Austin Aztex Feature -- www.austinaztex.com
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
By ANTHONY MANNINO
AUSTIN, Texas -- Born in the coastal city of Bakau, the 2013 MLS SuperDraft enigma Kekuta Manneh quickly broke the shroud questioning his abilities at the MLS Combine.
“For me, I am always looking forward to being the new kid and coming in and showing everybody what I can do,” said Manneh, pictured right, on being the unknown player at the combine. “People that never knew me can see what I am all about. I think that really helps me out.”
While most pundits are calling Manneh the “mystery player of the 2013 MLS draft,” the forward isn’t worried about his perceived hype or reservations about his talent. He knows he has scored and been successful at each level and scoring in MLS will only prove that he belongs with the best.
The questions surrounding Manneh have muffled during the MLS combine. He impressed those watching with his skill, tactical decision-making and speed; he even scored a goal a few minutes after he stepped on the pitch.
As those who’ve already seen him play for the Austin Aztex know, Manneh is confirming he isn’t a prospect with raw physical abilities and soccer talent that needs to be developed, but rather a soccer talent that happens to have physical gifts. Though, the journey to become the next soccer star began on the streets and dirt roads of the region known as the Gambian Brazil.
“They call it the Gambian Brazil, because most of the national team players are from that town, and the Golcok Academy (now Rush) is there,” said Manneh on how Bakau earned its name. “They mostly produce talented players that play in Scandinavian leagues and Belgium, and soccer is pretty big there, so that’s why they call it the Gambian Brazil.”
Although born in a hotbed for soccer talent, Manneh recalls how tough life was in Gambia:
“Most people don’t have much (in Gambia), but they are okay with what they have. They provide for their family. Nobody has big houses in Gambia–most of our houses are a living room and a bedroom.”
Manneh grew up in a three-room house–two bedrooms and a living room–with his grandmother in Gambia. He recalls the time his grandmother bought him a soccer ball. He immediately told his friends so they could play with his new ball on the streets.
The beautiful game was constantly part of the striker’s life; he played everyday on dirt roads, paved roads, and on the beach. Whether it was before school, after school, 5v5, 4v4, the place or time didn’t matter. Usually lacking the necessary equipment, Manneh and his friends used rocks as goals and drew lines with rocks for boundaries, stopping only when a car would pass by.
The Rush Academy (a worldwide youth soccer club) in Gambia discovered Manneh’s talents, and he was brought over to the United States to play for the Rush’s Georgia club. After a successful few months in Georgia, Manneh moved to play for Texas Rush, scoring 35 goals in 21 games at the U-16 level. A year later, he tallied 21 goals in 16 games for Lonestar FC.
While Manneh’s abilities on the field easily transitioned to the United States, he still needed help dealing with the American lifestyle. Sixteen at the time, he moved to a foreign country without the help of his family or knowing how life would by different in the States.
A host family in Georgia first helped Manneh acclimate to the American culture, and then the Niccum family took him in as legal guardians when he moved to Texas. The Niccum’s helped him adjust to the lifestyle in the States. The family of five made Manneh feel like he had a home, and he says they are why he is successful. They also got him back in school and made sure he took all the basic immunization shots that he didn’t get growing up as a kid in Gambia.
Manneh also receives advice from Paul Dalglish, his coach with Lonestar FC and the Austin Aztex, whom he considers a father figure. The two talked almost daily about everything from soccer to Manneh’s personal life, and Dalglish always makes sure to remind the striker to, as Manneh puts it, “stay fit, work on my defensive shape, and stay out of trouble.”
“Paul is part of my family now; he’s helped me on the pitch and off it,” Manneh said. “He calls me all the time and gives me advice and tells me what I need to do to get ready for the next level. Since I’ve been to the United States, he’s the best coach I’ve had.”
What separates Manneh from other players his age are his inherited talents. He retains a first touch on the ball only reserved for the greats. He proved this at a recent camp with the Austin Aztex when Manneh juggled the ball 257 times with his right foot in a minute, always keeping the ball no more than a few centimeters from his foot. The skill dazzled his former Aztex teammates so much they were too busy watching Manneh juggle to worry about their own count.
All things considered, it is surprising his teammates were baffled by the simple craft considering what he had done playing with them all summer. It took the striker only 29 minutes to score his first Premier Development League goal, and what a strike it was. A young opposing fan stood up and yelled, “¡que golazo!” after Manneh cut inside with his root foot to juke a defender; back outside with his left to round the keeper; then inside again with his right to make the original defender fall; before easily slotting the ball home.
Manneh turned eluding the same defenders twice into an art form for the Aztex. Against the New Orleans Jesters, the striker cut inside, outside, then inside again, however, this time forcing the same defender to fall not once but twice before scoring. The referee scolded Manneh for what could be called “excessive showing of skill”, and he could’ve given him a yellow card for publicly embarrassing the defender.
Tricks aren’t the only reason why the Gambian is successful. Dalglish describes it as certain coolness in front of goal that he possesses; he even went as far to comparing the striker’s finishing to Michael Owen. Manneh never panics when he is one-on-one with a keeper or defender, but rather he exquisitely times if he should shoot the ball or wait for the opposition to make the first move. That’s why he finished tied for seventh with 10 goals in the regular season as a 17-year-old playing against high level college players in the PDL for Austin.
“I think this is a great start for me (to begin my career) in MLS,” Manneh said. MLS will be a great start for me. I know it is very physical, but I will work with it to get a little stronger.”
To get in peak physical condition, Dalglish sent Manneh to train 11-12 hours for 10 days with David Dinh. He worked on his fitness and numerous new drills he wasn’t used to.
Manneh also isn’t worried about being only 5-foot-9’, 160 pounds in MLS, because he has the skills to move by those bigger defenders. He also carries an air of confidence needed in any goalscorer. Don’t begin to think the youngest Generation adidias player in 2013 is letting the draft get to his head. He believes in himself, but knows he still must practice diligently.
“This is my dream; I’ve been preparing for this my whole life,” Manneh said on signing with MLS. “Last season I played with the Aztex, and I did well against top players and players preparing to go pro. So I think I am ready physically, mentally, and skill-wise I am ready to go.”
With Manneh a likely top-ten pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, the mist surrounding him will slowly begin to fall. He knows, however, that the only way to end all doubt is to bang the ball in the back of the net at the highest level. He relishes that opportunity to become known as one of those talented players from the Gambian Brazil.