the storm, all the yellow cards -- but that was my opportunity, so I wanted to come out and do my best," said Ssejjemba. "Of course I would've loved for the conditions to be better and to have had 11 men on the field. We were not attacking in numbers, so it wasn't a good situation."
To make matters worse, Ssejjemba is learning a new system.
"The way we play, I like it because it's with two forwards," said Ssejjemba. "It's different from how we played in Richmond -- we only played one forward up top. That was not my favorite situation. I think I like it here because of the two forwards up top. It is ideal for me to have two forwards up top working together."
Ssejjemba feels comfortable not only in the new system but also in his new surroundings in general.
"I'm ready to play. I think that the most important thing was to get into the system and now I'm ready," he said.
Now Ssejjemba hopes to give his coach some tough decisions to make when it comes time to selecting the team.
"It's not up to me to choose the team," said Ssejjemba. "It's up to the coach to do that. I just want to give him a headache ... and hopefully (he will) pick me."
In the meantime, Ssejjemba intends to continue working hard in practice and savoring every moment of his MLS experience.
"Right now I'm learning more, getting more challenges on the ball, which is good for me to develop as a player," he said. "I like it. It's a challenge every day out there."
Of course, for a player with Ssejjemba's talent, he has other admirers outside of D.C. Last year Ssejjemba earned his first full international caps with the Ugandan national team. In June he played in his country's World Cup qualifier in Congo. In the future, he hopes for more opportunities with the Cranes, but for now Ssejjemba is fully concentrated on making a good impression at United.
"I'd love to stay here. To have an opportunity here, I need the coach to get a look at me. When I'm away, that wouldn't be the situation," he said. "I think that [the Uganda coaches] expect me to go [to the national team games], but I don't know where they're going to contact me. I'm not in Richmond."
Wherever he is, Robert Ssejjemba is living a dream. From the streets of Uganda to the best team in the United States, it has been a long journey to D.C. United.
"It's very exciting. All I want is to step on the field. That's what I want every day," Ssejjemba said. "I just love competing and I think that the level in this country is ideal for me. I love every second of practice, of competing with the guys. That's why we play this game -- to play at the highest level possible."
As United enter the home stretch of the MLS season and embark on what will hopefully be a long playoff run, Ssejjemba may get the chance to step on the field in some very important matches -- weather-permitting, that is.
