Bruno Lapa..Enogh Said

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about a young Legion player that could become a star, Rudolf Mensah. While that is still true, there has been one young stud of a player that has emerged early this season. As you probably know, that man is Bruno Lapa.

Before the season, all Legion fans knew that this would be a team with loads of youth and potential. Not many people expected that the players coming straight out of college, or in Mensah’s case, Ghana, would have much of an impact in the first two games. But they did. The most notable player of this group at this moment is Bruno Lapa. The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon and ACC Midfielder of the year has burst onto the scene with 3 goals and 1 assist in only 149 minutes of action. Crazy.

The Brazilian notched 23 goals and 15 assists in 80 appearances with Wake Forest, so it is no surprise that Lapa has a hunch for the goal. The shocking part to Bruno’s success so far is the timing. It is difficult enough for rookies coming out of college to adapt to the speed and physicality of the USL Championship, and the fact that Bruno has done this with the affects of coronavirus on top of everything else is simply nothing short of impressive.

During the match against Memphis 901 FC, if you were looking closely you could see just how knowledgeable Lapa is. In the 41st minute Lapa made a sweeping run on the outside wing to receive a ball from Brian Wright, then proceeding to dribble past a couple of defenders and slot one home on Tim Howard, arguably helping send him into retirement for a second time. At first glance, your initial reaction is amazement and excitement when watching Lapa making those moves. But, take a moment to step back and realize what just went on, and if you do not remember the goal I suggest to rewatch it. The fact that a 23-year-old fresh out of college is making professionals who have been playing at this level for years look like they are the USWNT vs the FC Dallas U15 team is something special.

Lapa continued his form against Charleston with another goal in 67 minutes of action. The link up play provided by Lapa has gone under the radar due to the amount of goals he has provided. Although everyone loves that Bruno is a goal-scoring machine right now, his distribution is arguably more important.

Throughout the rest of the year, expect Bruno to continue to make an impact on the field for the Legion, not only in goals and assists but as a large part of buildup play as well. Lapa is possibly the most exciting young talent the Legion have, and I will say this now. Enjoy Bruno in Birmingham now, because if this form holds, he will definitely be on the move next year.

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