Ghanaian defender Lalas Abubakar is thriving at Columbus Crew Soccer Club in the Major League Soccer in the USA.
Lalas Abubakar is now one of the first names on coach Gregg Berhalter's team sheet because he offers more than just preventing opponents from scoring.
His ability to pass from the back and start an attack gives him an advantage over most defenders in the team and is now a sure starter.
The Ghanaian defender, who started all three matches the team has played so far, displayed impressive progress on his passing game when compared to his first year.
For starters, he currently holds the best passing accuracy rate (92.3 percent) of the entire roster according to WhoScored.com, better than even team captain and central midfielder Wil Trapp who is considered by many one of the best passers in MLS.
His rating is also the second-best for centre-backs in the entire league, only behind Atlanta United’s Michael Parkhurst, who played for Crew SC from 2014 to 2016.
The Ghanaian defender disclosed that his form is down to hard work.
“I had to work on passing out of the back, my first touch and on being calm when I have the ball,†Abubakar commented. “These were the things coaches always talked with me about and I kept working on them during offseason and preseason. I’m getting more comfortable as I play and I’m happy to see my improvement.â€
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Abubakar plays with fellow Ghanaians Jonathan Mensah and Harrison Afful at Columbus Crew.