Ramón Díaz, coach of Al Hilal: "Be careful, we are not going to sign Messi..."

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Ramón Díaz

(La Rioja, Argentina, 1959) hears someone speak his language and immediately turns around.

«

».

El

, the one who lit up the future of Argentine soccer sharing a lead with

in the

(he scored 8 goals and

6), "the myth of River" as his players define him, the coach who this Saturday , if they beat

at the controls of

in the

final , they could tie with

as the Argentine coach with the most titles (16), that man, like everyone else, also has a coffee with milk for breakfast and a croissant.

While eating, he chats with EL MUNDO about his time as a footballer at

and in

, where he faced and thrashed

several times , and his time as a coach, again at River, winning the 96

, being the father of Los

... After several comings and goings with the Argentine team, he decided on more exotic adventures that have taken him to

, where he has won three leagues and the Asian Champions League.

"It's life, history, adapting...", he reflects, slowly, in the perfect definition of being Argentine.

«I was everywhere, Italy, France, Japan, Mexico... Sometimes it's nice to be a little outside of Argentina.

I miss Spain, but they pay little », he jokes.

Does Al Hilal believe that they can win a Club World Cup against Real Madrid? In life, if you set your mind to something, you can achieve it.

Whatever.

And the kids too.

If the coach scares you, he is not a great coach.

He is useless.

They are eleven against eleven.

We have a unique opportunity in our first world final. Tell me about the team. I am missing seven players from the Saudi Arabian team.

But they are all fine, emotionally fine.

We have good footballers and an attacking style.

It's all I ask.

That and not miss a pass.

The conversation stops for a few seconds before the arrival of several Saudi assistants from Al Hilal.

"

next season," warns Díaz.

's arrival

in his league, the rumors about the landing of other soccer stars, such as the Argentine,

do not stop.

"In theory, Cristiano was going to play with us.

Really.

», admits the coach.

Who would you like to sign?

«I have doubts, I want young

.

Today young people are much better prepared than before », hesitates the Argentine, who confesses the eternal food debates that he has with the Saudi footballers: «

They eat a lot of lamb and if you take it away from them they tell you that they don't run that way... Then they eat it and fly away », he jokes.

El

considers himself from the

school since he was under the orders of Menotti in the famous U20 World Cup in 1979. «I think that the most important thing in football is

.

If you understand the game, you win.

They taught me that way, that I had to study my rivals, watch them play, know where a central defender, a goalkeeper likes to play... That's how I try to convey it to the boys, although now many spend all day with the mobile and do not listen, “he admits.

That youth World Cup was the beginning of his brief friendship with

, cut short by the stardom of both in

and the mutual hatred between fans and soccer players.

Rumors said that Maradona vetoed him for the national team, although

constantly denied it, assuring that

did not want Díaz.

But those teenagers spent

and Ramón did not return with the national team after the 1982 World Cup. «Do you know who taught Ramón how to define?

Me, in 79!” Diego repeated.

«I did not go to the national team because Diego made Bilardo choose his friends.

The rest wanted me.

Even President Carlos Menem," Díaz assured in the 1990s.

Barovero, a former River goalkeeper, tells me that you are "a myth of River, a bigger word.

Sitting at the table of the greats with Gallardo, Ortega and few others». No... Good.

We were born there, we did our whole life, our whole career.

We won millions of championships, either as a player or a coach, and that is marked.

It is a great club, but because of its people.

I decided to return after the historic relegation to Serie B, a very tough time, with a lot of pressure.

Everything had to be put together again and we won the League.

An emotion... How passionate Argentines are. What we Argentines have is that we give our lives for soccer, we are very demanding of ourselves in all facets of life.

It was seen in this World Cup, for example, everything that Argentina was, we showed the world what we are.

While Maradona lifted the

, Ramón Díaz shone in Calcio, curiously against the same Carlo Ancelotti he faces tomorrow.

He scored six goals against

.

«We are

from my time in Italy.

because he knew how to adapt to what the German, English, Spanish leagues were... Not everyone can do that, it's the most difficult thing », he responds to EL MUNDO.

He scored six goals against Ancelotti.

What do you remember from that time in Italian football? Six?

Wow... Let's see tomorrow (laughs).

Italian football was very difficult.

Now everything is easier.

There are eight foreigners on each team, so there were three.

At Inter I remember that we were Matthaus, Andreas Brehme and I, then they went up to five and now whatever.

It was very tough football and you had to be physically well prepared.

Why do they say that it runs more now?

I do not know why.

They

are

You always had to run.

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