December 9, 2004, was a date of surrealism for Oxford United fans. Having seen the dismissal of Graham Rix, the U’s were astounded to see former Argentina international Ramon Diaz become the clubs newest manager.
The 45-year-old, who had an illustrious playing career with River Plate, Napoli and Inter Milan among others, joined the U’s in League Two, having been manager of River Plate for seven years.
The appointment was risky. Not only had he left his native Argentina where he was hugely successful, winning five national titles and one Copa Libertadores in six years, but he was joining a club just outside the relegation zone in the fourth tier of English football.
In addition, the 45-year-old would take the task for free. Owner and chairman Firoz Kassam, who knew Diaz from meetings together in Monaco, advised the Argentinian to for work for nothing for six months in exchange for ten per cent stake in the club should they achieve promotion.
But it started well under Diaz. The U’s secured a 2-1 win over Cambridge United and lost just once from their opening ten games. The style of play also changed. Oxford were now playing fast-flowing and attacking football, something that hadn’t been seen under Rix or Ian Atkins.
There was also a change in recruitment. Diaz built his backroom staff with the arrival of no less than five fellow Argentines. The squad he began to assemble in January also resembled that of South American influence. In came Uruguayan Mateo Corbo, and Argentinians in the form of Lucas Cominelli, Juan Pablo Raponi and his sons, Emiliano and Michael Díaz.
But it soon started to unravel. The numerous changes to the playing and non-playing staff affected their promotion charge. Four defeats from five in February and March saw the U’s drop back to mid-table.
Despite a slight upturn in form at the end of March, an inconsistent April saw the playoff push ended. Diaz left before the end of the season, along with his entourage of backroom staff. He won nine and drew seven of his 23 games in charge, and is still the most recent Oxford manager to win a Manager of the Month award.
The players he brought in also proved to be as inconsistent as Diaz’s spell. Corbo and Cominelli had relatively decent spells with the U’s. 28-year-old left-back Corbo was a tough-tackling, no-nonsense defender who picked up nine yellow cards and one red in just 13 Oxford appearances. Likewise, 27-year-old Cominelli made 16 appearances in the centre of midfield, scoring once in a 2-1 defeat against Grimsby Town.
Less successful were left midfielders, Juan Pablo Raponi and Emiliano Díaz, who made just 17 appearances between them. Diaz failed to complete 90 minutes in his seven games, while Raponi played more minutes but was unable to contribute from his ten games.
Diaz also brought in DR Congo striker Doudou, but the former Monaco and QPR managed just one U’s appearance.
In what was a strange and inconsistent era at the club, this move summed it up. The U’s had gone from being in and around the playoffs but playing dire football under Atkins, just generally being dire under Rix to an ambitious but not quite fitting spell under Diaz.
