Luis Fernando Puente – Chivas Guadalajara’s prodigious poacher
In 2020, Luis Fernando Puente was soaring as a lethal goalscoring presence leading the line for a highly talented Chivas U20 while he was promoted to Tapatio as a 17-year-old. However, in his professional debut, he rose for an aerial duel before landing and tearing his anterior cruciate ligament as he was meant to be out for a period of seven months but spent almost two years on the treatment table. The youngster had a decorated youth career, scoring 53 goals with the youth sides as he also led the line for a Mexican U17 side which finished as runners up in the 2019 U17 World Cup in Brazil. The now 19-year-old returned at the back-end of last year with a goal against the Club America U20 side while he was promoted to Tapatio, Chivas’ second team as he has scored 3 goals in the last 4 games of the Liga MX Expansion.
Luis Fernando Puente is from Colima as his parents looked to get him involved with sports from an early age, initially starting with basketball at 4-years-old as the Mexican youngster did not feel a passion for the sport. His father would take him and his older brother, Jose Luis to Monarcas Morelia where he immediately enjoyed playing football as his team played on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but Puente wanted to play every day. Him and his friends would play football with a ‘stepped-on’ plastic bottle with goals made out of a basketball post and a trash can in a game which included about 50 children. He was selected for his Colima Under 9 team where they played in the San Juan de Los Lagos tournament in Jalisco as he was regarded as one of more outstanding players in the tournament before playing in a local tournament in Colima as he had Chivas and five other Mexican clubs tracking his development. The youngster played on the left wing and even in goal before settling on a position up front as Chivas scouts, Hugo Diaz and Aldo Rivas approached his parents.
He trialed at Chivas as a 12-year-old in 2014 as he was the only player in his age-group as Puente would struggle in the trial as the youngster would eventually join Chivas in 2015, training on Fridays and playing on Saturdays. Chivas’ youth team regularly play in tournaments all over the world in countries like Japan, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, United States and Netherlands as he would consistently look to compare himself with the other team’s striker. This underpins his mentality as rigorous gym work has led to an imposing physique while he has shown grit to return from injury with a renewed energy and focus. He has leaned on his father Jose Luis, his mother Angelica as well as his brothers Jose Luis and Monserrat who provide steady support through thick and thin.
Puente is a physically imposing young striker at over six-feet tall with a well-built physique as he is topped with black hair and his hair parted either side of his forehead. He can hold off defenders and relishes a physical battle while there is an intelligence and maturity about his movement in the box. The 20-year-old is an old-fashioned poacher as he has a mastery of occupying a defender’s blind-side to make double-movements towards the ball at the near post or he can lurk at the back-post, holding off his defender while keeping his feet movement to be in the perfect position to score rebounds. It is rare that you see a striker so well-rounded in his finishing repertoire at such a young age as he can make runs in behind while he has intelligence for remaining onside, making darts in behind but moving onto the shoulder of the last man if he does not receive the ball as he is comfortable in allowing defenders to move in front of him, readjusting his position to be in the perfect space for a delivery or rebound. He can score a wide variety of goals while he can make runs into the channels to receive passes and create opportunities from crossing situations. As he readjusts to regular football and becomes more in-tune with his teammates, Puente’s hold-up and combination play is improving.
In 2020, at home to the Mazatlan U20 side, the young striker dropped deep to receive possession, turning to thread a through ball to a runner in the 9 space as when possession was lost in the opposition half, he reacted quickly to regain possession and lay-off the ball to a teammate. In another situation, he received a lobbed pass from the goalkeeper to control possession with his chest and switch the ball to the flank before making a run into the nine-space, holding his run before making a dart into a pocket of space where he received a through ball to have a shot saved. At home to the Puebla U20 side, he received possession after a turnover to turn and drive the ball forward, threading a pass for a teammate to drive into the opposition box. Puente utilized his double movements to get an opportunity on goal as after a ball was switched to the left flank, he made a run into the box, occupying his defender’s blind-side as the young striker took a step back before bursting forward to meet a delivery and head an opportunity straight at the goalkeeper.
He received a deep pass in between the lines to lay-off the ball as he received another deep pass in between the lines to hold-up possession and lay-off another pass. The 20-year-old received possession again as he utilized step-overs to evade a marker and drive into the box where he had a shot saved with his weaker left foot. Last year, he played his first game in nearly two years against the Club America U20s as he counter-pressed after a turnover, using his body to shield the ball from an opponent to turn and drive the ball forward before laying off for a teammate. It would not take him long to score his first goal since his return from injury as he received a through ball, allowing the ball to roll to his left, opening his body and guiding the ball past the goalkeeper. In the Liga MX Expansion, away to Rayadas, he received possession on the left channel with a defender on his back as he held the ball and swivelled before working a pass to a teammate before latching onto a loose ball to drive the ball forward and send a shot harmlessly wide of goal.
One of the fascinating aspects of Puente’s game is the savviness of his movement at such a young age as he was positioned in between his centre-backs, dropping deep and making a circular run around his defender to burst in behind as he did not receive possession with a through ball. The 20-year-old moved into an onside position to occupy a space in between the ball-far fullback and centre-back as he looked to make a run in behind to receive a cross but was too early with his movement. In the early games of 2023, Puente has been adjusting to his teammates as he has frequently moved into spaces too early or not moved into space quickly enough, but the intelligence of movement has still shone through. In another situation, he was positioned in between the opposition centre-backs, veering closer to the ball-far centre-back as he looked to make a run around his centre-back towards the back-post, tussling with him before suddenly making a run into open space in front of his defender to receive the ball but he was a second too late.
Puente would isolate the ball-far centre-back once more, moving into the box and holding his run as a delivery was lobbed behind him for the attacker to attempt an acrobatic kick that went harmlessly wide. The intention was good, but the striker’s timing was off as he made his run too early and was offside. As Puente settles into the flow of regular football, he is making minor mistakes as the 20-year-old would make a perfectly timed run in behind, controlling the ball with his outstretched leg to poke the ball behind him instead of pushing the ball forward as this denied him a shooting opportunity. In a free-kick situation, he started the sequence in an offside position before moving onto the shoulder of the last defender as the ball was lobbed into the box as the Mexican sent a header straight at goal. Puente was offside once more as he made his run too early.
After a turnover in the opposition half, Puente would drive the ball into the wide areas where he threaded a through ball to a teammate with his weaker left foot. The 20-year-old received an early pass in the nine-space to play a one-touch pass to a teammate before moving into the left half-space to receive possession and lay-off to a teammate once more. Puente is a poacher with sharp instincts around the box in an old-fashioned sense as he never stops moving and searching for space as there are a variety of ways that he can fashion opportunities for himself. Puente started a sequence in an offside position, moving into the space in between the ball-far fullback and centre-back before making a run into the box to latch onto a low cross which was cleared at the last minute. With more experience and cohesion with his teammates, Puente’s all-round play has begun to improve as at home to Atlante, he made a run into the right channel to receive possession, surging past a defender to have his cross blocked.
The striker would drop deep to win a turnover and lay-off to a teammate to start an attacking move before receiving a deep pass in the nine-space to play a one-touch flick to a runner in behind. The 20-year-old received possession to lay-off the ball to a teammate as he received another deep pass in between the lines to control the ball and switch a pass for a winger. Puente would make a run to the right flank to pick up a loose ball, skipping past a challenge and driving into the centre to play a through ball for a teammate which was too heavy. The Mexican prodigy would make another intelligent run in the final third as he was positioned in between the opposition centre-backs as once the ball was played to his winger, he made a run-in front of the ball-near centre-back as the cross was played in front of him. He received possession in the nine-space to play a nonchalant flick for a runner to drive the ball to the top of the box.
At home to Atletico La Paz, he opened his account for the season, making a run in between the opposition’s ball-far centre-back and fullback, occupying the defender’s blind-side, before moving in front of his centre-back as when a cross was played into the box, he engaged the centre-back in a physical tussle as he faked a run to the back-post before making a run into a pocket of space in the centre where a cross into his area was cleared. When his team regained possession and played the ball into the wide zone, he was positioned offside but moved back into an onside position as a cross was played to the back-post for a shot to be played across the face of goal as Puente ghosted in at the back-post to tap into an empty net. The 20-year-old has the old-fashioned sensibility of a poacher as his feet never stopped moving in the box and he continually challenged his defenders, reacting quickly to finish a high-quality opportunity.
After a turnover, he received possession to play a lay-off to a teammate and surge into the box as he nearly had another opportunity, making a run to the back-post before ghosting into the centre of the box but the cross was blocked. Puente thrives in occupying his defender’s blind-side and moving into space in the box as in the future, he will be a deadly finisher from low crossing opportunities. The 20-year-old received an early pass into the nine-space to lay-off for a teammate, moving in between the ball-far centre-back and fullback before moving into space for a shot that was held by the goalkeeper. The youngster’s constant movement, reaction speed and alertness in the opposition box will make him a deadly finisher from rebound situations as well. Puente moved onto the right flank to receive a lobbed pass, holding off a marker before flicking the ball past him to drive the ball forward as he attempted a pass into the centre which was intercepted.
Puente’s movement and instincts around the box are impressive for a striker at such a young age while it is more impressive that he has maintained this awareness despite missing nearly two years of football. The 20-year-old was positioned on the ball-far centre-back’s blind-side once more as he made a double-movement, darting past his defender to make a run in behind to receive a through ball cutting back a cross to a teammate who mis-kicked his opportunity at goal. Away to Correcaminos, the 20-year-old latched onto a loose back-pass, calmly slotting the ball in between the goalkeeper’s legs to apply the finish and open the scoring. Puente utilized his movement and instincts to have another opportunity on goal as he moved from the left flank towards the centre of the box, positioning himself on the ball-far centre-back’s blind-side as he dropped into a pocket of space while a low cross came into the box as the 20-year-old reacted quickly to poke a shot directly at the goalkeeper.
The Mexican attacker moved into the left channel to receive a pass down the line, using his body to hold-up possession and work a pass to a teammate. After a turnover, he was positioned in the nine-space, faking like he was going to make a run to the back-post before making a run across his defender to the near post to anticipate a through ball as he also looked to drag a defender out of position for a teammate. At home to Celaya, he received an early pass in between the lines to lay-off for a teammate as he would open the scoring once more to score in his third straight match. As the ball was switched to the right flank, Puente made a movement to the back-post as the cross would be deflected towards the goalkeeper who prodded the ball in front of him for Puente to react quickly with a tap-in. The sharpness of his movement and instincts in the box allow him to consistently ghost into high quality positions to score goals.
Puente received a deep pass in between the lines to thread a pass to a runner in behind before the 20-year-old would regain possession in the midfield line to drive the ball forward and attempt a through ball which was intercepted. He regained possession to receive a line-breaking pass and lay-off to a teammate. In another attacking sequence, he was occupying the ball-far centre-back as he normally does, moving forward with the line to stay on-side as the ball was switched to the opposite flank while Puente made a dart to the back-post as a cross was played behind him, denying him the ability to gain proper contact with the ball. After another switch ball, Puente was lurking at the back-post once more, moving towards his defender to engage him before continuing his run as a cross was lofted over his head. The 20-year-old eventually notched an assist to goal with his goal as he stopped his feet and made a dart in behind to receive a through ball, cutting back a cross to Alejandro Organista who took a touch and applied the finish. In an attacking sequence, the attacking prodigy was positioned in behind the opposition defence, moving towards the back-post as he looked to make runs into the six-yard area for a squared delivery while also remaining onside. He dropped back into an onside position making a late run into the box for a cross that was held by the goalkeeper.
Puente is a well-rounded striker in the sense that he is capable of scoring goals from a variety of situations. His sense for running in behind and running onto through balls is impeccable as he is composed in 1v1 situations with the opposition goalkeeper. However, he is unique in the sense that he prefers the back-post to the near post as positioning himself at the back-post allows him to make late runs onto loose crosses while also being adequately positioned for rebounds. He is a poacher as his instincts and appetite around the opposition box is insatiable, constantly making late movements onto deliveries as his positioning for high quality opportunities is exquisite. At the beginning of the season, he is still adjusting to his teammates as he is frequently a second too late to meet deliveries while some of the trajectory of the deliveries have made it difficult for him to apply the finishing touch. Puente will thrive at finishing off low crossing opportunities in the future, especially deliveries across the face of goal.
As a finisher, Puente possesses the potential to be a goal scorer at the highest level as he can finish with both feet as when he steadies himself, in situations where he runs in behind or in situations where he dribbles into space, he can generate power and precision with his weaker left foot. This increases the variety of angles and body shapes that he can finish from as if he harnesses this trait, especially with one-touch finishes from crossing situations in the box, he will be able to finish with both feet and his head. He has the potential to be a striker who can create his own shooting opportunities by dribbling past a defender to generate space for shots while also being able to finish from crosses from a variety of angles and ranges.
Puente struggles in remaining onside as he shows a good awareness of the last man in the defensive line and actively looks to maintain an onside position but his lack of chemistry with his teammates, sees him make runs a fraction too early in certain situations. As the season has gone on, the 20-year-old’s hold-up play has improved as he can receive early passes in between the lines, make runs into the channel as well as laying off possession for teammates or flicking passes into runners. He is a striker that prefers to face the opposition goal rather than facing his own goal. His size allows him to engage defenders in physical battles within the box in a style akin to FC Cincinnati’s Brandon Vazquez as he will pose a threat in the air and on the ground.
After such a lengthy layoff, Puente’s main goal is to continue accruing minutes with Tapatio before moving up to the first team as he is likely to gain first-team minutes with Chivas in 2023. Jose Juan Macias is currently nursing an ACL injury as this could provide an opportunity for Puente in the interim. To return so quickly and so effectively after a long lay-off has shown grit and resilience in such a young player as he has picked up where he left off as one of Mexico’s top up and coming young attackers. Puente has not only the physical tools but tactical intelligence and mentality to become a high-level striker in the future.
