THINKING ON HIS FEET : For Cal State L. A.’s Alberto Bru, Soccer Is a Head Game That Started in Mexico City, Developed in Chatsworth

Alberto Bru doesn’t eat, sleep and dream soccer, but he does think about it--a lot.

For Bru, the leading scorer and assist man on the Cal State Los Angeles team, soccer is as much mental as it is physical. Although the game calls for fast reflexes, Bru describes his approach to soccer in terms usually reserved for chess players.

“You constantly have to do the right things, the right moves,� Bru said. “You have to know just the right time to pass, to shoot, to move. Experience and talent doesn’t mean a thing if you make the wrong decisions. Experience can help you to learn how to make those decisions wisely, but it won’t do it alone. You have to slow it all down and think. “

Bru has been thinking and playing soccer for 15 years. The 22-year-old midfielder, who was born in Mexico City, moved to Chatsworth with his family and began playing soccer with the American Youth Soccer Organization in Winnetka.

At Chatsworth High, Bru was named All-West Valley League three times, All-City twice, the team’s most valuable player, the West Valley League’s most valuable player and the City Player of the Year in 1981. In the off-season, Bru played soccer on club teams that traveled Europe and Japan.

After playing at Glendale College for a year, Bru took his All-Conference honors and transferred to Cal State L. A. Bru had followed the fortunes of the CSLA soccer team, coached by Berhane Andeberhan, since his senior year in high school. In 1981, Andeberhan led his Golden Eagles to the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. title, the NCAA Division II Western Regional Championship and a No. 2 national ranking. Andeberhan’s team lost only two games in the 1982 season.

While Bru was watching CSLA, the Golden Eagles were keeping an eye on Bru. Andeberhan recruited Bru from Glendale to set the tone for his team’s offense at midfield. Bru grabbed the offer, and in 1983, his first year at Cal State L. A., the Golden Eagles were 12-0-2.

During off-seasons, Bru plays for the San Gabriel Aztecs, a club team in the Greater Los Angeles League. Last season, the Aztecs won a western regional amateur competition in Phoenix.

“Alberto has great vision and can see an opening and strike the open person easily,� Andeberhan said. “Bru is the leading playmaker on the team.

Bru, who is a team co-captain with Gerry Granados, this season leads CSLA in assists. In Cal State L.A.’s 4-0 victory over Westminster College last month, Bru equaled the school’s single-game assist record of three.

“Last year, his leadership was not nearly as clearly visible as it is this year,� Andeberhan said. “But, he’s definitely one of the best players we’ve had and one of the best playmakers. Alberto sets the tone for our attack.�

If Bru does set the tone, the Eagles’ attack is a retreat. By his own admission, he “kind of stays in the back of the action and makes sure there are no problems.� That laid-back style, however, is deceptive. He’s busy thinking.

“His role is setting the tempo for our team,� Andeberhan said. “He knows just when to pick it up and slow it down. And he knows how to hold the ball well under pressure. He’s right in line with the best team leaders we’ve had at the school.�

When Bru isn’t a team leader, he’s leading a team of AYSO players or the Burroughs-Burbank boys’ soccer team as a coach.

“It’s a lot of fun to get out there and mess around with the kids,� Bru said. “Although I’m a coach, I’m still a player at heart. I have a hard time just sitting and watching. I like to get out there, play with them and show ‘em what to do.

“The most important thing to do is to get them to always make the right plays and the only way to do that is to get them always thinking the right thing.�