What is Diego Luna's role in his second year with Real Salt Lake?
What is Diego Luna's role in his second year with Real Salt Lake?
The 19-year-old midfielder who transferred with lofty expectations will juggle U-20 World Cup aspirations with finding his spot with the Claret-and-Cobalt.
HERRIMAN, Utah — The altitude effect was real when Diego Luna returned to Real Salt Lake preseason training after a few weeks in Florida with the United States’ U-20 national team.
It was a necessary camp, even if head coach Mikey Varas wasn’t in attendance while filling in with the senior team in California. That left a handful of assistant staff members — as well as the players themselves — to manage themselves in preparation for the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup this May and June in Indonesia.
But coming back to the mountains of Utah before RSL departed for the final leg of preseason in Arizona? That took a minute to adjust, Luna admits.
“It was kind of difficult, going from Florida and the sun and the beaches, to back here. My first day back, it was around 5 degrees,” Luna said with a laugh. “I was like, wow, this is crazy. Nothing crazy, but it was a little bit different.”
The U-20s will convene another pre-World Cup camp in March, and all signs point to Luna being called in. He is, after all, one of the key leaders on a U.S. side expected to contend for possibly their best finish since finishing fourth in 1989.
That presents RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni with some challenges in managing Luna’s 2023 campaign. It’s for a good cause, and no one begrudges it — why turn down a national team call-up, especially at the youth level where the United States is something of a power?
But RSL has been trying to build up its depth in the midfield, and with the return of Damir Kreilach from season-ending back surgery last year, Luna’s spot has been a bit more undefined since he signed he moved up from El Paso Locomotive FC on a USL Championship-record transfer fee. He’s played everywhere from central midfield to left-sided midfielder during RSL’s preseason, with varying results early that have improved over the years.
“Diego’s had a really bright camp,” Mastroeni said. “I think in the setup we were playing, he was playing as a 10 and wasn’t seeing a lot of the ball. So we moved him out wide left, and instantly, he got on the ball more and was able to affect the game more.
“But more importantly, he was able to create opportunities on the go for us, which is the end game. And in our last game (against Chicago), he came in as a pivot and did a really nice job of keeping the ball for us, looking forward, and being able to penetrate with the ball. I think a player of his caliber that’s comfortable playing in a number of positions is really important for a young player. Going into this year with the U-20 championships, he’s going to go in sharp; I feel comfortable playing him in any of those positions. I feel he can contribute in any of those spots.”
Beyond Kreilach and Luna, RSL’s other attacking midfield options have been playes with mostly Real Monarchs experience, including Julio Benitez, Jude Wellings, Griffon Dillon and Tyrone Mondi.
The club also finalized a deal to bring in Moses Nyeman on loan Monday. The 19-year-old two-way midfielder spent the past year at SK Beveren in Belgium — where RSL co-owner David Blitzer has an ownership stake — and would join a midfield corps that also includes Braian Ojeda, Pablo Ruiz, Scott Caldwell and Jasper Löffelsend.
That’s fine with Luna, who plays as a No. 10 in a 4-3-3 with the national team compared to his higher role in RSL’s 4-2-3-1. He was active in the second-half start of RSL’s 5-0 preseason win over USL side El Paso in Tucson on Tuesday, combing with trialist and former D.C. United homegrown Moses Nyeman well and connecting with Carlos Andres Gomez for one of two goals from the U-22 initiative winger. He also nearly bagged another assist on a late free kick, but Rubio Rubin’s shot hit off the post.
But will he grow enough to make more than three starts in 13 appearances he had a year ago following his midseason transfer to Salt Lake?
“I think this year is a very important year, from the preseason to how difficult of a year it is with the World Cup and U-20 departures. It’ll be difficult, but it’s to have that World Cup to try to shine in,” Luna said. “Last year was good to dip my toes in the water. Now the nerves are gone, and I think this year will be very exciting for me, both with RSL and the U.S. national team.”
Both competitions — MLS and the World Cup — could prove pivotal for the career of Luna, who has admitted to European ambitions.
But learning to play in unfamiliar environments — including the direct style that Mastroeni is installing at RSL — is part of Luna’s development, as well. That includes being variable in midfield, the coach added.
“I think from a setup perspective, we want to be very vertical and very direct in the way we want to play. That doesn’t always suit Diego’s skillsets,” Mastroeni said midway through preseason training camp. “He’s more of a player who likes to slow build. For us, we want to score goals, we want to threaten, we want to play with pace and pressure our opponents with physical prowess. That doesn’t always suit his skillsets.
“Diego is doing a great job affecting the physical aspects of his game; at any level, that has to be first and foremost, no matter where you play in the world. I think there’s a big jump from USL to Major League Soccer, and in that position — the same position that Dami plays — you need a guy who is going to put up 10 goals and 10 assists. It’s not a free position; every position has its functions, but the 9 and 10 is either setting up goals or scoring them.”
An 87% passer, Luna had eight shots in 310 minutes a year ago for RSL. Those numbers will need to improve for the position he plays in MLS, even if it’s slightly different from his U-22 position, Mastroeni said.
The club had conversations about loaning out Luna to another club, similar to the recent move center back Jaziel Orozco made to Liga MX side Santos Laguna. None of those conversations ended with any direct transaction, but it’s a conversation Mastroeni admits the club had, at one point.
Instead, they think his better development will come with the first team in Utah, as well as his various international call-ups in a World Cup year.
“As far as expectations for Diego Luna as he moves up, it’s not combination play. It’s not helping build. It’s putting numbers on the board, and that’s what is going to be attractive to the full men’s national teams, to the Under-22s, is a guy who can put reference behind his actions,” Mastroeni said.
“His play is art. It’s beautiful. But it has to be effective in the role. And that’s also why most of the players in the league cost tens of millions of dollars to come in and do that. It’s the hardest position in the game.
“It’s the hardest position in this country to really breed those players. And I think for Diego, it’s going to be a journey of time, of patience, of understanding, and getting his opportunity and running with it.”