I am really impressed by this guy. Strong , fast, calm and skilled. Can anyone tell us more about him? Age, who he played for before? How long has he been in the USA? And lastly, is he cap-tied to Mali? Thanks.
Hopefully he'll continue with his current form -I think he's been an excellent pickup for the Revs. Don't know much about him though.
Played his college ball in Florida - UCF? Drafted by the Fusion last year (or maybe the year before), but had promised his American sponsor family that he would get his degree, so he went back to school instead of playing in MLS. Drafted by DC United this year, and in the "meet the coaches" session at a bar in DC before the season started, Ray Hudson was gushing about him - basically said Kante is very talented, has a big heart, and is a stand-up guy. I don't know what happened after that, but I think there might have been visa delays...somehow, DC dropped the ball, and our loss is your gain.
Daodua Kante is a native of Mali, West Africa who came to the United States back in mid-1990's, having attended and graduated from national soccer power St. Benedict's Prep. There he played two season, where he recorded 34 goals and 30 assists, helping St. Benedict's win the state championship in 1996. He stayed with an American family in South Orange while a student. His college career started with Mercer County Community College where he played predominatly as a forward. Mercer won a number of national junior college titles in the 1990's. While excelling on the soccer field for them he also excelled in the classroom, being named to the Dean's List at mercer twice. In his two season there he was named junior college All-American while also serving as captain of the team. He then went on to play two season for Florida International University where he played in midfield before shifting further back to a central defender position. Started 14 of 17 matches for FIU his junior season, earning a goal and an assist in the process. The following year he made 19 starts. His play in the MLS 2001 combine drew the interest of then Miami Fuision coach Ray Hudson, and was eventually drafted in the 6th round of the 2001 SuperDraft. However, he decided to pass on the opportunity to remain in college to finish his studies. Passed on signing a developmetnal contract with D.C. United in 2002. Kante also played with the Wilmington Hammerheads of the United Soccer Leagues (D3 Pro League) as well as the Hampton Roads Mariners (A-League).
All I have been able to determine is that Kante did not play for Mali in the Cup of Nations (in Mali) this past winter, that and that the offical tournament website now dumps you into a porn site.
Well, if he hasn't played for Mali, he needs to be on Arena's radar screen. He's very comfortable with the ball, and usually connects on his outlet passes. Damn, this guy came out of nowhere.
We can thank Ray Hudson. When he picked him the in first round of this years Super draft we all said--who the hell is this kid that he'd take him in the first round. Unfortunately Ray tried to get him on the cheep (Developmental Roster) and the kid walked. Sorry Ray. I agree, Kante is the real deal and will be a top level player in MLS.
I agree that his distribution could be better. I also think he recovers poorly when beaten or when the ball gets behind the defense. Despite this, he has been a solid defender in every game I have seen him play.
St. Ben's This is also where Claudio R, Greg B, and Tab R. from the National team played. St. Ben's comes to Maine every summer now for some Preseason training, and this year held their International tournament here. That was some Great soccer! They currently have a 114-0-5 record and heading for the national (according to USA Today) 133 game unbeaten streak. I guess my point is Kante came from a pretty good program.
This seems like a good time to bring this thread back to the top. Kante has played in 9 of the 29 games the Revs have played this year. In the 20 games before he arrived, they allowed 42 goals and had only 4 clean sheets. Since then, they have allowed only 7 goals and none at all in 4 games. It looks even more impressive when you consider that the Revs allowed 4 goals in Kante's first two games. I guess he took a little while to settle in before decreeing that the Revs would only allow a goal every 213 minutes. And their strike rate has actually gone up since the All-Star break (1.9 goals per game from 1.7), so it's not that they are playing more defensively, their just defending better.