The setback against Criciuma (0-4) was fatal to Ramon Diaz. At the head of Vasco da Gama since July, the 64-year-old Argentinian technician is leaving the Brazilian club. Just like his son Emiliano, 40, who was his assistant, the Rio de Janeiro club announced in a laconic press release on Saturday after the meeting.
In a statement to the media, Diaz said he was disappointed to learn of his dismissal via social networks. “It’s the first club in my coaching career that made me fight against relegation, I’ve always fought for titles”recalled the Argentinian, finalist of the Club World Cup in 2022 with the Saudi club Al-Hilal.
Diaz saved the club from relegation last season
“I regret what happened. We didn’t expect to be fired by Twitter (social network now called X). We deserved something else”, said the former River Plate coach. Diaz took office at the helm of Vasco da Gama on Matchday 15 of Brasileirao 2023, when the team was penultimate with nine points, tied with bottom side América Mineiro.
He had managed to save Vasco thanks to a spectacular comeback but this new season was marked by a humiliating elimination in the semi-finals of the Rio State Championship against Nova Iguaçu, a little thumb of the Brazilian Fourth Division. And in the Championship, Vasco da Gama is currently the first non-relegation team (16th out of 20) with only three points in four matches. The squad notably includes the Frenchman Dimitri Payet and the Chilean Gary Medel.
