Iván Díaz Ruiz (born 10 July 1978) is a Spanish former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
Club career
Born in
Sabadell,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...
, Díaz was a
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Found ...
youth graduate. He made his senior debut with
CE Sabadell FC
Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football team based in Sabadell, a city in the province of Barcelona in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1903, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 2, holdin ...
on 21 May 1995, coming on as a
substitute in a 2–0
Segunda División B away loss against
Benidorm CF
Benidorm Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Benidorm, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1964 and dissolved in 2011 it held home matches at ''Estadio Municipal Guillermo Amor'', which had a capacity of 6,000. ...
at the age of 16 years and 10 months.
Bought by
RCD Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...
in 1998 for 15 million
pesetas, Díaz was initially assigned to
the reserves also in the third tier. Promoted to the main squad the following year, he made his professional debut on 17 July 1999 when he started the 0–2 home defeat to
Montpellier HSC
Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC or simply Montpellier, is a French professional football club based in the city of Montpellier in Occitanie. The original club was founded in 1919, while the current ...
for
that year's
UEFA Intertoto Cup.
Díaz made his
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
debut on 22 April 2000, starting in a 1–0 loss at
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system.
The club c ...
. In the summer of 2002 he moved to
Albacete Balompié
Albacete Balompié is a Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 2 August 1940, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish football, holding home matches ...
of
Segunda División (initially on loan, later permanently), achieving promotion at
the first attempt; he scored his first professional goal in the meantime, the winner in a 2–1 home win over
UD Las Palmas
Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded on 22 August 1949, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at t ...
.
Díaz left ''Alba'' in 2005 after
suffering relegation, and subsequently resumed his career in the lower leagues, representing Sabadell,
UE Figueres
Unió Esportiva Figueres is a Spanish football team based in Figueres, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1919 and refounded in 2007 it plays in the Primera Catalana league, holding home matches at ''Estadi Municipal de Vilateni ...
,
UD Logroñés
Unión Deportiva Logroñés, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Logroño, in the autonomous community of La Rioja. Founded in 2009, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home matches at ''Estadio Las Gaunas ...
,
CF Atlético Ciudad, Espanyol B,
Terrassa FC
Terrassa Futbol Club is a Spanish football team based in Terrassa, Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1906 it currently plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 3, holding home matches at ''Estadi Olímpic de Terras ...
,
Sangonera Atlético CF
Sangonera Atlético Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Sangonera la Verde (a neighborhood of Murcia), in the Region of Murcia. Founded in 1996, it was dissolved in 2010, and held home matches at ''Estadio El Mayayo'', with a ca ...
,
CD Leganés (two stints),
CE Premià,
FC Santboià
Futbol Club Santboià is a Spanish football team based in Sant Boi de Llobregat, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1908 it plays in Tercera División – Group 5, holding home matches at ''Estadi Municipal Joan Baptista Milà ...
,
Palamós CF
Palamós Club de Futbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Palamós, a town and commercial port in the ''Costa Brava'', in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in the late 19th century, it currently plays in '' Tercera Divisió ...
, CD Alcanar and Ripoll CF. He also had international stints at
Halmstads BK
Halmstads Bollklubb, also known simply as Halmstad () or (especially locally) HBK or Bollklubben, is a Swedish football club located in Halmstad in the county of Halland. The club, formed 7 February 1914 and approved membership in the Swedish ...
and
Auckland City FC
Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League. Auckland City have established themselves as a major force in bo ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Ivan
1978 births
Living people
Footballers from Sabadell
Spanish men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
La Liga players
Segunda División players
Segunda División B players
Tercera División players
Divisiones Regionales de Fútbol players
CE Sabadell FC footballers
RCD Espanyol B footballers
RCD Espanyol footballers
Albacete Balompié players
UE Figueres footballers
UD Logroñés players
CF Atlético Ciudad players
Terrassa FC footballers
CD Leganés players
CE Premià players
FC Santboià players
Palamós CF footballers
Allsvenskan players
Halmstads BK players
New Zealand Football Championship players
Auckland City FC players
Spanish expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden
Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand