Three hundred and four days is a long time for a footballer to go without playing in a game. And 1,135 days must feel like a lifetime for a striker to go without scoring.

The former Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz ended both of those personal droughts within the first 20 minutes of a friendly between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico this week.

Mariano made 84 appearances for Madrid over two spells between 2016 and 2023, scoring 12 times. He then joined fellow La Liga side Sevilla in 2023 but left them last summer and has been without a club since.

He had scored his last official goal on February 15, 2022, for Madrid against Cadiz in La Liga, and his most recent appearance in any recognised competition was in a Spanish top-flight match for Sevilla against Barcelona on April 26 last year.

Now, he is back in business.

The 31-year-old has committed to the Dominican Republic national team in time for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and this summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup in Canada and the United States, with 16 sides from North and Central America and the Caribbean competing.

So, why did the Dominican Republic want Mariano after such a long time out? And how was he able to hit the ground running on his return?

Mariano played 88 minutes in the Dominican Republic’s 2-0 win against Puerto Rico on Tuesday, at Cibao Stadium in the Dominican city of Santiago.

His goal came from a long ball over the top, which he received on his chest while running in behind the Puerto Rican defence. That touch dropped the ball onto his favoured right foot, before he fired a shot into the bottom left-hand corner.

It was a high-quality take and finish from a similar angle to his stoppage-time goal seconds after coming off the bench against Barcelona in March 2020 — his best moment in a Madrid shirt — and showed why the Dominican Republic are so excited to have him, despite his lack of club football over the past 10 months.

“It was a very beautiful feeling to return to the pitch, to score a goal again. It’s what I most like,” Mariano told the Dominican Republic football team’s official channels. “There’s a very good connection (with the rest of the team), very good chemistry, and I hope it continues like that in the next games.”

The goal was of special importance to the Dominican Republic’s Argentinian manager Marcelo Neveleff, who pushed for Mariano’s inclusion.

“I told him before (the game) that I was praying for him to score a goal, and he gave me a big hug. And then after the game, he gave me another big hug,” Neveleff, 62, tells The Athletic. “We were all rooting for him, and he knew that, even without saying words. He showed gratitude to us all, coaching staff and players. We were all really happy for him.”

The two teams had met just four days earlier in Puerto Rico and drew 2-2 without the Dominican Republic’s two most high-profile players, Mariano and Leeds United left-back Junior Firpo, who both scored in the later win in Santiago. Puerto Rico are 157th in FIFA’s world rankings (the Dominican Republic are 141st), so there will be tougher tests ahead for Mariano.

It was his first appearance for the Dominican Republic — where his mother is from — since his international debut in 2013, when he featured in a friendly against Haiti. He was also eligible to play for Spain, having been born in Premia de Mar, Catalonia.

In a 2018 interview with Spanish news agency EFE, as reported by Marca, he called playing for Spain “a dream I have since I’ve been little” and added: “They (the Dominican Republic) have tried to get me to go (there), but I have the desire and the intention of playing for Spain.”

Neveleff, who was appointed in January 2023, says: “When I got here two years ago, we went over the players of Dominican heritage that played in Europe, and he was on the top of the list. We met a year ago, and then he told me that he was interested but not at the moment, when he was in Seville. But then we started talking again and it was a big-time opportunity for us as a national team to have a player of his calibre.

“He believed that we were going to be able to help him relaunch his career. And that’s why it was a win-win situation for all of us.”

Players without a club very rarely represent their countries.

Notable examples include Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal at the 2022 World Cup after his second Manchester United exit two days into the tournament and Zinedine Zidane at the 2006 World Cup, as he had announced he would retire when his France team’s involvement ended having already played his last game at club level for Real Madrid.

Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa put in stellar performances for Mexico at the 2014 World Cup while he was a free agent after leaving France’s Ajaccio to earn a move to Spanish side Malaga and Hal Robson-Kanu helped Wales to the 2016 European Championship semi-finals as a free agent after his deal at Reading expired — his decisive second in the 3-1 quarter-final win against Belgium nominated for FIFA’s Puskas award for the best goal that calendar year — and was then signed by West Bromwich Albion.

But none were without a club for as long as Mariano, who endured a difficult time at Madrid.

He joined their youth system in 2011-12 from Catalan side Badalona and rose to become third-choice striker behind Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata in 2016-17. He made the most of his limited minutes to earn an €8million ($8.7m; £6.7m at current exchange rates) move to France’s Lyon in summer 2017 and scored 21 goals in 48 games for them across all competitions the following season before Madrid then exercised a right of first refusal to bring him back in 2018.

His final five years at Madrid were characterised by a lack of playing time and it probably did not help that he took on the iconic No 7 shirt worn by Cristiano Ronaldo when he left for Juventus in the summer of 2018. Mariano finally left through the back door in 2023 and signed as a free agent with Sevilla — but failed to score in 13 appearances and has been without a club since leaving last summer after his one-year contract expired.

Mariano scores for Madrid against Barca in March 2020 (David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Dominican Republic manager Neveleff describes him as a “tough kid” who is “very strong mentally”.

“These guys are high-level athletes,” says Neveleff. “If they have the idea to come back, they cannot relax, especially (when it comes to) physical training. What is most challenging (for a player) is (going without) the competition. When you play in La Liga, the Premier League or the Championship, whichever, some of the stuff that you were resolving on the field in a split second, it might take you a bit longer to do it and when you take longer, you are already late for the action.

“He missed a couple of chances (in the Puerto Rico game). I told him if he had been in top shape and form he would not have missed. He missed a one-on-one with the goalkeeper before he scored the goal, but he knows.”

But the signs were mostly positive on Mariano’s return. He trained well before the game and played those 88 minutes to a decent level before being replaced.

“I saw him in the first day in practice and it was obvious this guy has been training all the time (despite being without a club),” says Neveleff, “so we had a conversation and I asked him, ‘Do you feel that you are ready to start?’. When he told me ‘Yes’, I believed him.”

The Dominican Republic’s goalkeeper Xavier Valdez, of MLS club Nashville FC, agrees on Mariano’s quality.

“With him as a new addition, it makes our fight for qualification to the World Cup much stronger,” the 21-year-old tells The Athletic. “He brings a lot of quality and effectiveness to the team. Everyone has received him well, and I think we can all say that we are all very excited for him to be part of the team again.”

With two games played and two to go, the Dominican Republic are third in their second-round Concacaf World Cup qualifying group, behind Guatemala and Jamaica, as they chase a historic first appearance in football’s most prestigious tournament.

The top two in each of the six groups (12 teams overall) progress to the third round, where they will be split into three groups of four. The three third-round group winners will qualify directly for next year’s World Cup, with the two best-ranked runners-up entering inter-confederation play-offs also involving teams from Asia, Africa, South America and Oceania.

Neveleff says Mariano is hoping to find himself a club before the Dominican Republic’s next matches in early June, when they visit Guatemala and host Dominica, a fellow Caribbean island nation, in those last two second-round World Cup qualifiers before the Gold Cup starts later that month.

The Dominican Republic qualified for the 2024 Olympics and are now aiming for a first World Cup appearance (Alex Grimm – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

“I don’t think he will be without a team for long, but if that happens, I am going to start bugging him,” says Neveleff.

“I know it is in the middle of the season (for many leagues), but hopefully, he will get somewhere. If not, he will stay training, and I’ll see how I can help him. Maybe we can bring him over and train with a group of players here, but I believe in his quality.

“The next international window is only a few months away. I don’t think he will lose his quality from today to June, so my plan is to have him at all costs.”

The Dominican Republic have made important strides in football in recent years.

Their qualification for the Gold Cup marks the men’s team’s first major tournament, one year after the women first qualified for their equivalent competition.

The men’s side also appeared at the 2024 Olympics in France, where they were knocked out at the group stage, drawing with Egypt (0-0) and Uzbekistan (1-1) and losing 3-1 to eventual gold medallists Spain. Mariano was listed in their preliminary squad but ultimately got left out, with competing countries only allowed three players over 23 years old in their selected 18.

The country’s increased commitment to football also saw it host the Under-17 Women’s World Cup from October to November last year.

Higher standards have been set partly thanks to the successful recruitment of dual-national players playing in Europe, including Firpo, who committed his future to them in February 2024, Getafe forward Peter Gonzalez, and left-back Juan Familia-Castillo of Dutch side RKC Waalwijk.

If he can continue to score, Mariano could take the Dominican Republic closer to history — and perhaps relaunch his club career in the process.

(Top photo: Mariano celebrates scoring for Madrid in 2019; David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)