Ruben Luna is a 19-year-old U20 Mexican international forward, and Dallas’ best of their six Home Grown Players. Luna, a member of the inaugural FC Dallas Juniors program, burst onto the youth scene in 2009, scoring an incredible 38 goals in his 27 league matches with the FCD U16 Juniors en route to being named the Development Academy U16 player of the year.
MLS 2011 Preview: Ruben Luna Poised For The Spotlight
Rune Luna
Position: Forward
Team: FC Dallas
Nationality: Mexico
Age: 19
A member of the Mexican U20 national team, he has torn up the youth ranks at every stop.
| Team | App. | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| FC Dallas | 4 | 0 |
Luna, a big strong forward that reminds you a ton of Carlos Ruiz in his prime, minus the diving, was promoted to the first team for the 2010 pre-season after leading the team in scoring. But due to visa issues, he was unable to be signed to a Home Grown contract until the middle of the year. Luna would appear in a few games last year, but is ready for his time in the spotlight in 2011. Ruben fits perfectly as a forward in the FC Dallas 4-1-4-1 system as he holds the ball up well and will finish half-chances with deadly regularity. In a first for MLS development academies, Luna was called into the Mexican U-20 national team in preparation for the U20 World Cup this summer in Colombia.
What can Luna do to improve his game?
Luna simply needs to work on speeding his game up a bit more. His decisions can still be a bit slow, especially at the MLS level, but those will improve with time.
How will you know when he’s figuring it all out?
If he’s scoring poaching goals and combining well with Brek Shea and Marvin Chavez on the outsides, he’s finally improved his speed to the MLS level. It’s really just a matter of time.
What’s a reasonable expectation in terms of production and playing time?
It all depends on if he plays for Mexico in the U20 World Cup. If Luna stays with FC Dallas for the majority of the season, he should play in 20 games and score at least a few goals. Right now Luna is the No. 2 forward on the depth chart.
What’s the ceiling on Luna?
Some might laugh, but almost every person I’ve talked to within the organization that’s watched this player develop says “Carlos Ruiz.” Ruiz, of course, won two Golden Boots during his first stint in MLS. Luna has the potential to be a top 5 forward in the league.
- Report by Daniel Robertson of Big D Soccer
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