Lalas Abubakar
Abubakar with Columbus Crew in 2017
Personal information
Full name Alhassan Abubakar
Date of birth (1994-12-25) December 25, 1994
Place of birth Kumasi, Ghana
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Colorado Rapids
Number 6
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 University of Ghana
2014–2016 Dayton Flyers 61 (4)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Charlotte Eagles 14 (2)
2016 Michigan Bucks 12 (0)
2017–2019 Columbus Crew SC 31 (2)
2017 → Pittsburgh Riverhounds (loan) 5 (0)
2019 → Colorado Rapids (loan) 22 (0)
2020– Colorado Rapids 99 (9)
2022 Colorado Rapids 2 2 (0)
International career
Ghana U20
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:53, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

Alhassan "Lalas" Abubakarpronunciationⓘ (born December 25, 1994) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids.

Early life

Born in Kumasi, Abubakar was raised in the Ghanaian capital of Accra and attended the University of Ghana.[2] He participated in the football team at the university and in 2013, after one of his teammates was selected to join the Dayton Flyers program in the United States, Abubakar was also offered to join after his friend recommended him.[3] Despite having a couple offers in Europe, Abubakar decided to attend the University of Dayton in Ohio and play college soccer for the Flyers.[3]

Dayton Flyers

During his three seasons with the Dayton Flyers, Abubakar appeared in 61 matches, scoring four goals and earned six assists. During the 2015 season, Abubakar won the A-10 Championship with Dayton, and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.[4] In 2016, Abubakar was named the Defensive Player of the Year,[5] and was also named in the A10 Men's Soccer All-Conference First Team.[6]

Club career

Charlotte Eagles and Michigan Bucks

During the college soccer offseason, Abubakar played for Premier Development League club Charlotte Eagles.[7] The team went undefeated during the 2015 season.[8] Abubakar was named in the Eastern Conference team of the season, and was a finalist for the PDL's Young Player of the Year award, losing out to Timothy Mueller. The next season, in 2016, Abubakar joined the Michigan Bucks.[7] Appearing in 17 matches, Abubakar helped the Bucks win the Premier Development League title, featuring in the final against Calgary Foothills on 6 August, a 3–2 victory.[9] Following the season, Abubakar was named the PDL Defender of the Year.[10] and was also named in the All-League Team.[11]

Columbus Crew SC

On 13 January 2017, Abubakar was drafted by Columbus Crew SC in the first round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, and the fifth pick overall.[12] During his first season in Columbus, Abubakar split time with Columbus and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in what is now the USL Championship.[13] In total, Abubakar made 15 appearances; ten with Columbus and five with Pittsburgh.[13] He scored his first professional goal on 19 August 2017 during a 1–1 draw against Orlando City.[14]

During the 2018 season, Abubakar played in 23 matches, scoring one goal.[15]

Abubakar made one appearance for the Columbus Crew in 2019 before being loaned to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for $125,000 in 2019 Targeted Allocation Money[16]

Colorado Rapids (loan)

During the 2018 season, despite Abubakar's uptick in appearances, his performances were largely considered inconsistent and he was relegated to a reserve role for newly appointed Columbus Crew coach, Caleb Porter for the 2019 season.[15] Owing to this, and Columbus's depth in the center-back position, Abubakar was loaned out to fellow Major League Soccer club, the Colorado Rapids. Abubakar appeared in 22 matches for the Rapids, earning the team's Defender of the Year award and helping the club to make a late season playoff push that ultimately fell short.[17][18]

Colorado Rapids

Following the 2019 season, on November 20, 2019, Abubakar was permanently traded to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for $400,000 in General Allocation Money and a 2020 international roster spot.[19] He made his debut as a permanent member of the Rapids on February 29 in their opening match against D.C. United. Starting next to Drew Moor, Abubakar helped the Rapids to a 2–1 away victory.[20] On 9 September, Abubakar scored his first goal for the Rapids, a late second half stoppage-time equalizer against the Houston Dynamo to draw the game 1–1.[21] Abubakar finished his first season with the Rapids with 18 appearances, all starts, and the one goal.[22] He also earned the Colorado Rapids Defender of the Year award for the second consecutive season.[23]

On 15 December 2020, Abubakar signed a new contract with the Colorado Rapids, keeping him at the club until through 2024.[23] He scored his second goal for the club on 21 July 2021, an opening goal in the 48th minute, as the Rapids won 2–0 at home against FC Dallas.[24] He then opened the scoring again for the Rapids on 14 August in a 3–1 away victory against the Houston Dynamo.[25]

International career

Abubakar has been called up to represent Ghana at the under-20 level.[4]

Career statistics

As of October 21, 2022[26][27]
Club Season League Playoffs[lower-alpha 1] Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Charlotte Eagles 2015[28] Premier Development League 14221––163
Michigan Bucks 2016[29] Premier Development League 1204010–170
Columbus Crew SC 2017 Major League Soccer 713000–101
2018 2311010–251
2019 10–00–10
Total 312401000362
Pittsburgh Riverhounds (loan) 2017 United Soccer League 50–00–50
Colorado Rapids (loan) 2019 Major League Soccer 2200010–230
Colorado Rapids 2020 Major League Soccer 1711000–181
2021 24200––242
2022 324000020344
2023 262–2000282
Total 12191030201279
Career total 18313111502020114

References

  1. ↑ "Lalas Abubakar". Colorado Rapids. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Ghanaian Under-20 international Lalas Abubakar has joined Columbus Crew SC". Ghana Soccer Net. January 14, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Abubakar Lalas: The journey from University of Ghana to MLS". Ghana Web. April 4, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Lalas Abubakar Will 'Never Forget' PDL Accomplishments". PDL.com. October 13, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  5. ↑ "EIGHT MEN'S SOCCER STUDENT-ATHLETES RECEIVE NSCAA ALL-MIDWEST REGION HONORS". Atlantic 10 Conference Official Site. December 6, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ "LOEBE, ABUBAKER, HEINE, ZAROKOSTAS AND MCGINTY CLAIM TOP ATLANTIC 10 ANNUAL MEN'S SOCCER AWARDS". Atlantic 10 Conference. Atlantic10.com. November 9, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "LALAS ABUBAKAR". PDL.com. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Sounders U-23, Pumas among PDL finalists". July 29, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Calgary Foothills vs Michigan Bucks PDL Final". USL League Two.
  10. ↑ "2016 PDL All-League Awards Announced". PDL.com. August 5, 2016. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  11. ↑ "2016 PDL All-League Team Unveiled". PDL.com. August 3, 2016. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  12. ↑ "2017 MLS SuperDraft Rounds 1 & 2 Analysis: Columbus Crew SC". mlsmultiplex.com. MLS Multiplex. January 14, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  13. 1 2 "Ghana - L. Abubakar - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Lalas Abubakar waits patiently for Ghana's call". espn.co.uk. ESPN. August 22, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  15. 1 2 Murphy, Pat (May 8, 2019). "Crew send Lalas Abubakar on season-long loan to Rapids". massivereport.com. Massive Report. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Colorado Rapids acquire defender Lalas Abubakar from Columbus Crew SC on a one-year loan".
  17. ↑ Rapids, Colorado [@ColoradoRapids] (October 8, 2019). "A beast on the backline all year long. / The Defender of the Year award goes to @LALASABUBAKAR1. / #Rapids96 | #Elevatepic.twitter.com/nlQjTW9z9N" (Tweet). Retrieved October 8, 2019 – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ Post, Mark Goodman | Special to The Denver (June 21, 2019). "Colorado Rapids defender Lalas Abubakar is going places, and he doesn't seem to mind". denverpost.com. The Denver Post. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  19. ↑ Shapiro, Jake (November 20, 2019). "Rapids acquire USMNT defender, deal to keep Lalas Abubakar". Denver Post. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  20. ↑ "D.C. United 1–2 Colorado Rapids". Soccerway.
  21. ↑ "Colorado Rapids 1–1 Houston Dynamo". Soccerway.
  22. ↑ Lalas Abubakar at Soccerway
  23. 1 2 "Rapids agree to deal with defender Lalas Abubakar that keeps him in Colorado through 2024". Denver Post. December 15, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Colorado Rapids 2–0 FC Dallas". Soccerway.
  25. ↑ "Houston Dynamo 1–3 Colorado Rapids". Soccerway.
  26. ↑ Lalas Abubakar at Soccerway. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  27. ↑ Lalas Abubakar at Major League Soccer
  28. ↑ "Lalas Abubakar – Premier Development League profile". USLLeagueTwo.com. USL League Two. July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Lalas Abubakar – 2016 PDL statistics". USLLeagueTwo.com. USL League Two. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
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