"It gave me some luck. I will keep this hair for a long time, I think."

In the early minutes of a June training session, the latest haircut of star Júnior Urso stole the attention of every Orlando City player on the pitch.

The new look — buzzed short and bleached blond with slight waves — sparked debate. Robin Jansson loved it. Silvester van der Water said his teammate looked like a ninja. Both Joey DeZart and Brandon Austin compared the style to rapper Chris Brown.

Mason Stajduhar wasn’t as sure about it, comparing the cut to Lego hair. João Moutinho teased him for looking “straight out of the favelas.”

Even coach Oscar Pareja weighed in, smoothing his hand over the freshly cut hair and telling Urso it looked beautiful.

“I like it much better with the yellow and with the haircut,” Pareja said. “He looks lighter, faster.”

The proof came on the pitch for Urso, who scored a game-winning goal in his first outing as a blond. After the match, the midfielder felt more confident than ever in his new look.

Read more at the Orlando Sentinel