ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
The U.S. men's national soccer team was missing many of its usual players this summer at the Gold Cup tournament it lost to Mexico in the final last night, 2 to 1. But that allowed new stars to shine, with less than a year before the FIFA World Cup. NPR's Becky Sullivan has the story of one of them.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Coming into this year, the U.S. men's national team was in a bad place. The team had just fired its old coach and hired a new one to turn the squad around and to find a way to reignite the spark - the fight that the Americans were once known for. Then, all of a sudden, this past January, that spark showed back up in the form of a short, stocky, bleach blonde 21-year-old covered neck to ankles in tattoos.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
KYLE MARTINO: Diego takes an elbow right there - an accidental elbow - right in the nose.
SULLIVAN: Fifteen minutes into a match against Costa Rica, the new U.S. midfielder Diego Luna took an elbow right to the face. There was blood streaming out of his nose as he ran to a team doctor. For a few minutes, it seemed like he might have to sub out, as TNT announcer and former MLS player Kyle Martino speculated.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARTINO: This is an injury you could play through. I played with a broken nose - many players have - but it's - you know, it's January camp. He's going back to his team. It almost looks like it's more a discussion, does this make sense to have him go out there?
SULLIVAN: Whether it made sense or not, Luna came back in, with a fresh jersey and a cotton swab stuck up each nostril. Less than a minute later, he sent a beautiful pass right through the Costa Rica defenders and found his teammate for a goal.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: As Luna slides it through. It's Brian White, and he scores.
(CHEERING)
SULLIVAN: Afterwards, Luna was modest about the whole thing.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DIEGO LUNA: I didn't think it was that big of a deal on my part. I think it was just like, he broke his nose, you know? It happens in sports.
SULLIVAN: But his new coach, Mauricio Pochettino, had only the highest praise for Luna. After the game, he gave Luna a compliment I can't repeat on NPR, but it's one any man, I think, would be happy to receive. Luna says he was just being himself.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LUNA: Like, I didn't think anything of it. That's just what I did. And to be able to have that be known and a lot of people take, you know, pride in that and show that that's grit, that's determination, it's pretty cool 'cause that's just me.
SULLIVAN: Now, he says, the broken nose changed his life. It led to his being called up for the national team again this summer, and he played in all eight games, including Sunday night's final against Mexico - a game that had even more meaning for him because he's Mexican American - grew up in California, watching U.S.-Mexico games with his relatives.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LUNA: You know, half the family would be rooting for Mexico, half the family would be for USA. You know, we'd eat a bunch of food. There'd be, you know, enchiladas, hamburgers, whatever there is. You know, that's just my soccer family. So soccer is always in our blood, and it was just part of the family routine and stuff that we did.
SULLIVAN: His dad, Alberto, played soccer professionally around the U.S., coaches for a living. Diego left home at 15 years old to join the Barcelona Residency Academy in Arizona - a full-time soccer prep school. Seeing what his parents went through to give him that opportunity is what fuels him now, Luna says.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LUNA: I think my parents have worked very hard for me, you know, when I was younger, and, you know, hard days for them and tough times. I think that's, you know, the biggest thing at the top, would be able to give back to my family, whatever that - whatever, you know, they've given to me.
SULLIVAN: His pro career started in 2021. He now plays for the MLS team Real Salt Lake. As a Mexican American, Luna had the option of playing for the Mexican national team, but he chose the U.S. instead. After Luna scored twice in the Gold Cup semifinal, Pochettino told reporters that what he loves about Luna is how he's, quote, "desperate to wear that U.S. national jersey."
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MAURICIO POCHETTINO: That is all that we expect from a player - that attitude, hunger, desire.
SULLIVAN: Even the most experienced veteran on the team, the 37-year-old captain Tim Ream, says Luna has brought something back.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TIM REAM: He just has that something about him - that chip on his shoulder that was like, you know what? - this is me, unapologetically me. And let's - you know, let's drag the rest of us, you know, into the fight and get after it.
SULLIVAN: There's no guarantees for anyone about making the World Cup roster next summer, but Luna's participation now seems inevitable. Becky Sullivan, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
