From Angola to Maine: Lagos Kunga’s Next Chapter Begins in Portland

For Lagos Kunga, the move to Portland Hearts of Pine is not just a new stop on the map.

It is the continuation of a journey that has never followed a straight line.

Kunga arrived in Maine this winter with a new club, a new community, and a new opportunity in front of him. He is also arriving after the most difficult year of his career, one spent largely away from the field, grinding through recovery from a major injury and learning again how to trust his body.

“I had to come to a realization that I was going to be out for a whole year,” Kunga said. “I had to either work hard to get back, or just sit there and moan.”

He chose the work. Now Portland is the place where the return begins.

A Story That Started Far From Here

Long before the USL, long before Atlanta United, long before the lighthouse kit he is excited to wear in Maine, Lagos Kunga’s story began in Luanda, Angola.

His family’s path took them across continents, first to Russia and eventually to the United States as refugees, searching for stability and a future. That journey brought them to Georgia, where Kunga began to find his footing in the sport at the Decatur-DeKalb YMCA.

Soccer became both an outlet and a foundation.

Atlanta became home.

Kunga in Atlanta United preseason training in 2019 (photo: ATLUTD)

His talent carried him into the Atlanta United Academy, where he emerged as one of the club’s brightest young attacking prospects. Quick, fearless, and direct, Kunga represented the promise of what the academy could become.

That promise reached the world stage in 2017.

At the FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea, Kunga scored in a 6 to 0 Round of 16 win over New Zealand, a landmark moment as the first Atlanta United academy graduate to score an international goal.

It was a proud milestone for him, for the club, and for the Atlanta soccer community that had watched his rise.

Soon after, he signed as an Atlanta United Homegrown Player, stepping into professional life still young, still learning what the job truly demanded.

“I took a lot of it for granted,” he admitted. “Now that I’m older and wiser, I would have done a lot of things much different.”

A Career Built on New Places

Kunga’s career since has been shaped by movement and adaptation.

From Atlanta to Charleston, Memphis, Phoenix, Omaha, and beyond, he has experienced the growth of the game in markets that are still writing their own soccer identities.

He has even taken the leap overseas, including a stint in Libya, driven by a desire to challenge himself and reconnect with the broader world beyond the familiar.

“I wanted to step out of my comfort zone,” he said. “I wanted to see something different.”

That willingness to embrace the unknown has defined him as much as his skill on the ball.

Now, Portland represents another version of that step.

Why Portland Felt Right

The opportunity in Maine came through a conversation with head coach Bobby.

Kunga spoke about the honesty of those talks, the clarity of his role, and the patience the club has shown as he works his way back to full fitness.

“He told me about the city, about the community, how passionate the fans were,” Kunga said. “That was very important to me.”

Portland Hearts of Pine set a high bar last season, selling out matches and building momentum quickly. Kunga wanted to be part of something ambitious.

“I really want to win here,” he said.

Recovery as the Real Opponent

This season, though, is about more than results.

It is about return.

Kunga described the loneliness of injury, the mental weight of being away from the game, and the slow process of rebuilding confidence through small daily progress.

“One percent every day,” he called it.

Right now, his routine is relentless. Gym sessions, ball work, recovery work, three times a day.

“The club’s been kicking my butt,” he said with a smile.

The hardest part is not always physical. It is trusting the leg again. Trusting the moment after the first slip, the first fall, the first cut at speed.

“At first I questioned myself,” he said. “Then once I do it, I feel much better.”

Finding Community Again

One unexpected element of his early days in Maine has been connection.

Kunga was surprised to discover a significant Angolan community in the area, and since his signing was announced, supporters have reached out in waves.

“They showed me a lot of love,” he said. “Angolans, Congolese, people in my DMs saying they can’t wait to see me play.”

For a player coming off a long, isolating year, that sense of belonging matters.

The Goal Now Is Simple

Kunga knows he may miss the first few games. His return is still measured in months, not days.

But the objective is simple.

Stay healthy. Stay patient. Become himself again.

“I want to play freely like my old self,” he said. “Dribble without thinking about it.”

In Atlanta, Kunga will always be part of the club’s early homegrown history, a player whose journey stretched from Luanda to Georgia and onto the world stage at the U 20 World Cup in 2017. Portland is far from where it began, but the thread remains the same: resilience, ambition, and the willingness to keep moving forward.

Now, in Maine, this is not just a new stop.

It is the road back.