Mario Benito Luna Sarmiento (born 19 October 1958) is an Argentine former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, and later worked as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He began his career in his native Argentina, moving abroad to spend the

1980 North American Soccer League season Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1980. This was the 13th season of the NASL. Overview The league comprised 24 teams; for the only time in NASL history, the lineup of teams was identical to the year before, with no clubs join ...

with the

Washington Diplomats The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club representing Washington, D.C. Throughout their playing existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. A ...

. The rest of his career was spent with a variety of clubs in Spain and Argentina. After retiring, he worked as a coach, with his career including stints as manager at Al Khaleej in the United Arab Emirates and

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

in Spain. He has not held a managerial role since leaving

Cerro Reyes Agrupación Deportiva Cerro de Reyes Badajoz Atlético was a Spanish football team based in Badajoz, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1980, it was dissolved in 2011. Its home matches were held at ''Estadio José Pache''. H ...

in 2011.

Playing career

Luna was born in

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

, but began his career with

Club Atlético Colón Club Atlético Colón de Santa Fe (), commonly referred to as Colón de Santa Fe , is a sports club from Santa Fe, Argentina. The football team plays in the second Division of the Argentine football league system, the Primera Nacional. It was ...

in the neighbouring

Santa Fe Province The Invincible Province of Santa Fe (, , lit. "Holy Faith") is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco Province, Chaco (divided by the 2 ...

in 1977. He moved to fellow Primera División side

All Boys Club Atlético All Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Floresta, Buenos Aires. The institution is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Arge ...

in 1978, with whom he endured relegation at the end of the 1980 Metropolitano Championship. He then moved to the United States to join the

for the

, where his teammates included

Thomas Rongen Thomas Eddy Rongen (born 31 October 1956) is a Dutch-American football coach who has spent the majority of his playing and coaching career in the United States. In December 2016, he was named Chief Scout of the United States men's national soccer ...

and former Dutch international

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...

. He made seven appearances that season before moving to Spain with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

. Despite a fee of 5.5 million pesetas, Luna didn't play a competitive match for Valladolid before signing for

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

side

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

in the middle of the 1981–82 season. He stayed at Elche until 1985, but spent the majority of his tenure on loan at fellow second tier sides

Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half of ...

(one season) and

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

(two seasons). His best season was the 1982–83 campaign, spent with Palencia, in which he played 24 matches and scored four goals. His goals included a fine strike on his debut, which proved to be the only goal of a home win against

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

. He returned to his homeland in 1986 with Estudiantes, but soon found himself back in Spain when he joined

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

side

CD Maspalomas Club Deportivo Maspalomas is a Spanish football team based in Maspalomas, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Gran Canaria, in the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. Founded in 1969, it plays in , holding home matches at '' Estadio Municipal ...

. Maspalomas were relegated after the 1989–90 season, and Luna retired a year later at the age of 32.

Coaching career

Immediately following his retirement, Luna became a youth coach at

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

. His first managerial role was with UD Alfacar in the Primera Regional de Andalusia during the 1992–93 season. For the 1993–94 season he was assistant manager to

Nando Yosu Fernando Trío Zabala (8 July 1939 – 20 February 2016), known as Nando Yosu, was a Spanish football player and manager. His extensive career, as both a player and coach, was mainly associated with Racing de Santander. Playing career Born in ...

side

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, and the following season he had a spell as manager of their B team,

Recreativo Granada Club Recreativo Granada is a Spanish football team based in Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1947, it is the reserve team of Granada CF and currently plays in , holding home games at ''Estadio Miguel Prieto'', with a ...

, in the

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

. During 1996–97 he was a technical assistant at

side

Racing Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system ...

, and he returned to the club in the 2000–01 season, at the end of which they were relegated, as the assistant to Paraguayan manager Gustavo Benítez. He moved to the United Arab Emirates to become the manager of Al Khaleej for the 2001–02 UAE Football League campaign, in which they finished 11th out of 12 clubs and were relegated. He then returned to Granada as their sporting director, a post he held until 2004. In February 2006, La Liga club

dismissed their coach

Juan Carlos Oliva Juan Carlos Oliva Fornos (born 4 January 1965) is a Spanish football manager. Football career Born in Mequinenza, Province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Oliva started coaching at an early age, his beginnings being in amateur football. In 2005 he arrived ...

after just five games in charge, after chairman

Dmitry Piterman Dmitry Piterman (; born 18 December 1963) is a Ukrainian-American businessman. He owned Spanish La Liga football clubs Racing de Santander and Deportivo Alavés in the 2000s. Early years Piterman was born to a Jewish family in Odessa, in the Ukrai ...

accused him of insubordination. Luna took control until the end of the season, making his La Liga coaching debut in a tough away game against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...

, which Alavés lost 3–0. Luna lead the team to four victories, all at Mendizorrotza, against

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was foun ...

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

and

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de ...

. However, this was not enough to prevent relegation from the top flight, and Luna was replaced by

Julio Bañuelos Julio Bañuelos (born 7 December 1970) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defender, He has managed clubs including Alavés and Burgos. He was a graduate of the Barcelona academy. He was head coach at Persebaya Surabaya and an ass ...

before the start of the following season. That would prove to be a turbulent campaign for Alavés, with Bañuelos,

Chuchi Cos Jesús Gómez Cos (born 26 October 1968) is a Spanish football manager and former player. Playing career Cos was born in Maliaño in the municipality of Camargo, Cantabria, and began his career with Cantabrian Tercera División side Gimnástic ...

and

Fabri González Fabriciano "Fabri" González Penelas (born 25 April 1955) is a Spanish football manager. After playing at a low level, he began a managerial career of over three decades. He had brief spells at Logroñés and Granada in La Liga, as well as sev ...

all being sacked as manager by the end of February 2007. After one match with José Garmendia in temporary charge, Luna returned to the club in March to become their fifth coach of the season, but after no wins from his first five games, he resigned after less than a month in charge. Alavés replaced him with Quique Yagüe, their sixth manager of the campaign. In 2008, Luna moved to Mexico to become sporting director of Primera División side

Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara The (, ''Autonomous University of Guadalajara''), commonly abbreviated to UAG or Autónoma, is a coeducational, independent, private university based in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. Established in 1935, it was the first private university ...

, a position he held for one year. He returned to management in Spain when third-tier side

sacked

José Luis Diezma José Luis Diezma Izquierdo (born 22 September 1968) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is a manager. Playing career Born in Madrid, Diezma graduated from Real Madrid's youth setup. After making his senior debut wh ...

in December 2010, with Luna taking over until the end of the season. The club were in crisis, finished bottom of the table, and were relegated to the

Regional Preferente de Extremadura In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

as punishment for failing to fulfill all their fixtures and not paying their players. After leaving Cerro Reyes, Luna moved back to the UAE, becoming general manager of the España Sport Academy in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, a post he has held since 2012.

Career statistics

As a player

As a manager

References

External links

* *
Luna
at soccerway.com
Mario Benito Luna
at SoccerStats.us {{DEFAULTSORT:Luna, Mario 1958 births Living people Footballers from Córdoba, Argentina Argentine men's footballers Men's association football forwards Argentine Primera División players Club Atlético Colón footballers All Boys footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Washington Diplomats (NASL) players La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Real Valladolid players Elche CF players Palencia CF players CD Tenerife players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Argentine football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Tercera División managers Deportivo Alavés managers UAE Pro League managers Argentine expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Argentine football coaches Club Recreativo Granada managers 20th-century Argentine sportsmen