Junior Diaz (footballer, born 2003)
 Junior Diaz in a press conference with Troyes in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michel Junior Diaz | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Saint-Herblain, France | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Troyes | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012-2022 | Nantes | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2024 | Nantes B | 29 | (2) |
| 2022–2024 | Nantes | 0 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Annecy (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| 2024– | Troyes | 1 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2023-2023 | Ivory Coast Olympic | 5 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 August 2024 (UTC) | |||
Michel Junior Diaz (born 23 July 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ligue 2 club Troyes. Born in France, he represents the Ivory Coast at international level.
Club career
[edit]Diaz was a youth player of Nantes. He joined Nantes' youth team in 2012, playing in the academy for ten years and winning the 2022 Under-19 league title under manager Pierre Aristouy.[citation needed]
During the 2022–23 season, Diaz started training with Nantes' first team and made his senior debut in a Coupe de France match against AF Virois, on 7 January 2023.[1]
On 30 August 2023, Diaz joined Ligue 2 side Annecy on loan.[2][3] Benched in the first matches of the season, on 26 September 2023, he made his Ligue 2 debut against Auxerre.[4] Diaz immediately started get more space in the club's roster, becoming a starter.[5] At the end of the season, he had a cumulative number of 22 appearances.[6]
Back from the loan, on 8 August he joined Troyes on a permanent transfer.[7][8] The transfer reportedly commanded a fee of almost €2.5 million.[9] On 16 August, he made his club debut in a 4–0 loss against Guingamp.[10]
International career
[edit]Junior Diaz has represented Ivory Coast at youth international level, having played for the Olympic team.[citation needed]
Personal life
[edit]Diaz is the brother of Hillary Diaz.[11]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of match played 20 December 2024[12]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nantes | 2021–22 | National 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | National 2 | 24 | 1 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||||
| 2023–24 | National 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 26 | 2 | — | — | — | 26 | 2 | ||||||
| Nantes | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Annecy (loan) | 2023–24 | Ligue 2 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| Troyes | 2024–25 | Ligue 2 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 62 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 2 | ||
- ^ Including appearances in Coupe de France.
Honours
[edit]Nantes U19
- Championnat National U19: 2021–22[13]
Nantes
- Coupe de France runner-up: 2022–23[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Coupe de France. FC Nantes : Doucet, Diaz, Zézé… Face à Vire, une jeunesse au niveau" (in French). 8 January 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "JUNIOR DIAZ PRÊTÉ AU FC ANNECY (L2)" (in French). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Mercato : Bienvenue à Junior Diaz" (in French). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Arthur Diard (27 September 2023). "Ex-FC Nantes. Junior Diaz a vécu un match difficile pour sa première avec le FC Annecy" (in French). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Jean-Marcel Boudard (29 December 2023). "FC Nantes. À Annecy, le Canari Junior Diaz prend de l'altitude" (in French). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Arthur Diard (28 May 2024). "FC Nantes. Junior Diaz de retour, bilan de sa saison à Annecy" (in French). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "JUNIOR DIAZ TRANSFÉRÉ À L'ESTAC" (in French). 8 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "JUNIOR DIAZ EST TROYEN !" (in French). 8 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "FC Nantes. Encore une belle offre de Troyes pour Junior Diaz, un accord devrait être trouvé" (in French). 6 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "L'ESTAC CHUTE D'ENTRÉE À GUINGAMP" (in French). 17 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Académie - Junior Diaz, Made in FC Nantes". FC Nantes (in French).
- ^ Junior Diaz at Soccerway
- ^ Soyer, Julien (5 June 2022). "FC Nantes. Les Canaris remportent le championnat de France U19 et découvriront l'Europe". Ouest-France.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 December 2024.
- ^ "Toulouse thrash Nantes 5-1 in French Cup final". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
External links
[edit]
- Junior Diaz at Soccerway
- Junior Diaz – French league stats at Ligue 2 (in French) – English translation
- 2003 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Loire-Atlantique
- Black French sportspeople
- French sportspeople of Ivorian descent
- French men's footballers
- Ivorian men's footballers
- ES Troyes AC players
- FC Nantes players
- FC Annecy players
- Ligue 1 players
- Ligue 2 players
- Men's association football defenders
- 21st-century French sportsmen
- 21st-century Ivorian sportsmen