Fabricio Diaz – Liverpool Montevideo’s prodigious midfielder
If Fabricio Diaz walks down his neighbourhood in La Paz, neighbours will regale him with tales of him riding on the back of a motorcycle to training as he played with the youth categories of the local side, La Paz Wanderers, which is run by his father. A neighbour also once drove him to training as he and his side won three titles with the La Paz Wanderers youth side. He would join Liverpool Montevideo as a 13-year-old, making his debut against Nacional in the final of the Uruguayan Super Cup, just days before his 17th birthday. Almost a year later, he has won a regular starting place with the side while being a figurehead with the Uruguayan U20 side.
His father who still lives in La Paz, works in construction as he encourages his teenage son to be headstrong while reminding him to be aware of criticism and doubt as his fledgling career progresses. His parents are separated as his mother lives in Las Piedras but in pre COVID-19 times, his family would all come together to watch their young child play as Diaz is quickly establishing himself as one of the most prodigious young talents in Uruguay. Diaz at 17, a few weeks from his 18th birthday, aspires to continue progressing with Liverpool before eventually moving to Europe to make enough money to take care of his family by buying a new house for them.
A few days before the Uruguayan Super Cup against Nacional, Diaz did not believe that he would get the opportunity to play despite training with the first team as he believed that being 16 would force his Head Coach to turn to a more experienced option. In the Friday before the game, the Head Coach would announce the team with Diaz starting as he sought the advice of his roommate and fellow midfielder, Hernan Figueredo in dealing with the excitement and pressure of starting. Figueredo is almost 30 years older than Diaz as the 35-year-old has acted as a mentor both on and off the pitch to some of the younger players while adding creativity to the side.
Diaz would start the game, making an instant impact in midfield and showing his talent before moving further up the pitch. As regulation time winded down and Liverpool were preparing for extra-time with the scores tied, Diaz would go down with a cramp and face the dilemma of succumbing to the pain with his side having utilized all of their substitutes or continuing to play through the pain. With some spirited cajoling from his Head Coach and his own heart, Diaz would continue to play as he even scored in the second-half of added time to make the score 4-2 as Liverpool wrapped up a Uruguayan Super Cup triumph.
Diaz is a press-resistant midfielder who can play as a box-to-box midfielder or in a deeper-lying role as he loves to work passes and dribbles to evade pressure. In the first phase of the current season, he once executed an exhilarating press resistant manoeuvre where he received possession in the six-space, but the ball was behind him with a marker approaching for the 17-year-old to guide the ball into his grasp by digging the ball out of the ground with an elegant flick to skip past his marker and drive the ball forward. Such confidence is not foreign from his game as he plays with the mental fortitude and confidence of a player much older under the guise of youthful exuberance.
At home to Cerro Largo in the Uruguayan Primera Division, Diaz came off the bench with his side 2-1 down as he received possession after a turnover for Diaz to lob a pass in behind for Ignacio Ramirez to go in behind and have a 1v1 with the keeper for the striker to shoot wide of the goal. The 17-year-old would then receive possession from a free-kick on the right flank to drive the ball forward as he rolled the ball onto his stronger right foot before rolling a pass to an attacker in the box. He then moved to the edge of the box to receive possession and play a one-touch pass for Agustin Ocampo to receive the ball in the box and have a shot blocked for the ball to bobble around for a teammate to receive possession and finish to level the score in the dying minutes of the game.
Later that month, in an away match against Peruvian side, Sport Huancayo in the Copa Sudamericana, the youngster was undeterred by playing on a larger stage. The 17-year-old seemed to thrive at a higher level as he put his foot into challenges and received possession in between the lines as he played a fantastic cross for Ramirez to head wide. 19-year-old fellow youth product, Martin Fernandez was positioned in the six-space as the two would share the role with the youngster moving into the six-space to cover for Fernandez to make crucial challenges while progressing play from deep with one or two touch passes. By half-time, the teenager had made 2 tackles as well as 3 chances created from a deeper-lying midfield role.
He started the second-half by making an interception and driving the ball into the opposition half before receiving a pass from Fernandez in between the lines as he attempted a through ball but put too much power on it. Diaz would also need to improve in his sense of knowing when to drive the ball or release the ball when he received possession in between the lines. However, the 17-year-old would bag an assist in the game when he lobbed a pass in behind for Ramirez who held off his marker to apply the finish. The teenager created the most chances for his team, did well defensively and sometimes drove the side forward on his own. The youngster led his team despite his age as in the latter stages of the game, he received possession, swivelled past a marker to play a lovely pass for Agustin Ocampo in behind as the attacker was tackled for a corner.
In the second leg at home to Sport Huancayo, Fabricio Diaz received a pass in between the lines to work a pass to Figueredo to lob a wonderful pass for Federico Pereira to cross for Ramirez to hammer over. The 17-year-old showed his ability to receive the ball in between the lines as he also managed to earn fouls due to his directional first touch. At one point, he weaved past two players before working a pass to Figueredo as the 35-year-old would return the favour by working a pass to him in the box for Diaz to drive to the by-line and cut-back a delivery across goal for nobody to get a touch. The youngster would also tee up a shot for his mentor as he thrived in threading passes to him in between the lines.
The teenager’s first touch was exemplary as he once set himself up to play a forward pass with the outside of his boot while he also had the ability to turn out of pressure to earn a foul or play a one-touch back-pass. He was constantly alternating with Fernandez in the six-space, but the 17-year-old was exuding more control as he took down a clearance to execute a 360-degree spin before switching a pass into the wide areas for Ocampo to be fouled. Diaz normally plays as a box-to-box midfielder who would drop into the six-space if Fernandez pushes forward but, in the Clausura, Liverpool have used him as a defensive midfielder.
Away to Plaza Colonia, he had one of his worst starts to a game in the defensive midfielder position as he lost possession with wayward passes, but he still showed a brilliant directional first touch to beat one marker. His sense of moving into space to receive possession when the ball progressed from the centre-backs to the fullbacks was poor as he did not create good angles for the centre-backs to play the ball to him. In the middle of the first half, he began to settle, receiving a pass from the right-back to play one-touch pass into the next line on the half-turn before receiving possession to work an accurate switch to the left flank. He then threaded two passes in between the lines for Figueredo as the 35-year-old playmaker touched a pass out wide as the 17-year-old loves to play passes on the half-turn.
Defensively, he also dropped in between the centre-backs to intercept a cut-back. His long-range passing is particularly impressive for a player his age as hit an exceptionally lobbed pass for a teammate to beat his marker and have a cross blocked as he hit another lovely switch pass before. His long-range passes are impeccably precise and well weighted as the ball just lands perfectly at the feet of a teammate for the player to simply cushion the delivery. Fabricio Diaz self-corrected himself and was more anticipatory about his movements into space to receive possession as he managed the spaces and angles better. In one instance, he moved out wide before the left-back worked a pass to a midfielder in a higher vertical line, so Diaz was in the perfect position to receive a lay-off and switch the ball to the weak side on the half-turn.
He continued to lob accurate switch passes to the flank as he once received possession to flick the ball into the next line on the half-turn. He would be deployed as the deepest-lying midfielder again away to Deportivo Maldonado as he would start the game more comfortably than he did his last. Fabricio Diaz threaded another pass to a teammate in the ten space to flick-on as most of his touches were progressive passes while he dropped in between the centre-backs to intercept a cross. Diaz would receive possession and use an ankle-rolling piece of skill to beat one man and switch the ball. He then lobbed another switch to the right flank for a winger to have his cross blocked before he was moved into a more familiar box-to-box role. He would push higher to receive a lay-off from Ramirez to work a one-touch pass into the wide areas for a cross.
At 17, with his 18th birthday next week and exactly a year of first-team playing experience behind him, Diaz has developed into one of Uruguay’s most prodigious talents. His ability to play as both a defensive midfielder and box-to-box midfielder is tremendous as he seems to feel more comfortable and liberated in the latter role. His first touch in between the lines, dribbling and progressive passing allow him to be an integral chance creating conduit. Meanwhile at the base of midfield, his long-range passing and ability to turn out pressure and distribute on the half-turn allows him to be press resistant as it will be interesting to see which position he specializes in as his career develops. Defensively, he is strong in the air and a tough tackler, especially in fifty fifty challenges as well as being able to drop in between the centre-backs to regain possession.
Diaz’ contract situation is still unknown given that he is still under 18 as his future will become clearer within the next few months as he is certainly a player who could follow the path trodden by Federico Valverde and Rodrigo Bentancur to a high-level European club while the middle-rung clubs on the continent could be a direct stepping stone for the teenager. Liverpool Montevideo are at the cutting edge of the Uruguayan youth movement with a high number of talented players coming through their academy as Diaz is just one of many impressing with the first team at the moment.
