they finished in the 10th position, only two points away from relegation.
In 1983, Díaz joinedAvellino initially on loan, being a regular starter during his three-season spell and scoring 11 goals in the1985–86 campaign. In July 1986, he moved toFiorentina for a 10 billionlire fee.[2]
On 21 July 1988, Díaz agreed to a loan deal withInter Milan as a replacement toRabah Madjer, which had failed his medical.[3] Despite scoring 15 goals overall inthe season, being the club's second-best goalscorer (only behindAldo Serena), he was not purchased by Inter and subsequently replaced byJürgen Klinsmann.
Díaz was on theArgentina under-20 team that won the1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, alongsideDiego Maradona. Díaz and Maradona were the core of the attack-minded team, and together scored 14 of the team's 20 goals (70%). Díaz scored 8 goals, winning the Golden Boot for being the top scorer of the competition. Maradona scored 6 goals, winning the Best Player award.
Díaz then went on to play in the1982 FIFA World Cup and scored againstBrazil in Argentina's 3–1 defeat. It had been rumoured that he and Maradona were involved in a feud which prevented Díaz from playing for Argentina in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups. However, this was denied by Maradona in his autobiographyYo soy el Diego, claiming that he had told the then-Argentina manager,Carlos Bilardo, that he wanted Diaz in both the 1986 and 1990 World Cup squads.[4][5]
In 1995, Díaz was named manager of his first club River Plate, replacing sackedCarlos Babington; his intentions at the time were to play for the club before retiring, but president Alfredo Davicce invited him as manager instead. His first match in charge of the club occurred on 26 July, a 1–1Copa Libertadores draw againstVélez Sarsfield.[6]
Díaz notably won the1996 Libertadores and the1997 Supercopa Libertadores with River,[4] aside from four league titles in his first spell. He resigned from the club in February 2000, after a 2–1 friendly loss to rivalsBoca Juniors and after having altercations with the club's board.[7]
On 23 June 2001, Díaz agreed to return to River, replacing his successorAmérico Gallego.[8] He won another league title (the2002 Clausura Tournament), but was replaced byManuel Pellegrini on 20 May 2002, as the club opted to not renew his contract.[9]
On 9 December 2004, Díaz replacedGraham Rix as manager of EnglishLeague Two clubOxford United.[10] At the time, Díaz told the media: "I like English football and I wanted to get first-hand experience of it...I'd seen plenty of it on television... It's also very interesting to work at this level, because it's completely different from football at the top." It was also claimed that neither Díaz nor any of his five backroom staff were being paid by Oxford United for their services.[4]
On 4 May 2005, Díaz resigned from Oxford after "negotiations over a new contract broke down".[11]
On 24 December 2006, Díaz was appointed head coach ofSan Lorenzo for the upcoming season.[12] He helped the club lift the2007 Clausura Tournament title, the club's first title in six years.
Despite qualifying San Lorenzo to the2008 Copa Libertadores, Díaz's side were knocked out by championsLDU Quito in May, and he resigned from the club on 28 May.[13]
On 15 May 2008, Diaz was confirmed as the newClub América coach. Although the club did not reveal specific details about Diaz' contract,[14] he was reportedly offered 1.5 million dollars per year including performance-related bonuses which could have taken his total earnings to 6 million dollars.[15] Díaz failed to make Club América qualify toCopa Libertadores.
In the start of theClausura 2009 season, Díaz won againstSantos Laguna 2–1, drew againstToluca 2–2, and lost againstMorelia 1–0 andPachuca 3–1. After two consecutive league losses, and the club being in 12th position in the league table, he was dismissed on 10 February 2009.[16]
On 25 May 2010, it was made official by San Lorenzo president Savino that Díaz was appointed manager for the second time, after agreeing to a one-year contract.[17] After a mid-table campaign in the2010 Apertura, he resigned on 24 April 2011, stating that he wanted to "fight for the first positions".[18]
On 12 September 2011,Independiente hired Díaz to replaceAntonio Mohamed, who had resigned.[19] On 5 March 2012, he resigned from his position at the club, who had been struggling and found themselves at the very bottom of the table.[20]
On 30 November 2012, Díaz returned to River Plate for his third spell as manager.[21] He won the Torneo Final in 2014, and also won the Superfinal against former side San Lorenzo by 1–0.[22]
Díaz during a press conference as Paraguay manager, 2016
On 5 December 2014, Díaz became the manager of theParaguay national team. He said: "It's one of the biggest challenges of my career... There's a lot of work to do".[24] His first major competition was the2015 Copa América, with his first match being againstArgentina which they drew 2–2. Paraguay subsequently defeatedJamaica 1–0 and drew 1–1 againstUruguay, finishing second in their group.
Paraguay won the quarterfinal againstBrazil 1–1 (4–3 on penalties), but lost 6–1 to Argentina in the semifinals which let them go to the third group playoff which they lost 2–0 againstPeru which made Paraguay fourth in the Copa América. He was also in charge of the nation in theCopa América Centenario, where Paraguay were eliminated in the group stage, by drawing againstCosta Rica and losing toColombia 2–1 and theUS 1–0.
On 12 June 2016, following an unsuccessful run at Copa América Centenario, Díaz resigned as manager of Paraguay.[25]
Ramón's first match was againstAl-Fateh where Al-Hilal won 1–0. On 25 November, Rámon played his first important match againstAl-Ahli where they won 2–1. Ramón drew the Riyadh Derby againstAl-Nassr 1–1. Ramón won 4–2 against Al-Taawon. He won againstIttihad 3–1. Ramón Diaz drew 0–0 against Al-Ahli, but he won against Al-Shabab 2–1 to secure the title. Al-Hilal lifted the league against Al-Nassr in the Riyadh Derby after winning 5–1 in the league. Ramón Díaz renewed his contract for one more year for 1.5 million dollars.[27] Ramón made Al-Hilal first in theChampions League group stages after winning against Al-Rayyan 4–3.[28] Ramón made Al-Hilal qualify to the King's Cup final after beating Al-Taawon 3–4. Ramón Díaz won the King's Cup against Al-Ahli in final 3–2.[29] Rámon Díaz won the Champions League Round of 16 first leg againstEsteghlal Khuzestan 2–1. Díaz won the second leg 2–1 again [2–4 on AGG] making Al-Hilal go to the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League.[30]
On 4 June, Díaz signedMukhtar Fallatah to make him the first signing of the season.[31] On 19 June 2017, Ramòn Díaz madeOmar Kharbin a permanent signing after he was on loan, the fee 11 million dollars (44 million riyals) and signed a four-year contract with Al-Hilal. On 10 Jan, Díaz signedAli Al Bulaihi for free from Al-Fateh.[32] On 3 July, Al-Hilal signedMohamed Kanno and Hasan Kadish fromEttifaq.[33] On 10 August, Díaz won the first match of the season 2–1 against league debutantAl-Fayha.[34] On 15 August, Ramón Díaz won his second match of the season which was againstAl-Taawoun 4–3. On 21 August, Díaz made Al-Hilal draw againstAl Ain 0–0 in the2017 AFC Champions League quarter finals.[35]
On 11 September, Díaz made Al-Hilal qualify to the semi-final of the AFC Champions League after beating Al-Ain 3–0. After that, he signedGelmin Rivas to become his sixth registered foreigner player in the 2017–18 season.[36] On 16 September, Ramón Díaz won the third match of season againstOhod 1–0.[37] On 21 September, Al-Hilal drew against Al-Ittihad 1–1.[38] On 26 October, Diaz made Al-Hilal won the Riyadh Derby againstAl-Nassr.
On 18 November, Díaz and his team drew in the first leg of the final of theAFC Champions League againstUrawa Red Diamonds 1–1 in Riyadh. On 25 November, they lost the second 1–0 making them runners-up in the tournament.[39] On 1 December, he led his team to win against title challengersAl-Ahli 2–0. On 17 December, Díaz and his team lost their first match in the league againstAl-Fayha 2–1. After that, Diaz won againstOhod 4–1. On 20 January, Al-Hilal were knocked out of theKings Cup byAl-Qadisyah in the round of 16.[40] On 13 February, Al-Hilal drew their first match in their new stadium the King Saud University Stadium againstAl-Ain 0–0 in the Champions League. On 20 February, Al-Hilal lost 1–0 againstEsteghlal in Oman.
On 21 February 2018, Al-Hilal sacked Díaz due to unsatisfactory performances.[41]
On 17 December 2019, Díaz was announced as manager ofLibertad, returning to Paraguay after more than three years.[44] He resigned on 24 September 2020, after the club's poor run of form.[45]
On 8 November 2020, Díaz was named head coach ofSérie A sideBotafogo.[46] He subsequently returned to his home country to make an emergency surgery to remove a tumor,[47] and his absence was prolonged due to his clinical condition.
On 27 November 2020, Botafogo announced the departure of Díaz and his staff from the club.[48] He left the club without managing a single match for them, as the three matches played by them during the period (all losses) were managed by his assistant and sonEmiliano Díaz.
In February 2021, Díaz agreed to a contract withAl Nassr to last until the summer of 2022.[49][50] He left the club roughly one year later, after a poor league form.
In the2022 AFC Champions League final, his team lost 2–1 on aggregate against Urawa Red Diamonds for the second time after 2017.[54] After winning theKing Cup final againstAl-Wehda in May 2023, Díaz decided to step down from his post and return to his country, in order to be with his family following the death of his wife two months earlier in a car accident; meanwhile, his son Emiliano became the caretaker manager of the club for the rest of the season.[55]
On 15 July 2023, Díaz returned to Brazil after being announced as head coach ofVasco da Gama in the top tier.[56] He managed to narrowly avoid relegation with the club in the last round of the2023 Série A, and renewed his contract until 2025 on 15 December.[57]
On 27 April 2024, Díaz was sacked by Vasco after a 4–0 loss toCriciúma;[58] despite Brazilian media outlets stating that he resigned just after the match, both Díaz and his son stated that they were "sacked throughTwitter".
On 10 July 2024, Díaz was announced as head coach ofCorinthians on a contract until December 2025.[59] He led the side to the2025 Campeonato Paulista title over rivalsPalmeiras, lifting the 17th trophy of his managerial career and surpassingHelenio Herrera as the most successful Argentine coach in history.[60]
On 17 April 2025, however, Díaz was dismissed by the club after a 2–0 home loss toFluminense.[61]
^"Ramón Díaz é o novo técnico do Internacional" [Ramón Díaz is the new head coach of Internacional] (in Brazilian Portuguese). SC Internacional. 24 September 2025. Retrieved25 September 2025.
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