Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz receives welcome break from international duty | OneFootball

Bayern Munich winger Luis Diaz will sit out Colombia’s upcoming international fixtures as he attempts to rediscover the form that made him one of the Bundesliga’s most productive attacking players last season. According to Kicker, the 29-year-old has been granted a break following discussions with national team coach Néstor Lorenzo, who has expressed concern over the player’s apparent fatigue.

Diaz will remain in Munich rather than travel with Colombia for their upcoming matches against Mexico, Paraguay and Peru. The decision comes amid an unusually difficult start to the 2026/27 campaign for the former Liverpool attacker. Diaz has managed just one goal in seven competitive appearances this season.

The Colombian continues to work himself into dangerous attacking positions, but has struggled to convert the opportunities that have come his way. His customary acceleration and attacking explosiveness have also appeared somewhat diminished. The contrast with last season is particularly striking.

Diaz registered an extraordinary 50 goal contributions during his debut campaign at Bayern, scoring 26 goals and supplying 24 assists across all competitions. Even when he struggled with his finishing early in that campaign, the Colombian continued to find the back of the net regularly.

Diaz’s difficulties were again apparent during Bayern’s recent 7-0 demolition of Union Berlin. While Harry Kane and Michael Olise enjoyed productive afternoons in front of goal, the Colombian failed to register a goal or an assist. Diaz did see a goal disallowed for offside.

Bayern hope international break can help Luis Diaz recover his form

Bayern’s coaching staff and management nevertheless remain confident that Díaz’s early-season struggles are temporary. Bayern Board Member for Sport Max Eberl recently remarked that plenty of other players would be happy to experience the sort of dip in form currently affecting the Colombian.

Teammate Jonathan Tah has also defended Diaz, pointing to the enormous physical demands associated with his relentless running on the left flank. The German international believes that the occasional signs of fatigue are hardly surprising given his teammate’s workload.

Colombia coach Lorenzo has reached a similar conclusion. The national team trainer recently spoke with Diaz about his apparent tiredness and reduced acceleration. Both subsequently agreed that the winger would benefit from remaining in Munich rather than undertaking another lengthy international trip.

There is also an encouraging precedent for Bayern. Diaz experienced a similar enforced break last season when domestic and Champions League suspensions coincided. The Colombian initially received a three-match European suspension following his dismissal against Paris Saint-Germain, although Bayern successfully appealed the decision and had the ban reduced to two matches.

Vincent Kompany took advantage of the interruption to grant his hard-working winger some additional time off. Díaz subsequently returned in even better form, eventually completing his remarkable 50-goal-contribution campaign.

Bayern will hope that history repeats itself this autumn. Rather than adding another series of international appearances to his already substantial workload, Díaz now has an opportunity to recover before returning to Bundesliga action.

GGFN | Peter Weis