Here is What makes LAFC star “the most dangerous player” in MLS history…..
Denis Bouanga: What makes LAFC star “the most dangerous player” in MLS?
What’s it like to defend one-on-one against Denis Bouanga?
Ask around MLS, and players and coaches are likely to rank LAFC’s ferociously talented French-Gabonese winger as one of the league’s toughest individual matchups, if not the very top. The teammates who see him in practice every day recognize it, even if there’s something extra special about him on match nights.
Luckily I see a little bit different of a Denis in training. He’s not quite the same as he is out on those fields when the lights are on and the fans are going crazy,” said LAFC fullback Ryan Hollingshead last week. “He gives me a little bit more of like the ‘B’ version of Denis. But still … it’s the exact guy that I want to be going up against, because if I can defend him, I can
defend anybody in this league. So I definitely don’t envy playing against Denis on a Saturday night at 7:30 at BMO [Stadium], for sure. That’s when he just comes to life and he’s just a next-level sort of talent where he can take games over.”
The list of team and individual awards Bouanga’s accrued since his arrival from Saint-Étienne in August 2022 shows the scope of his impact: MLS Cup 2022, last year’s Western Conference title, two All-Star nods, Golden Boot and Best XI honors in both MLS and Concacaf Champions Cup (née League).
“As good as any player I’ve seen in our league,” said Philadelphia Union coach Jim Curtin, who faced Bouanga in the ‘22 Cup final and played center back in MLS from 2001-09. “He wins games for them individually, with his play, with the special qualities that he has, and he’s a nightmare to prepare for as a coach, because it’s not a one-person job. It makes you shift your whole team towards his side