Ricardo Diéz

Ricardo Díez
Personal information
Full name	Ricardo Díez Santa Cruz
Date of birth	February 11, 1900
Place of birth	Rivera, Uruguay
Date of death	April 27, 1971 (aged 71)
Place of death	Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Managerial career
Years	Team
1936–1938	Grêmio Santanense
1939	América Mineiro
1940	America
1941	Sport
1941–1942	Internacional
1944	Santos
1946	América Mineiro
1947	Siderúrgica
1949	América Mineiro
1950–1951	Atlético Mineiro
1953	Cruzeiro
1954	Bahia
1954–1956	Atlético Mineiro
1957	Náutico
1958–1959	Atlético Mineiro
1959	Santa Cruz
1960	Atlético Mineiro
1962–1963	Valério
1964	Unión Magdalena
1965	Democrata FC

Ricardo Diéz, born as Emetério Seledônio Díez^[1] (11 February 1900 – 27 April 1971), was a Uruguayan association football coach who mainly worked in Brazil.

Career

In 1937 Diéz won with provincial Grêmio Foot-Ball Santanense from Santana do Livramento the Campeonato Gaúcho, the only major title in the club's history. In 1942 he also led Internacional, where he was the first foreign coach, to the state title. He is credited at the club for the discovery of the later national team player Nena. In 1941 he was Campeonato Pernambucano runner-up with Sport Recife, where he has been often attributed with the discovery of World Cup 1950 star striker Ademir de Menezes.^[2]

Diez, who smoked filterless cigarettes of the Continental brand,^[3] is best known for his times with Atlético Mineiro, which he coached on various stints between 1950 and 1960, winning the Campeonato Mineiro in 1949 and 1954. In 1950 he guided Atlético on its successful trip to Central Europe during the northern winter, which became part of the club's folklore and led to its nickname Campeões do Gelo, the "Ice Champions". In total he guided the club in 168 matches, a statistic only outdone by three other coaches, amongst them Telê Santana.

Back to Pernambuco, he became third in the State Championship of 1957 with Náutico, and in 1960 he led Santa Cruz FC to the second place behind Náutico.

Beyond this Diéz also coached other clubs from Minas Gerais: América Mineiro, in 1946, Cruzeiro in 1953, Democrata FC (Sete Lagoas, in 1965, EC Siderúrgica, in 1947, Valeriodoce in 1962 and 1963, and Paraense EC, as well as Santos in São Paulo and Bahia in the state of the same name.