Until recently, he was still playing for his youth club, Universidad de Chile. But now Marcelo Diaz has announced the end of his career—at the age of 39 and with a string of impressive achievements under his belt. HSV certainly knows a thing or two about that.
At Universidad de Chile, Marcelo Diaz had once matured into a professional player and, at the same time, a serial champion and South American titleholder. His strong performances in defensive midfield had therefore caught the attention of European teams in 2012—leading to his first adventure in Switzerland with FC Basel.
In Basel, Diaz quickly established himself as the tactical linchpin of the team’s build-up play. With the Red-and-Blues, he dominated local soccer and celebrated consecutive Swiss league titles. In addition to his domestic successes, appearances on the European stage were among the highlights of his career during this phase.
In the spring of 2013, for example, he led FC Basel all the way to the semifinals of the Europa League—only to be eliminated there by the eventual champions, Chelsea FC (1–2 and 1–3). His coolly converted penalty kick in the dramatic quarterfinal thriller against Tottenham in front of a home crowd at St. Jakob Park remains unforgettable. The Chilean, who earned 62 caps for his national team, was also on the field for the subsequent Champions League upset at Stamford Bridge (2–1).
The 2014 World Cup—and the legendary Bundesliga relegation battle
Speaking of which: Diaz also represented his national team at the 2014 World Cup and was a regular starter until their dramatic quarterfinal exit against rival Brazil (2–3 in a penalty shootout, which included a converted penalty by Diaz himself).
In early 2015, Diaz finally moved on to the German Bundesliga to play for Hamburger SV. There, the technically gifted midfielder is remembered not so much for his 17 appearances in Germany’s top flight as for his legendary last-minute free-kick goal in the relegation playoff against Karlsruhe.
In that match, the then-Bundesliga veteran was on the brink of the club’s first-ever relegation when, just before the start of extra time, the Chilean curled a free kick—controversially awarded by referee Manuel Gräfe—into the left corner with textbook precision. This set the stage for the eventual rescue by substitute Nicolai Müller. Incidentally, veteran Rafael van der Vaart was originally slated to take the kick, but Diaz, the savior, put him off with the words, “Tomorrow, my friend.”
For Diaz, that evening at Wildpark marked the highlight of his time at HSV—a stint that would last only eleven months and feature just that one golden goal. “You’ll always have a place in our hearts,” former HSV boss Dietmar Beiersdorfer had added as the relegation-saver bid farewell.
Diaz went on to play in Spain’s La Liga for Celta Vigo (40 league games, one goal), as well as in Mexico, Argentina, and Paraguay. On the international stage, he also capped off his career with the Chilean national team by winning the Copa América two years in a row, in 2015 and 2016—each time as part of the starting lineup against Lionel Messi’s Argentina. Now, Diaz has come full circle at Universidad de Chile.