With a growth in football that has led him to garner praise as the driving force of the United States national team, Diego Luna, a player with Mexican origins, on the eve of the Gold Cup final against Mexico, assured that he never doubted that one day he would defend the colors Americans.

From that perspective, Luna acknowledged that he would never go against the Mexican roots that vibrate through his entire being, but when he was born in Sunnyvale, California, since he was a child, he adopted the North American customs that led him to have an internal struggle at various times in his life when he saw that part of his family supported the green jersey of the Tricolor and the other half the blue, red and white of the Americans.

With a name that he shares with the famous Mexican actor, Diego Luna acknowledged after the hard-fought victory over Guatemala and on the threshold of the grand final against the national team of the country where his parents were born that he never had any doubts about defending the North American team and where, in the absence of Christian Pulisic, he has assumed a leading role in the squad led by Argentine Mauricio Pochettino and that will play in the final of the Gold Cup.

Mixed feelings against Mexico

Not long ago, Diego Luna himself acknowledged that he always had mixed feelings at home about his Mexican origins and his American nationality, But without letting that affect his roots: “As I started growing up, I realized that I’m also Mexican, I speak Spanish, and my parents are from Mexico. So I started to put it into perspective: I respect and love Mexico, and I love being Mexican, but I grew up in the United States,” he said. For that reason, when it came to deciding which colors he would defend, he never doubted that they would be those of the United States: “I think it’s something you should be proud of. I was born and raised in the United States, and it gave me what I have today. It brought me to where I am, and I think that’s something important to put into perspective: I was born and raised in the United States, so it’s only fair to play for the country that raised me and made me who I am.”

It could not even be said that the United States took Luna away from Mexico, because at one point the director of the minor national teams of the Tricolor, the Argentine Andrés Lillini, went to look for him to convince him to defend the Mexican jersey, but the response was clear and forceful to decline the invitation to travel to Mexico City to train with the Tricolor and bet on the process of the United States youth teams.

The figure

For now, Diego Luna has taken an important role in the United States national team in the Concacaf tournament where he has contributed three goals and two assists in four games played, especially in the last game against Guatemala, where he scored two goals.

Under this scenario, Luna hopes that on Sunday against the national team of the country where his parents were born he can assume a leading role so that he becomes the wedge that presses emerging from the same stick and has never I hesitated to say it publicly.

Growing up, people would always come over to watch the games. The rivalry with Mexico was really strong, and I would always wear the USA jersey,” he began on the American Soccer Now website. “I would even cry when Mexico scored against us, and tears would come to my eyes, and I would go around telling people to stop cheering because half my family was rooting for Mexico and the other half was rooting for the USA,” he concluded.