A few months ago, Chicago Fire defender Bakary Soumare was eagerly preparing to complete the final stages of receiving his citizenship in the United States. Soumare wanted to give back to the country that gave him so much by playing for the U.S. Men's National Team. Yet all those plans changed once he received the heart breaking news that it would take at a minimum, two more years before he'd become an American citizen. That wait was too long for Soumare as he opted to play for Mali's national team.
"Sometimes things don't go the way you want them to go," Soumare told Soccernet.com. "In a perfect world I would be playing for the U.S. national team. Everything I am as a person and as a soccer player has been helped by America so I wanted to give back.
"That said, I'm also excited to be playing for Mali," Soumare added. "My father is very excited, my family back home is very excited. Either way I was going, there were going to be people would be disappointed."
People who are clearly disappointed by this decision are American fans who were delighted weeks ago when Soumare publicly voiced his aspiration of playing for the stars and stripes. It's evident that the Mali native had America as his first choice, but he admitted that the only reason he expressed his feelings publicly was because of incorrect information that he received.
"It seemed like there were ways to get that process expedited so I thought to myself, 'if it takes a year then why not [talk about it],'" Soumare stated. "I know that I've done my best to be a part of the team here in the United States, I did my homework and everything I could on my end, but it just couldn't happen."
It appears that the 2008 MLS defender of the year finalist saw the opportunity to improve his game and ran with it.
“I just had to ask myself, ‘Do I really want to wait two and a half years to start playing national team soccer’,” Soumare told SoccerbyIves.net. “Knowing that Mali has a good shot at (the 2010 World Cup), and knowing all the chances I could have playing for Mali, I decided to go for it.”
Those chances include World Cup qualifiers, and the African Cup of Nations in 2009. That was too much football to pass up on for the 22-year-old.
“Those are a lot of games,” Soumare said. “We are talking about two years worth of soccer games that can help my development as a soccer player, playing in a top international environment and in big competitions.”
It is believed that Mali would be calling up the MLS defender for a friendly on November 19th against Algeria in Paris. Soumare expects to be included in the roster for that game and MLS has no way of vetoing that as the game falls on a FIFA date. However, Soumare expects that something can be worked out between Mali and the Chicago Fire if the Fire make it to the MLS Cup Final on November 23rd.
If Soumare does receive a callup he will join a roster that includes the likes of Mahamadou Diarra (Real Madrid), Frederick Kanoute (Sevilla), Seydou Keita (Barcelona) and Mohamed Sissoko (Juventus).
Mali has talent but must finish first in their World Cup qualifying group that includes Ghana, Benin and Sudan in order to qualify for South Africa 2010. Soumare looks to assist Mali in their efforts to accomplishing that goal.
What do you think of Soumare's decision? Disappointed? Think he'll aid Mali in their quest to qualify for the World Cup? Share your thoughts below.
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