Breaking: Pacific Procures Alejandro Diaz Return

It’s been a tidy piece of transfer movement that has been an open secret for about a month now.

Canadian Premier League side Pacific FC has secured the return of Mexican striker Alejandro Diaz, who’s previous spell at the side saw him notch an astounding 31 goals in 62 appearances en route to a national championship in 2021, and even winning the golden boot after leaving midway through the subsequent season.

The return of the attacker comes in a time when the Tridents are missing some oomph in their attack, with Pacific on par with just one goal per match and nine points outside of a playoff spot. The club has been missing the touch of a clinical striker, with the 29-year-old expected to take a leadership role in the club’s attack.

Diaz returns on loan from rival side Vancouver FC, who had previously brought the striker back to Canada’s top flight last season on loan from Norwegian side Sogndall IL. By the wording of today’s release, it looks like Vancouver now holds his contract and has opted to loan him out to their local rivals. The full length of contract with VFC remains unclear.

He’d tallied fourteen goals and three assists over in Langley, where even the combined efforts of proven goalscorers like Alejandro Diaz and Terran Campbell haven’t been able to lift up Vancouver FC, who reportedly have just sacked head coach Afshin Ghotbi.

The move includes the option to make things permanent, should both clubs come to agreement. At this stage in Pacific’s season, it’s a move that couldn’t have come at a better time.

Last season also saw Pacific enjoy a boost in attack from their mainland rivals, with former VFC striker Moses Dyer being loaned to Pacific and helping them secure a playoff position.

Both Pacific FC and Vancouver FC have the same ownership group, with the owners evidently fine with moving star talent between the two rival clubs.

Vancouver hasn’t left themselves hanging, however, with the club bringing in Toronto FC loanee Hugo Mbongue.

“Alejandro has proven he is a top striker at this level and was a real part of our family at Pacific before his move to Europe,” says Tridents head coach James Merriman. “We welcome him back to our team. We know exactly who he is on and off the field and are very much looking forward to working together again.” 

Diaz’s own career started with a rise through the youth ranks at Club America. He signed a multi-year contract with the Liga MX giants in 2014, slowly fighting his way onto the bench and becoming a fairly regular late-game substitute for Las Aguilas, even appearing against Toronto FC in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Subsequent loan moves to Liga MX sides Necaxa and Atlas proved difficult for Diaz, who found his footing with Pacific and became a goalscoring phenom for the CPL side between 2020 and 2022. Now back in the fold under James Merriman, the expectation is that the Mexican forward can tap in to his prior golden boot-winning form and reignite strong partnerships with the likes of Marco Bustos, Kadin Chung, and Josh Heard, who were all with him for the ’21 title win.

“I am just happy because this is home, this is where it all started,” says Diaz following his transition from the lower mainland to Vancouver Isle. 

“I am happy and excited to come back to the island to play for Pacific and I look forward to playing my first game back at Starlight in front of our fans.”