“Beautiful journey” – HSV saviour announces retirement! | OneFootball

Marcelo Díaz did not even spend a full year at HSV, but still holds a firm place in the history books.

20 matches – eleven of them from the start – and one goal contribution: the Chilean’s record does not look particularly remarkable. But that one goal contribution was a very special one. On 01.06.2015, HSV were on the verge of their first-ever Bundesliga relegation in the second leg of the playoff against Karlsruher SC when, at the start of stoppage time, Díaz stood over a free kick from a central position together with Rafael van der Vaart, took responsibility himself, and curled it unstoppably past goalkeeper Dirk Orlishausen into the top-left corner for 1–1.

Extra time followed, in which Nicolai Müller scored Hamburg’s winner. The drop to the second division, hard-earned through numerous poor decisions, was delayed by another three years. Díaz – who is said to have pushed van der Vaart aside before taking the free kick with the words “Tomorrow, my friend” – had long since left the Volkspark by then.

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Díaz: Triumphs with Chile, only rarely needed at HSV

He moved on to Celta Vigo as early as January 2016 after failing to establish himself as a regular under Bruno Labbadia. His excellent technical ability did not fit with a style of play mostly based on transition football and lots of long balls. Díaz was, however, part of Chile’s golden generation, which won the Copa América twice in a row in 2015 and 2016.

Overall, he collected an impressive 15 titles – including two with Argentina’s Racing Club and three Swiss league championships with FC Basel. Now, the 39-year-old central midfielder is entering the final stretch. On Friday, he announced on social media that he will retire at the end of 2026.

View this post on InstagramA post shared by Marcelo Díaz (@chelodiaz_21)

The “beautiful journey” will end at his hometown club Universidad de Chile, where Díaz spent by far the longest period of his career and may even pass the 300-match mark. But he will also be remembered at HSV, having given the club one of the most spectacular moments of the 2000s.

Photo: IMAGO

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.