InterviewLuis Diaz: The progress I've made at Liverpool is incredible
Luis Diaz is loving life at Liverpool and feels he has developed hugely since joining the Reds.
The Colombia forward has established himself as a key member of Jürgen Klopp’s squad, having arrived from FC Porto in January 2022.
His first few months at Anfield saw him energise the team’s bid for a quadruple and, after missing several months of last season due to injury, Diaz passed the 50-appearance mark for the club in the early weeks of the current campaign.
And the 26-year-old, who took Liverpool’s famous No.7 shirt over the summer, is eager to add to the Emirates FA Cup and Carabao Cup winner’s medals he collected in 2021-22.
“The process and progression that I’ve been going through up to the present time is just incredible,” Diaz told Liverpool FC’s official eMagazine.
“I’ve really learned a huge amount of things and I’m feeling that more and more all the time, not just in terms of my football but in my decision-making generally. Personally, I also feel in a really good place.
“As for the future, I can see myself winning lots of trophies with this great club, starting with trying to win everything that is up for grabs this season. And doing exactly what I know best, which is playing football, scoring goals, making assists.
“And feeling good on the pitch, feeling happy and enjoying it all, which is the main thing. I think I’ll carry on in the same way, with that same mentality of not getting carried away and keeping my feet on the ground, in the knowledge that the hard work I put in each day will keep improving me.
“I will always try to be someone who is always there to help, not just for my teammates but for everyone in general.”
After a below-par 2022-23, Liverpool have begun this season in impressive fashion, with their sole defeat arriving at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
Diaz continued: “Our aims and objectives that are planned out this season are to try to win every competition that we enter. We want to put everything right from the season we’ve just had.
“We had a great pre-season and had been preparing really well. So we have to set out to win everything we can this season because last year wasn’t so good by our standards. So as I say, it’s all about trying to win all the competitions on offer.
“We want to try to win everything that is available to us during the season. Here's hoping we can manage to win all the silverware that is up for grabs so we can make it a great season which makes everyone happy.”
It was a summer of evolution within Klopp’s squad, with midfield quartet Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch arriving.
Diaz explained: “Things have changed a lot and building up an understanding with our new midfield line-up also takes time as things begin to gel. But in the training sessions both during pre-season and now on a daily basis I think those players have been developing a great understanding.
“That’s why I think that Klopp has shown confidence in them. I think it will be a case of the players who are available and in the best form are going to feature. You can tell out on the pitch that we have some very good players, who are all good teammates, and everybody gets on well so that’s a good thing to be able to say.
“So like I said, I think this year is going to be a much better one for us.”
Mac Allister’s arrival bolstered the South American contingent in the Reds’ dressing room and Diaz said: “We love to all get together and just be there chatting away all the time. We like to have our jokes and fun, and yes, it’s great that more and more South Americans are coming to the club.
“I get on well with all the new players, but of course the same language is always an advantage, an incredible advantage really. We all get on really well and so that makes you feel very comfortable and very stable and settled where you are and very happy at the same time.
“Everybody who comes to the club arrives here in that same mindset, wanting to contribute to the team, which is full of great players. We know all about the vast quantity of players that we have in the game in South America, who are all great, great players, and so just being able to join such a massive club as this one is simply divine.”