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Macoumba Kandji
Personal information
Full name	Macoumba Kandji
Date of birth	August 2, 1985 (age 24)
Place of birth	Dakar, Senegal
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	New York Red Bulls
Number	10
Youth career
2004–2005	Georgia Military Bulldogs
Senior career*
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 October, 2009.; † Appearances (Goals).;

Macoumba Kandji (born August 2, 1985 in Dakar) is a Senegalese soccer player who currently plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.

[edit] Career

[edit] Early Life and College

Kandji was born in Senegal, raised in The Gambia, and came to the United States in 2003. He attended East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was voted MVP in 2003 as the Men’s All-State Team forward, and played college soccer at Georgia Military College, where he was selected in the All-Region team in 2004 and 2005, scoring 17 goals and providing 6 assists during the 2005 season.

During 2006, Kandji also impressed while playing for the Atlanta Silverbacks U23's in the USL Premier Development League, scoring 1 goal and 1 assist in 8 games.

[edit] Professional

Kandji joined the senior Atlanta Silverbacks team in 2007. He made his first team debut August 4, 2007 against Charleston Battery. From then on, he began to establish himself as one of the top players of the USL. During the 2008 season Kandji appeared in 21 league matches for Atlanta, registering 11 goals and 5 assists. He was named to the USL-1 Weekly Best 11 on six occasions, despite playing just one game in the final six weeks of the season due to an ankle injury.

Kandji finished the 2008 season ranked third in points (27 points, 21 games), though he missed nearly a third of the season due to injury, travel restrictions, and a trade to the New York Red Bulls. During his time with the Silverbacks, Kandji was the main feature of an ESPN Soccernet article highlighting some of the USL's tops stars.^[1].

On September 15, 2008, Kandji signed with Red Bull New York on loan until the end of the MLS 2008 season. This initial loan deal involved Red Bull paying Atlanta Silverbacks a fee of $25,000. If the loan was a success, then another fee of $150,000 would be paid for Kandji, making the total amount paid $175,000, a record for a USL-1 player. He made his MLS debut against Colorado Rapids on September 27, 2008, where he recorded an assist.

In November, 2008, the Silverbacks announced that, due to financial reasons, they would be 'sitting out' the 2009 season. This development would have made Kandji a free agent, allowing New York to pick him up on a free transfer instead of the $175,000 previously agreed. However, Silverback owner Boris Jerkunica transferred his rights to Carolina Railhawks, a team he has a small stake in^[2].

New York purchased his rights and signed him on a one-year deal on January 14, 2009^[3]. Kandji has quickly established himself as a key performer for New York. His performance on 5/8/09 in a 4-1 victory over San Jose Earthquakes, in which Kandji scored one goal and had two assists,led to him being named MLS player of the week^[4].

[edit] International

Kandji has not yet appeared for any national team. Both Senegal and The Gambia have offered Kandji an opportunity to play, but Kandji has so far turned them down in hopes of one day playing for the United States.^[5]

[edit] Awards

2007 USL Division 1 Player of the Week (Week 17)
2007 USL Division 1 Goal of the Week (Week 17 - view here)
2008 USL Division 1 Player of the Week (Weeks 10, 16)
2008 USL Division 1 Team of the Week (Weeks 7, 10, 12, 16, 17, 22)
2008 USL Division 1 Goal of the Week (Week 16 - view here)
2009 MLS Player of the Week (Week 8)

[edit] Career Statistics

(correct as of 29 September 2008)

Club	Season	League			Lamar Hunt US Open Cup			Play-Offs			CONCACAF			Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Atlanta Silverbacks	2007	7	2	0	-	-	-	5	0	0	-	-	-	12	2	0
Atlanta Silverbacks	2008	21	11	5	2	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	23	12	5
Red Bull New York	2008	5	1	2	-	-	-	2	0	0	-	-	-	7	1	2
Red Bull New York	2009	23	4	5	1	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	24	4	5
Total	2007-present	53	18	12	3	1	0	7	0	0	-	-	-	66	19	12

[edit] See also

List of current MLS players

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[0] ttp://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=559409&sec=us&root=us&cc=5901

[1] ttp://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2008/11/clarifying-kandjis-situation.html

[2] ttp://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2009/01/mls-hot-stove-seattle-ready-to-deal-red-bulls-finalize-more-deals-and-.html#more

[3] ttp://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jspymd=20090511&content_id=251760&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

[4] ttp://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/unmellow-yellow-for-galaxy-and-sounders/#more-4129

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