Malin Diaz

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Diaz and the second or maternal family name is Pettersson.
Malin Diaz
Personal information
Full nameMalin Diaz Pettersson
Date of birth3 January 1994
Height1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Eskilstuna United DFF
Number10
Youth career
Vendelsö IK
AIK
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2009–2012AIK58(5)
2013–2014Tyresö FF6(0)
2014–Eskilstuna United DFF
National team‡
Sweden U19
2013–Sweden U233(0)
2014–Sweden7(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:39, 21 June 2014 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 October 2014

Malin Diaz Pettersson (born 3 January 1994) is a Swedish football midfielder who plays for Eskilstuna United DFF. She previously played at club level for AIK and Tyresö FF of the Damallsvenskan. Diaz has represented the Sweden women's national football team at senior level.

Early life

Malin was born to Swedish man Thomas Pettersson and Claudia Díaz, who had moved to Sweden from Chile aged eight after the 1973 coup d'état in her home country.[1]

Club career

Diaz made her debut for AIK in the Damallsvenskan as a 15-year-old against Sunnanå SK in October 2009. She started her first match a week later against Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, in which she also scored her first goal for the club.[2] She finished the 2009 season having played two matches, with one start and one goal.[3] After returning to AIK for the 2010 Damallsvenskan season, she made 16 starts in 19 appearances for a total of 1,488 minutes played. She scored two goals: one during a match against Kristianstad on 3 July in which AIK won 3–1 and another during a 2–2 draw against Umeå on 19 September.[3]

Playing for AIK in October 2012

Following AIK's relegation, Diaz made 17 Norrettan appearances during the 2011 season, where she scored two goals and made five assists, as the club won promotion back to the Damallsvenskan. Diaz signed a new two-year contract with AIK ahead of the 2012 season.[2] She made 21 appearances with 19 starts for a total of 1,656 minutes on the pitch for AIK during the 2012 season.[3]

In January 2013, with AIK relegated again after a 3–4–15 season ended with them bottom of the league table, Diaz signed for league champions Tyresö.[4] She reasoned that, although it would be difficult to break into the team, training alongside Tyresö's star names would improve her as a player.[5] She made her debut for Tyresö during a match against Sunnanå SK on 19 May 2013, which her new team won 10–2.[3]

Diaz was frustrated with her backup role and came close to quitting Tyresö, before she began to play more regularly in 2014.[6] She started Tyresö's 4–3 defeat by Wolfsburg in the 2014 UEFA Women's Champions League Final. Tyresö had suffered a financial collapse in 2014 and withdrew from the league, expunging all their results and making all their players free agents. In June 2014 Umeå IK announced that they were in negotiations to sign Diaz.[7]

International career

With Sweden in May 2014

As a Swedish under-19 international, Diaz featured at the 2012 U-19 European Championship. She scored the victorious Swedish team's extra time goal in the 1–0 final win over Spain.[8] Reporters covering the tournament for UEFA praised Diaz's technique and passing, naming her among ten "emerging talents".[9]

In December 2012, national team coach Pia Sundhage called up Diaz to a senior squad training camp at Bosön.[10] Diaz was also capped for Sweden at under-23 level.[11]

Diaz was called into the senior Sweden squad for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying match against Northern Ireland in April 2014, after injured Caroline Seger withdrew.[12] She appeared as an injury time substitute in Portadown, to win her first senior cap.[13] Diaz started her first match for the Blågult in June 2014, a 5–0 win over the Faroe Islands.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Sasso, Natalia (25 February 2014). "Malin Díaz, la chilena que se luce en el fútbol sueco" (in Spanish). Las Últimas Noticias. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mellerborg, Stefan (13 January 2012). "Malin Diaz förlänger" (in Swedish). AIK. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Malin Diaz". Soccer Way. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Christen Press och Malin Diaz klara för Tyresö". Tyresö FF. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  5. ↑ Nilsson, Alva (5 January 2013). "Malin Diaz förklarar: Därför blir det Tyresö" (in Swedish). Damfotboll.com. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  6. ↑ Nilsson, Anders (27 April 2014). "Tog Tyresö till final – var nära att lämna" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  7. ↑ Johansson, Robert (18 June 2014). "Malin Diaz kan ha hittat sin klubb" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  8. ↑ Crompton, Sam (15 July 2012). "Sweden match-winner Diaz realises dream". Uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "Ten emerging talents from women's U19 finals". Uefa.com. UEFA. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  10. ↑ "Sundhage tar med 17-åring på lägret" (in Swedish). Expressen. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "U23 damlandslagets spelare 2013" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  12. ↑ Nilsson, Alva (31 March 2014). "Segers skada ger Malin Diaz en plats i VM-kvaltruppen" (in Swedish). Damfotboll.com. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "Tre säkra poäng i Portadown" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Diaz in i startelvan" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Malin Diaz.