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Rapids swap Ballouchy for Kandji
The Mehdi Ballouchy era in the midfield for Colorado came to an end on Tuesday.
The club announced that it had traded the midfielder to the New York Red Bulls for forward Macoumba Kandji.
Acquired by the Rapids in a trade with Real Salt Lake on July 16, 2007, Ballouchy leaves Colorado having played in 77 games for the club and scoring seven goals adding 18 assists.
Colorado originally swapped popular midfielder Kyle Beckerman for Ballouchy. Trading the defensive midfielder for the supposedly more offensive-minded Ballouchy was hailed by the club as an investment in the future of the team’s attack.
Ballouchy, who appeared in nine games in 2007, only recorded one goal and two assists. Then the club made the ill-fated decision to bring in Christian Gomez to run the attack, keeping Ballouchy on the sidelines to start the 2008 season. Gomez proved to be a bust, filling a Designated Player space and producing three goals and six assists over 20 games. By the end of the season, Ballouchy — who would finish with one goal and four assists — was the regular starting central midfielder.
Heading into the 2009 season, coach Gary Smith said it would be Ballouchy time to shine. Ballouchy played in 28 of 30 games, starting 23. He finished the season with two goals and seven assists as the Rapids missed the playoffs for the third year running.
This season, Ballouchy appeared in 21 games with 19 starts and recorded a career-high three goals and a team-high tying five assists. Much of his work has come on one of the wings as the team experimented with a 4-5-1 alignment.
In Kandji, the team picks up another attacker at the expense of losing a set-up man. Smith told MLSsoccer.com that he had been trying to make this swap for the past month.
“It’s always been uppermost in my mind to try and add him if at all possible,” Smith said. “He’s very athletic, very pacy and has the individual ability to create a lot of opportunities.”
A three-year veteran, Kandji joins the Rapids having played his entire Major League Soccer career in New York after being signed by the Red Bulls on September 15, 2008 from the Atlanta Silverbacks of USL-1. Kandji has appeared in 41 games with 30 starts with New York and scored six goals and registered seven assists in 2,814 minutes of action.
A tall, quick and athletic forward, Kandji has the ability and willingness to take on any defender. The Senegalese standout has appeared in 13 games, eight as a starter, and tallied one goal in 2010.
Smith indicated that Kandji was being acquired as a strategic move in case Omar Cummings departs. The forward, who is tied for the team lead with nine goals, has been drawing interest from foreign clubs. Kandji shares Cummings trait for quick attacks, but the acquisition also raises questions about another speedy reserve forward on the Rapids roster, Quincy Amarikwa.
Smith told MLSsoccer.com that if Cummings stays, he envisions the possibility of him, Kandji and Conor Casey playing as an attacking threesome, particularly at home. If Smith employs just two forwards, there could be some rotation of the three players.
The move may also open a door for Claudio Lopez. The Argentinian veteran has seen scant minutes on the field, but is an exceptional controller of the ball and delivers some of the best passing on the side. Without an obvious midfield creator in the middle, Lopez may get his chance in the season’s final weeks.
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