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Fire Tue Nov 04 2008
Baki For Mali; Busch Goalkeeper Of The Year
Soccer by Ives revealed that the Fire's Bakary Soumare has decided to play internationally for Mali, rather than wait two years for citizenship to play with the US. It's a big loss for the US National Team, as Soumare has had a breakout year in MLS and can only get better as he matures. It's also not the best news for the Fire, since it will mean a gruelling travel schedule for Soumare. Also, playing alongside the likes of Freddy Kanoute, Seydou Keita, and Mohamed Sissoko might raise Soumare's profile enough to hasten his departure to a European club. Still, anytime a player in MLS gets international call-ups it's not a bad thing and for Soumare congratulations are in order.
There might be more congratulations for Soumare after Thursday's results for MLS Defender of the Year are in. Speaking of which, John Busch earned Goalkeeper of the Year for his strong season with the Fire. As much as Busch always credits the excellent defense he has in front of him in interviews, the award is well deserved. It wouldn't be too surprising if he won Comeback of the Year as well, considering most people wrote him off after injuries ended his career in Columbus. Also, it really puts all the doom and gloom about not re-signing Matt Pickens last season in perspective.
