FRISCO, Texas – One day, he is on a six-week slump. The next, he has a contract extension and is stuffing the stat sheet.
For six straight weeks beginning in mid-May, FC Dallas midfielder Mauro Diaz failed to score a goal or assist. And it was no coincidence that Dallas failed to win a single game during that stretch.
But something big happened for the young Argentine’s career on June 25, just one day before Diaz got off the schneid and began a tear that currently includes two goals and two assists in a four-game stretch – all wins for his club.
Diaz received a contract extension through the 2019 season.
The timing of the extension seemed odd at the time considering the slump he faced during Dallas’ treacherous five game road trip. But technical director Fernando Clavijo said there was something more important to consider when offering the extension.
“It was not about how much he was lighting it up every game. It was just health-wise,” Clavijo told MLSsoccer.com. “We were concerned right at the beginning if the league was too hard, because everybody knew the ball goes through Mauro. They were going to kill him.”
The concern was justified entering the 2015 season. Diaz had only played the full 90 minutes four times in his first two seasons in MLS while battling injuries.
He has already gone the distance seven times in 2015, while coming close with at least 86 minutes in three others.
“When he did that and we saw that he can really deal with the physical part of our league, that encouraged us to say ‘You know what? He can take it.,’” Clavijo said, also noting how Diaz has improved at getting away from tackles. “We always knew he could play. Now, he’s making it every game.”
Since returning on April 24 from a leg injury that sidelined him for four weeks, Diaz has not played fewer than 64 minutes in a game. The 24-year-old has shown vast improvements under new strength and conditioning coach Fabian Bazan, but as Clavijo mentioned, the club is still working on consistently keeping him in for the full 90.
“Sometimes Mauro plays with some tightness and some pains. But we know that that’s the way we have to push him and let him get through those moments,” said head coach Oscar Pareja. “And the way to build it, we take the little risks. But it’s the only way we can get him to this point where he can complete a lot of 90 minute games consecutively.”
The club has been careful with Diaz even in training sessions throughout much of this season, creating a special training regimen for him that would occasionally separate him from team drills.
As of today, those special regimens are no more, and Dallas’ heralded “magician” has improved his strength enough to merit being part of the team in every facet of the word.
And even though the improvement also earned him a few more years of paychecks and security, Pareja and company still want to see their star midfielder continue to prove his dependability.
“We’re happy for that, [but] we’re still in the process,” Pareja said. “I think he needs still maybe five months or the rest of the season to establish himself as a player we can count on on a daily basis.”
