When River Plate icon Diaz took over fourth-tier Oxford

Twenty years agone a Copa Libertadores-winning fable turned up to negociate mid-table 4th tier broadside Oxford United.

Six months aboriginal Ramon Diaz and the remainder of his seven-man entourage were blocked from adjacent entering the ground.

It seems improbable anybody volition ever articulation the erstwhile River Plate manager, who played for Argentina, Inter Milan, Monaco and others, successful winning South America's apical tourney - and the League Two manager of the period award.

BBC Sport archer the communicative with assistance from erstwhile players Steve Basham, Chris Tardif and Lucas Cominelli, BBC Oxford exertion Jerome Sale, and Jean Marc Goiran, the antheral who brokered the woody and acted arsenic adjunct manager, translator and unofficial main executive.

It was December 2004.

Oxford United, the 1986 League Cup winners, were successful a slump, having dropped from the 2nd tier to the 4th since 1999 - and were sliding down League Two erstwhile proprietor Firoz Kassam sacked Graham Rix.

Kassam, the club's unpopular owner, invited out-of-work manager Chris Turner to ticker their 1-0 decision by Swansea - and astir radical thought helium was the caller manager, including the Oxford Mail, external and immoderate players.

But instead... "It was rather bizarre," said erstwhile U's striker Basham. "Five oregon six guys came in, successful a line. They each stood successful beforehand of america and nary of them spoke a connection of English, isolated from 1 translator."

Goiran said "all the players had wide-open eyes wondering 'who are these guys?'".

Those guys were Diaz, caput manager Horacio Rodriguez, different manager Raul Marcovich, Goiran, fittingness trainer Pablo Fernandez, doc Rafael Giulietti and translator Giuilliano Iacoppi.

But wait, however did it travel to this? It each starts successful Monaco - wherever Kassam and Goiran lived and Diaz besides had a location having played for the club.

Kassam approached a person of a friend, Goiran, who has worked arsenic a shot cause and consultant, to assistance him find a manager and the Monegasque suggested Diaz - who had near River Plate successful 2002.

At the clip it was wide reported that Diaz was not being paid to beryllium Oxford manager - and Kassam said helium had "promised him shares successful the nine successful instrumentality for success".

But Goiran, speaking 20 years on, says Kassam's institution Firoka, but not the club, alternatively paid Diaz and Goiran consulting fees successful Monaco.

And the question galore person asked - wherefore did a manager with 5 Argentine titles and the Copa Libertadores travel to League Two Oxford?

Goiran says it was portion of a task to get to the Premier League successful 5 years - but aft a bitter ending, Diaz, who is present Corinthians manager successful Brazil, ne'er worked successful England oregon adjacent Europe again.

"When they archetypal came in, determination were expansive talks astir redeveloping the stadium, putting a caller basal down the extremity and taking america into the Premier League," said goalkeeper Tardif.

Back successful 2004 determination was little overseas engagement successful the little leagues successful England, truthful it was an adjacent large civilization daze past than it is now.

But galore of the players bought into the caller grooming ideas, though immoderate struggled to adapt.

"They brought thing precise caller and precise caller to Oxford United astatine that time," said Basham, who played for the nine betwixt 2002 and 2007.

"It was mode earlier its time. They came successful with ideas and the doctrine that astir apt deed the English crippled two, three, 4 years later, surely successful the little leagues."

Rodriguez would beryllium hands-on - with Diaz overseeing things. To immoderate astir the nine Rodriguez was seen arsenic the accepted brag of the squad with Diaz astir a manager of football.

Diaz and his coaches lone spoke breached English, truthful had to pass via their translator.

But Goiran, who was progressive connected the grooming transportation too, says Diaz was the manager and had the last accidental successful everything.

Basham said: "He [Diaz] would travel successful amongst the squad arsenic we were laid retired successful our signifier and helium would instrumentality america done with movements. Very different, but it worked.

"He'd physically determination you, helium would past person you alongside him and he'd marque the runs and you would marque those runs with him."

Goiran said: "It was a precise bully atmosphere. It was a large adventure. We changed the mode they trained, the mentality. We taught them they are shot players."

They were fashionable figures disconnected the transportation too.

BBC Oxford's Sale said: "Ramon and his unit were imposing and impressive, but besides gentle and friendly.

"He erstwhile asked maine for $100,000 for interviews. I said the BBC wouldn't agelong that far. He said conscionable to bring him a decent java adjacent clip then."

It each started truthful well. They had been brought successful to assistance the nine debar relegation but 4 wins and 2 draws successful January got them dreaming of the play-offs - and Diaz was named League Two manager of the month.

Remarkably it would instrumentality implicit 17 years for different Oxford manager to triumph an EFL grant similar that again - Liam Manning successful September 2023.

"There was an contiguous buzz astir the ground," said BBC commentator Sale. "The shot went up a notch and the amusive came back."

Diaz and co had brought successful a due attacking benignant of football. Fitness and pressing were a large portion of it too.

"We changed wholly the mode they play and they started to win," said Goiran.

"When a subordinate starts to triumph they person pleasure, the mentality is better, they person confidence."

Basham said: "They were precise overmuch wanting to play football, which suited astir of the team.

"I emotion getting the shot down, emotion playing football, emotion linking play up and moving to a strategy. So it was a spot different, surely from the Ian Atkins [pragmatic lower-league manager who near Oxford successful April 2004] times, which I enjoyed too."

One of Diaz's innovative strategies was leaving 3 speedy players up the transportation portion they were defending a country successful lawsuit of a counter-attacking possibility.

"It was much of a Pep doctrine successful presumption of full shot adjacent astatine that level," said Tardif, referring to Manchester City brag Pep Guardiola.

"It’s large erstwhile it's each world-class players but successful the little leagues it's not ever possible. They tried to enforce shot astatine its purest form. We tried it. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it failed."

The caller absorption squad wanted to freshen up the squad and brought successful a big of trialists - immoderate days astir fractional of the radical grooming were trialists.

Out of those came a fewer South American signings - midfielder Lucas Cominelli, winger Juan Pablo Raponi and Uruguayan defender Mateo Corbo. Diaz's sons Emiliano and Michael - who was young and ne'er played for the archetypal squad - besides joined.

Results were mixed.

Cominelli played 16 times, scoring a long-range effort against Grimsby, and was seen arsenic 1 of the successes.

"Oxford were fantastic," said Cominelli, who had erstwhile been connected the books of Newcastle without making a first-team appearance.

"It was truly good. I had a bully experience, a bully representation of it from the fans, the city, the club."

Full-back Corbo remains a cult leader astatine the nine aft 8 yellowish cards and a reddish paper successful 13 games.

Raponi, who had played for River Plate, was excessively lightweight for League Two but played 10 times.

Emiliano Diaz, who played 7 times, is often mentioned successful discussions astir Oxford's worst ever players.

That was conscionable 1 of galore times helium worked with his dada - having played nether Ramon astatine River Plate and been his adjunct manager astatine implicit 10 teams since retiring.

Cominelli added determination were ne'er issues betwixt the England and South American players.

"The team-mates were truly OK," helium said. "It was truly welcome. They helped and everything. We had a bully dressing room."

Basham added: "Some [were] good, immoderate not truthful good. Some fitted successful truly well. A mates were superb, truly worked hard, bully connected the ball, truly bully additions to the side.

"And past you had 1 oregon 2 that it didn't rather enactment retired for them.

"Raponi was precise quick, helium made an interaction astatine times, but the carnal broadside of the crippled sometimes was a spot excessively overmuch for him."

After the bully tally successful January, though, Oxford's signifier took a dip, losing 4 of the adjacent 5 games.

And things were unravelling disconnected the transportation too.

Diaz and Kassam fell retired implicit a quality of sentiment successful the ambition of the nine - and implicit Diaz not speaking English.

The manager, positive immoderate of his coaches, missed a fewer games for enactment licence oregon passport reasons.

Basham said it conscionable "fizzled out" arsenic the nine finished 15th - obscurity adjacent the apical oregon bottom.

"It's astir surreal looking back," said Tardif. "It was hard for them coming successful our level. They weren't rather acceptable for having to bash the basics implicit and implicit again.

"I truly liked them arsenic people. Do I deliberation it was the close match? Probably not."

Goiran was successful discussions with Kassam astir however to operation the club's selling and uncovering investment.

"There were a batch of things to bash due to the fact that the nine was not nonrecreational for me," helium said. "I spent astir 12 hours per time minimum moving connected that and we made a batch of progress.

"I was much similar a main enforcement than different things - but I was inactive adjacent connected the grooming ground.

"The narration betwixt Ramon and Firoz was difficult. They discussed the aboriginal and fiscal things. Ramon didn't consciousness that Firoz would similar to turn [the club]."

Basham said: "I deliberation they had truly large plans for Oxford United. They were each pushing successful the close direction.

"I deliberation they each thought they were adjacent to immoderate benignant of woody with Kassam and for immoderate crushed it each conscionable ended up... yeah, determination was a large fallout, which was a existent shame."

Once it was evident Diaz would astir apt permission the club, Goiran tried to find different manager for the project.

Diaz resigned arsenic manager and helium and his sons flew location earlier the penultimate crippled of the season.

"His determination to permission was unexpected and I americium disappointed," said Kassam astatine the clip - who added keeping Diaz would person outgo the nine £1m.

The Oxford Mail adjacent reported that Rodriguez was acceptable to go the caller manager., external

But abruptly the full experimentation was over. Before the last crippled of the season, astatine location to Chester, Kassam got escaped of Diaz's full backroom unit and appointed Brian Talbot.

Goiran was offered the accidental to enactment but said "I brought these radical successful and if they're going retired I person to spell with them".

"Everything was truthful OK but the narration betwixt Firoz and Ramon. We had a batch of bully plans for the future, a batch of ideas regarding investors to alteration the nine and grow. But it was a atrocious ending," Goiran said.

And it got precise messy arsenic Diaz and his coaches bought tickets to ticker the last crippled of the play against Chester and to accidental convey you to the Oxford supporters.

But Kassam ordered his stewards to garbage them introduction and an statement broke retired 10 minutes into the crippled - with fans leaving their seats to inquire they beryllium fto in.

"We had to instrumentality the car and near everything there. It was not a bully ending," said Goiran.

"I was precise bittersweet to permission the club. It was a fantastic time. I did it with my bosom positive everything. The feeling I person with the fans was 'wow'.

"It's my nine everlastingly - I’m ever looking astatine their results. It's a emotion communicative betwixt maine and Oxford."

That was the extremity of each the South American players too.

Cominelli said: "The nine had offered maine a caller contract. I wanted to enactment but the caller manager who came [Talbot], helium decided each the overseas players [should be] gone."

Kassam and Diaz, done his existent nine Corinthians, did not respond to requests to talk to the BBC for this feature.

The pursuing play Talbot was sacked, Kassam sold the nine and Oxford were relegated to the Conference.