- published: 30 Jun 2015
- views: 103998
Ramón Ángel Díaz (born 29 August 1959 in La Rioja), is a former Argentine football player. For most of his career, he played for, and later coached, Club Atlético River Plate. He is also known by the nickname of El Pelado ("Baldy").
Díaz won the World Youth Cup in 1979 with the Argentina Under-20 team alongside Diego Maradona. He also played in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and scored against Brazil in Argentina's 3-1 defeat. It had been rumoured that he and Maradona were involved in a feud which prevented Diaz from playing for Argentina in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups. However, this was denied by Maradona in his autobiography "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.
Diaz played in River Plate's youth system under Norberto "El Pacha" Yacono, who recommended Diaz to his "Maquina" Teammate Angel Labruna who was coaching the senior side.
Díaz played as a forward. His opening game in the Argentine First Division was on 1978-08-13, a game where River Plate beat Colón de Santa Fe by 1–0. He scored his first goal on 30 August of that year, playing against Quilmes Atlético Club. His last game was on 1993-03-13.