Bakary Soumare's long journey to a professional career finally came to fruition Friday at the MLS SuperDraft in Indianapolis, when the 21-year-old defender was selected by the Chicago Fire with the second overall pick.
Soumare grew up in New York after moving to the United States as a child from Mali. However, his stay in this country was initially only meant to be a short one.
"My parents moved back to Africa but my sister was already playing basketball here," he said. "At first, I wasn't thinking about coming and living here. I was going to come and see how it was. I am from a foster family and it worked out by itself."
The Fire traded up to get Soumare, with Dave Sarachan sending forward Andy Herron to the Columbus Crew in order to climb the draft board. The former University of Virginia player admitted that he had an idea Chicago was interested in him, though he was still a little shocked to hear his name called.
"It kind of was a surprise. There is a freshman that plays at Virginia who is friends with Sarachan's son and he mentioned something to me," Soumare said. "In recent weeks, I heard about a lot of teams but not really Chicago."
Although he professed that part of him hoped that he would be drafted by his hometown team, Soumare was delighted to be heading to the Midwest.
"I was talking to someone last night, who asked where I would want to go and I said Chicago. Maybe New York, being from there, but this worked out perfectly," he said.
CREW HAPPY TO DEAL: Chicago's trading partner, the Columbus Crew, was pleased to give up the second pick and take advantage of the chance to bring in a proven player in Costa Rican international forward Herron.
"We had certain needs coming into the draft," said Crew coach Sigi Schmid. "One was possibly picking up a left back but we also wanted to see if we could come up with a proven MLS forward. When the opportunity came up to make a trade for Andy Herron, we felt we needed to use it."
Schmid took an offensive view with the selections he did make. His two fourth-round picks - Aaron Chandler and Ben Hunter - completed a trio of additions to the Crew's forward department, following the side's second-round selection, Brad Evans, who was the player that excited Schmid the most.
"I think we got fortunate that Brad ended up hurting himself at the combine and missed the last two games. I had coached Brad with the under-20s and my son also goes to UC-Irvine so I had a chance to see them play a lot," Schmid said. "He is a versatile player, fitness-wise he is good. He is a rangy player and is the kind of kid that will go through a wall for you."
ARENA PLEASED IN FIRST DRAFT BACK: Bruce Arena had a relatively quiet day compared to some of his Eastern Conference rivals, but the New York Red Bulls coach was delighted with the two players he did select, Dane Richards and Sinisa Ubiparipovic.
"We were looking for pace and we needed some help on the right to go with Markus Schopp. Actually, Dane Richards was our first choice so we are happy he was still there," Arena said. "Sinisa, we felt, was one of the top midfielders. We are going to announce some of our signings next week and he is someone we feel can complement them. He is a good technical player and I am happy with what I saw at the combine."
Arena believes his new men are capable of making an immediate impact in New York, but had a word of caution for them as they look to make the jump from the college game to the professional level.
"I think they are capable of pushing for a spot on our 18-man roster; that's all we can ask for right now," said the former D.C. United and U.S. national team boss. "In every sport, when you come from the collegiate level to the professional level, it's the speed of play and that is where you have to make the adjustment. It takes time with these young kids."
ANOTHER NEW COACH IN CHARGE: D.C. United also had a new coach, Tom Soehn, who was pleased with his day's work in Indianapolis. This SuperDraft was his first since he took charge following the departure of Peter Nowak, though he was quick to point out that he drew on his previous experiences.
"It's not really my first one. I was very involved in the last three drafts; Peter usually left that up to me," Soehn said. "Until you get them in camp, you don't know what you are getting. Some kids from college get better in a tougher environment and some can't survive. It will be exciting to see how many of them do."
Soehn spoke of his surprise that he was able to draft Jay Needham with the 32nd overall pick. The Southern Methodist player had been touted as a potential first-round pick and Soehn was only too pleased to claim him in the third round.
"He is going to be somebody that does special things," said Soehn. "I was surprised he was still there. I have seen him a few times and the common thing I have heard is that he has a huge upside. I am real excited about getting him and in our environment I think he can thrive."
Needham is a versatile player who is capable of playing in defense and midfield. Indeed, Soehn admitted that he will likely be given the chance to shine in a number of positions.
"We might try him on a flank on the outside in a 3-5-2. We might try him in the middle. I think the game will dictate that and we'll see how he fits in," Soehn said.
TORONTO ADDS TWO CANADIANS: After selecting Maurice Edu with the day's first pick, Toronto FC coach Mo Johnston went on to add three more players to his ever-growing roster, ahead of the club's first MLS season.
Toronto sent a partial allocation to the Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for the 10th overall pick, which Johnston used to draft New Zealand international Andrew Boyens. Two Canadian nationals - Rich Asante and Jeff Gonsalves - followed in the third and fourth rounds respectively, leaving Johnston happy with his day's work.
"We're thrilled. We have got a lot of quality players from here. We traded up because we wanted to get two first-round draft picks and we achieved that," he said. "We have got two main starters who can start straightaway. We are happy."
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
