God Bless Diego Luna
Earlier this evening, the United States Men's Soccer Team was playing in an international friendly against Costa Rica.
Since Costa Rica is one of our traditional rivals, I was surprised by the friendly, but whatever.
So, as I worked on a separate article, I had the game on in the background. About halfway through the first half, the camera zoomed in on a player I had never seen before. The kid looked like he was on the wrong end of a car crash. Cotton shoved in his nostrils, blood on his face, and a red, swollen nose.
The first thing I thought was "dude, it's a friendly, you need to take a break." I looked up # 10 and it was Real Salt Lake's Diego Luna. Luna then set up the first goal with a picture-perfect pass on a crossing pattern.
Coincidentally, at ESPN:
Apparently, this is only Luna's third start for the USMNT. The heavily tattooed Luna stands only 5'3" but looks like an MMA Flyweight. Luna led the 16-7-11 Real Salt Lake squad to the playoffs this past season and was the team leader in assists. Luna was also among the team leaders in deep-dive analytical stats like Key Passes and Pass%.
As the United States went on to win 3-0, Luna's assist held up as he was substituted out at the half.
Why didn't he come out right away? 21-year-old Luna looks like a scrapper. If it's his dream to play for the USMNT, he took the first steps to earning his keeps tonight.
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