Showing posts tagged “Macoumba Kandji”
David Fellerath ·
11 Feb 2009, 1:15 PM ·
Comment
Last night we ran down the official RailHawks roster, as it now stands. We noted two significant absences: forward Dan Antoniuk and winger Martin Nuñez.
There’s still no news of Antoniuk—and he’s not training with the team right now—but Nuñez, last year’s co-offensive player of the year and a finalist for USL-1 rookie of the year, will not be playing for the RailHawks this year. Instead, he has signed with the powerful Puerto Rico Islanders, who finished atop the league in 2008 (but lost in the playoff final to Vancouver). The Islanders are also still playing in the CONCACAF Champions League (although it’s not clear Nuñez will be eligible for those games.)
In a Feb. 9 scoreless scrimmage between the Islanders and the MLS Red Bull New York, Nuñez was in the starting lineup.
Incidentally, Nuñez spent time training with RBNY prior to becoming a RailHawk. Another participant in the game was Mac Kandji on the left wing for RBNY; Kandji was briefly and technically the property of Carolina. A third player in the game, for PR, was Jonny Steele, who played for the RailHawks two years ago before departing for the Islanders, where he would become league MVP in 2008.
Nuñez was a popular, flashy player and a huge crowd favorite. On the other hand, the current team is loaded with midfield signings. Later today, we’ll have a camp report by Chris Gaffney.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer CONCACAF, Jonny Steele, Macoumba Kandji, Martin Nuñez, training camp
David Fellerath ·
13 Jan 2009, 8:32 PM ·
1 Comment
Not coming to Cary
Not that it was a likely scenario, but the RailHawks did technically own the contract to Macoumba Kandji, the Atlanta striker who finished last season in the MLS Cup final with the New York Red Bulls.
Today, the Red Bulls made it official: They’ve bought out the Senegalese striker’s contract, which [could] involve a compensation to the RailHawks. Kandji’s transfer fee has been reported elsewhere to be about $150,000. [No details of the deal were disclosed in the Red Bulls' announcement, per MLS and club policy.] [See editorial note below.]
Kandji scored 11 goals in 21 appearances last season for the Silverbacks, and finished third in the league in points, with 27, despite appearing in significantly fewer games than other league leaders.
Here’s the official announcement.
[Ed. note: This post was modified for clarity after its initial publication, with brackets indicating the amended text.]
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Macoumba Kandji
David Fellerath ·
24 Nov 2008, 12:04 PM ·
Comment
Jarrett over at Trisoccerfan.com reports that one unintended consequence of the decision by the Atlanta Silverbacks to sit out the 2009 season is that the team’s most valuable property, Macoumba “Mac” Kandji, is now contracted with the RailHawks—due to the small stake in the Cary team that is held by Silverbacks owner Boris Jerkunica.
Macoumba Kandji
Despite playing only 21 games, Kandji scored 11 goals, enough to finish fourth in the league. He was named to the All-USL first team. On Sept. 15, he was loaned to the New York Red Bulls of the MLS, and he was inserted into yesterday’s MLS Cup final against the Columbus Crew, in the 82nd minute. The Crew won, 3-1, by the way.
None of this means Kandji will be playing in WakeMed Soccer Park next year. Jarrett explains the various scenarios at his indispensable fan site.
Triangle Offense’s Chris Gaffney is in Tampa, attending the winter meeting of the USL. Look for his reports in the coming days.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Atlanta Silverbacks, Macoumba Kandji, New York Red Bulls
