{"id":49576,"date":"2026-04-20T20:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T14:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=49576"},"modified":"2026-04-20T20:19:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T14:49:48","slug":"real-madrid-vs-alaves-mariano-diaz-set-to-return-to-santiago-bernabeu-for-the-first-time-since-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/football\/la-liga\/real-madrid-vs-alaves-mariano-diaz-set-to-return-to-santiago-bernabeu-for-the-first-time-since-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Madrid vs Alav\u00e9s: Mariano D\u00edaz set to return to Santiago Bernab\u00e9u for the first time since 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"auto\">Former Real Madrid striker <strong>Mariano D\u00edaz<\/strong> is available for selection as his current club, Deportivo Alav\u00e9s, faces Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernab\u00e9u on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in a La Liga clash. This marks his first return to the iconic stadium since leaving the club in June 2023.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"auto\">A Homecoming Full of Nostalgia and Pressure<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"auto\">The 32-year-old Dominican Republic international spent several years at Real Madrid across two spells, winning multiple titles including Champions League trophies. However, his time at the Bernab\u00e9u was often hampered by limited opportunities and injuries. Now playing for Alav\u00e9s, Mariano will step onto the pitch where he once celebrated as a Los Blancos player \u2014 but this time as an opponent.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"auto\">Goal Drought in La Liga: 4 Years and Counting<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"auto\">One of the key storylines is Mariano\u2019s prolonged scoring drought in La Liga. He hasn\u2019t found the back of the net in the Spanish top flight for nearly <strong>four years<\/strong>. His last league goals for Madrid were sparse, and subsequent spells at Sevilla and his time away from regular football added to the challenge.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Recent reports indicate he has shown glimpses of form, including ending a long personal goal drought with strikes for Alav\u00e9s and his national team, but La Liga remains a tough nut to crack. Can he break this streak at the Bernab\u00e9u?<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"auto\">Alav\u00e9s\u2019 Battle Against Real Madrid<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Alav\u00e9s sit near the bottom of the table and need points to secure their La Liga status, while Real Madrid are pushing for a strong finish in second place. Mariano\u2019s inclusion could provide a boost of experience and motivation for the visitors.<\/p>\n<ul dir=\"auto\">\n<li><strong>Key Fact<\/strong>: Mariano made 84 appearances and scored 12 goals during his time at Real Madrid.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bernab\u00e9u Return<\/strong>: First time back since his departure in summer 2023.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Current Form<\/strong>: Available after recent squad returns and looking to make an impact off the bench or in the starting XI.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 dir=\"auto\">What to Expect from Mariano vs Real Madrid<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"auto\">This fixture carries huge sentimental value. Mariano has always spoken positively about his time at Real Madrid, and the club\u2019s fans often remember his dedication. A goal or strong performance here could be a memorable moment in his career \u2014 either a redemption story or a respectful tribute from the home crowd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Real Madrid striker Mariano D\u00edaz is available for selection as his current club, Deportivo Alav\u00e9s, faces Real Madrid at\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":49579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4651],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-la-liga"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49576"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49583,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49576\/revisions\/49583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}