Diego Luna isn't trying to be angry at US Olympic camp snub. He's just having fun with RSL
Diego Luna isn't trying to be angry at US Olympic camp snub. He's just having fun with RSL
“I just continue to play. I don’t think think there’s much to it,” Luna said Friday before Real Salt Lake's home match with Austin FC.
Diego Luna easily could have been bitter, angry, upset or disappointed.
Maybe he was — he would have had a right to be, and it would only be natural. But after the initial sting of being left off the U.S. Olympic team’s training camp roster for a June preparatory camp in the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Summer Games, he found a way to put it behind him.
So the former U.S. U-20 national team star who won the 2022 Concacaf U-20 championship that served as a qualifier for both the U-20 World Cup and the Olympics won’t lash out — at least not publicly — at head coach Marko Mitrovic about the inclusion (or his lack thereof).
“I just continue to play. I don’t think think there’s much to it,” Luna said. “It’s not that deep for me. I continue to work hard, do my thing, and things will happen. You can only control what you can control … All I can do is perform.”
He’s also not out of the player pool, not yet, if we read between the lines of Mitrovic’s terse statements when asked about Luna after the release of the training camp roster.
“Listen, Diego is one of the players that we are considering,” the coach said, per MLS. “He was in consideration for November camp, unfortunately he was injured. In March camp he was with us. Now there are some other guys there that we want to evaluate.
“The doors are open for every player and for Diego not being in June camp, like for any other player that is not in June camp, doesn't mean that they are not going to be in for the Olympic Games.”
The door has been left cracked open for Luna, even if he isn’t available for selection during the Kansas City-based camp that will conclude with a friendly against Japan on June 11.
And if not? Well, Luna has plenty of other priorities right now, both personally and with his team. While not representing his country at the Olympic tournament would sting, the career of the once-nicknamed “Moon Boy” is just beginning to blast off.
Luna, 20, has found his form again with Real Salt Lake in 2024, playing a variety of positions and scoring three goals with seven assists for the Western Conference-leading Salt Lake squad after what he admits was “a little slump,” one that was overcome with the help of his therapist as Luna sought to improve his mental health.
The rising star with European ambitions who has grown from “Moon Boy” to “Moon Man” during his short time with Real Salt Lake — which has Luna under contract through 2026 with options for 2027 and 2028 — is finding joy in the game, and it may be hard not to with an 8-2-6 club that boasts the likes of teammates Chicho Arango, Andres Gomez, Matt Crooks, Emeka Eneli and center backs Justen Glad and Brayan Vera playing at a high level.
Add Luna to the thick of that list of players who deserve all-star recognition.
“That’s what I was lacking in the beginning of the season, was the joy in it,” Luna said. “Being free. That’s what I’ve found, and that leads to me being successful on the field individually — but also as a team. I think that just brings joy to us and the confidence of the group, knowing that Diego is playing well and Diego has got us. I can look back and say, Andres has us; Chicho has us; everybody is trusting each other.
“It’s the only way you’re going to win,” he added. “If you’re not enjoying it, you’re going to feel like s***. It’s very simple.”