No inspirational not Red Army! Liverpool Diaz traversed a difficult childhood

From a pan to a T-Rex, Benzema is probably no match for Luis Diaz when it comes to inspiration...

Barancas is like any other town in Colombia. Every morning, motorbikes and trampolines zip through the town's streets, speeding past pedestrians. Under mango trees along the road, vendors shelve themselves from the scorching sun, stacking bananas and assorted produce.

On the sidewalk, many local residents played roulette around a monitor, all betting on a single number -- Luis Diaz's number 23.

It was on the streets of Barancas that the Reds' new striker made his mark.

Along the street is a giant mural depicting a player in a Colombian national team shirt with the words "Pride of Barancas."

"We're really proud. We don't get a chance here. It's touching to see one of your friends make it all the way." Said Brian Gomez, Diaz's childhood friend and neighbor.

Diaz's family is also proud of him. Most members of the extended family remain close to each other in Barancas, in the old home where Dias grew up. "You can't imagine how happy we are," Diaz's father, Luis Manuel Diaz, told the Guardian. "I am very happy, very proud and very satisfied that all of us have contributed to making Lou's dream come true." The elder Diaz is also his son's football initiation coach.

But not everyone in Diaz's family supported his soccer dreams as a child. "I didn't want him to be a player," confesses Marulanda, Diaz's mother. She was worried that her son would abandon his studies in the street, more afraid of small, skinny, he was bullied by big children.

The Lewis family's house is very simple, wooden walls plastered with mud, crammed with more than a dozen family members from three generations. In northern La Guajira, the economic situation of most families is not good.

Today, his house is much the same, but there is a cardboard cutout of Mr. Diaz at the door, colorful posters of him on the walls and the badges of the clubs he played for. The famous slogan on the Liverpool crest was miswritten as "Yuo'll Never Walk Alone", but his family were unconcerned and wanted to display their pride.

"Our family has been working hard. We've been supporting each other and working together. That's what our family is about. He is successful today because our family worked together." "Said Brito, Dias' cousin.

Many communities in La Guajira, one of Colombia's least developed regions, have long suffered from child malnutrition, poverty and water shortages. People see no hope of creating a better future.

"This side does not believe in playing football. It wastes too many talents. There are many good prospects like Lu Zi. The people of Barancas cannot find a way out." "Brito added.

Birth never stood in Diaz's way. Either barefoot or wearing ill-fitting shoes, he kicked a ball in the dirt opposite his home, constantly imitating the movements of his idol, Xiao Luo. That was Diaz's first stage.

Diaz has been brilliant since he was a child. His father took him to play a lot of local games and he always did very well. The first turning point in Green's career came at the age of 18, when he joined an open tryout with his uncle for the youth organization of Costa Rica club Barranquilla.

"Some coaches didn't think much of him because he was short and thin," Diaz's father recalled. "But Luis was so talented, quick, quick, scoring goals, that some coaches looked at him and wanted to try him."

Diaz was one of only a lucky few of the more than 3,000 players who took part in that tryout to get a professional contract. He was young and thin, and the youth of Barranquilla sent him to the reserve team, Barranquilla FC. Here, he practiced with a group of U-18 teammates, preparing for the top flight.

"He wasn't malnourished when he first came, but he was young and not very well built or heavy. He needs to work out at that age. We coaches have an obligation to help him. We have a fitness plan for him and he eats double." Roberto Penarosa, the coach who worked with Diaz at Barranquilla FC, told the Guardian.

Likening Mr. Dias to a chess grandmaster, Mr. Penarosa said his students are skilled players who exude a confidence that comes from strength. Even Penarosa's daughters, who saw Diaz as a future star, pestered their father for photos with the young Diaz.

Diaz played so well for Barranquilla FC that he was soon promoted to the first team and went on to win the Colombian First Division title with the team. "We knew he was good. We didn't expect him to be at this level. We thought he was going to be a star when he started, but we didn't think he was going to be where he is today." Mr. Penarosa said.

Diaz's rise to fame has brought hope to the small town of Barancas, where fellow villagers have begun a race to catch up with him. Over the weekend, many Barancas were rooting for the Reds on TV, hoping to see them win the Premier League.

"Just a few years ago, he was just a normal guy, just like everybody else in this town. "But now he can represent our country, he can play abroad, he gives us a face, he opens the door for others," the young Luiz Fernando Azusa told us, sitting in his shop in a fake Reds shirt.

In a bar in Barancas, a crowd of fans gathered to watch the game as it was shown on a big screen. On the other side, a group of men seemed too busy drinking to care much about the game.

Things were much more tense in the Dias' home. The family sat in a row against the wall in the small living room, engrossed in the live stream.

Also in the audience was a pet dog named Tony Cross. Every time Liverpool scored a goal, he would jump and bark with excitement and chase his tail in circles. The family believed the Reds would win the championship. As the game drew to a close and Liverpool's chances of going top dwindled, one relative refused to give up: "There's still a chance."

The whole family was distracted by the Premier League, except Grandpa Jacob, who sat quietly mending his trousers in the shade of a tree in the garden outside.

Tonight Diyas will reach new heights in his career when he plays with the Reds in the Champions League final in Paris against Real Madrid for continental football's greatest prize. The 80,000-capacity Stade de France will be filled to capacity, while more than 30,000 villagers in Barancas will be watching Diaz.

"He's very humble, and that's what I like most about him, and that's why he's famous," fan Azusa Cueto said. "He knows where his roots are and never forgets them. He's my idol."