COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew SC today announced that the club has acquired Costa Rican winger Luis Diaz (pronounced: loo-EES DEE-as) from Club Sport Herediano of Costa Rica’s First Division as a Young Designated Player. Diaz, 20, was recently named the Best Under-21 Player in the Torneo Clausura 2019 by UNAFUT – Costa Rica’s union of First Division soccer clubs – and won the Torneo Apertura 2018 with Herediano. Diaz will officially be added to the Black & Gold roster pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa upon the opening of the transfer window on July 9, 2019 and will occupy an international roster slot on Crew SC’s roster.
To date, Diaz has made 66 appearances (49 starts) in the Liga de Fútbol de Primera División – Costa Rica’s topflight – scoring three goals and providing eight assists. At the international level, Diaz was named to Costa Rica’s 40-man provisional roster for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup. He will officially be added to the Black & Gold roster pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa and will occupy an international roster slot on Crew SC’s roster.
“Luis is a young, dynamic player who is already making a name for himself despite his young age and we are excited to welcome him to Crew SC,” said Crew SC President Tim Bezbatchenko. “As one of the most promising talents in Costa Rica, we know he will continue to develop at our Club and we believe his skillset will allow him to be successful in MLS. The addition of Luis strengthens our team as we continue to build our roster.”
Diaz last played for Club Sport Herediano, where he made 21 appearances (19 starts) in league play while scoring one goal and providing two assists. Notably, the 20-year old was recently named the Torneo Clausura 2019 Best Under-21 Player by UNAFUT and was among the final nominees for the Torneo Clausura 2019 Best Player award. The midfielder also featured for Herediano in the Concacaf Champions League, starting in two Round of 16 matches in 2019 against Atlanta United (February 22, March 1).
Before joining Herediano in 2018, Diaz played for Municipal Grecia FC from 2016-2018. While with Municipal Grecia, he helped the club achieve promotion to the First Division after winning the 2016-2017 Second Division title. In all, Diaz made 45 appearances (30 starts) for Grecia in the Costa Rican First Division, tallying two goals and six assists.
Up next, Crew SC travels to take on Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday, July 3 for the lone regular-season meeting between the clubs in 2019 [10:00 p.m. ET / Fox Sports Ohio, FOX Sports GO (Stream) / 97.1 The Fan & 971TheFan.com (English); ColumbusCrewSC.com (Spanish)].
TRANSACTION: Columbus Crew SC acquires midfielder Luis Diaz from Club Sport Herediano as a Young Designated Player on July 2, 2019. Diaz will officially be added to the Black & Gold roster pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa upon the opening of the transfer window on July 9, 2019 and will occupy an international roster slot on Crew SC’s roster.
Name: Luis Diaz (loo-EES DEE-as)
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 159
Born: December 6, 1998 in Nicoya, Costa Rica
Hometown: Nicoya, Costa Rica
Citizenship: Costa Rica
Acquired: Acquired by Crew SC from Club Sport Herediano as a Young Designated Player on July 2, 2019. He will occupy an international roster slot on Crew SC’s roster.
Previous Experience: Club Sport Herediano (2018-2019), Municipal Grecia FC (2016-2018)
