It has been a frustrating year for the Columbus Crew, even before Saturday's debacle.
The incident in question was the Crew's 4-4 draw with the Montreal Impact, which saw Columbus squander a 4-1 lead and eventually settle for a tie that felt very much like a loss. The evening also saw designated players Kei Kamara and Federico Higuain bicker about who would take a penalty kick that Higuain eventually converted to make the score 4-1. The match in Columbus then ended with Kamara blasting Higuain to the press because the Argentine midfielder had the audacity to keep him from taking a penalty kick (something Higuain had done with regularity for Columbus since arriving in 2012).
The childish outburst succeeded in taking attention away from a second-half collapse that had zero to do with Higuain ignoring Kamara's pleas and taking a penalty kick he eventually converted with perfect placement. It had everything to do with the Crew's inability to manage a game — and defend as a team.
To refresh your memory, Kamara already had two goals and could have had a hat trick if he had taken the penalty kick. Higuain had little interest in Kamara's request. He, after all, had been the Crew's penalty taker for three full seasons before this year. Columbus only had one penalty prior to Saturday, which Higuain drew and Kamara rushed to take before eventually converting. Perhaps Kamara believed that turn of events now meant he was the team's go-to penalty taker — at least that's probably what he was hoping.
If Kamara had let Higuain's refusal go, then maybe his lengthy disagreement with Higuain over taking the penalty might have been forgotten, but Kamara didn't stop. The Crew's collapse somehow convinced Kamara that he could turn the moment into his chance to rip into Higuain, as if Columbus failed to defend properly because the penalty-kick drama had distracted them.
If it affected anybody, it was Kamara who was never the same after the incident. His passes, movement and overall contribution to the match faded, and he could even be seen standing in no-man's land in the Impact penalty area when the ball made its way to Dominic Oduro for a soul-crushing equalizer in stoppage time.
That's when Kamara decided to make it all about him and Higuain, saying some things that made it clear there was much more to the story than a simple disagreement over one penalty kick. Kamara proceeded to point out that he doesn't rely on Higuain for service, coming very close to implying the playmaker chooses not to play him the ball. It was all very childish, and perhaps the most telling part of Kamara's rant was when he pointed out that he lost out on the 2015 MLS Golden Boot to Sebastian Giovinco because he didn't take the Crew's penalties while Giovinco took TFC's.
It genuinely sounded as though Kamara had spent the offseason stewing over missing out on the Golden Boot, and was determined not to let it happen again in 2016. So when Higuain took the penalty from him, it didn't matter that he converted. Kamara was furious, and each subsequent Impact goal only served to enrage him further, right up until he proceeded to publicly skewer Higuain and try to paint him as the villain in this silly drama.
Suddenly, Kamara had painted a picture of two high-profile teammates who can't work together, and apparently don't like each other, which was interesting to hear considering Higuain had made a point to congratulate the striker after each of his goals Saturday.
What did Kamara do when Higuain slotted home that perfect penalty? He turned and walked up the field, almost looking like he had wished it didn't go in.
Did Kamara have a fair initial gripe when he pleaded with Higuain to have a chance at scoring the first hat trick of his career? Sure, but the way he handled it afterward, by ripping Higuain, was a mistake. If Kamara didn't figure that out after cooling off, then it's a safe bet Crew coach Gregg Berhalter let him know.
"The first thing is that it is an emotional game," Berhalter told the Columbus Dispatch about the Kamara-Higuain drama. "Competing and being a professional athlete comes with a lot of emotion. So I understand that part of it. But there is a time and a place where you have to collect your emotion and you have to be able to give productive information. In this case, we have a policy where we don’t want to be talking about our teammates or the club in press (settings) like that. I think it was uncalled for."
In many ways, Kamara had a dream 2015. He finished tied for the league lead in goals, his team reached the MLS Cup final, and he became a fan favorite because of his penchant for scoring, his boisterous celebrations and his heart-shaped gestures on the field. When he sat on the field at Mapfre Stadium after the Crew's MLS Cup final in December, dejected and seemingly frozen by disappointment, Kamara garnered a ton of sympathy and respect. He was seen as a good guy who only cares about winning.
Kamara hasn't exactly shown that in 2016. Earlier in the year he essentially threatened to hold out if he couldn't secure a new contract worthy of an MLS goals leader. The Crew gave in, making Kamara a designated player and handed him a seven-figure contract despite being 31, coming off his first monster season as a pro, and having already had an unsuccessful stint in Europe. Columbus didn't care, and gave him a deal that surprised observers across the league. What mattered to the Crew was keeping Kamara happy, so they made him the team's second million-dollar player, joining Higuain.
Nobody should begrudge a player who wants to be paid more money, but Kamara's raise brought with it heightened expectations, and scrutiny. Now, after his meltdown Saturday, he is being cast in a new light. Now, rather than being the feel-good story who makes heart shapes with his hands after goals and helps build schools in his native Sierra Leone, Kamara is instead looking more like just another selfish athlete, one who cares more about stats and individual achievement than winning.
Hopefully for Kamara and the Crew, he will give some serious thought about what he said, and realizes why he crossed the line. The sooner he does that, and the sooner he acknowledges his mistake, the sooner the Crew can put the whole thing in the rearview mirror and focus on something much more important: turning around a disappointing season that hit a new low Saturday.
JERMAINE JONES KEEPS SHINING AS HIS FORMER TEAM STRUGGLES
When Jermaine Jones went public with what he deemed an insulting contract offer from the New England Revolution last winter, one that would have seen the U.S. national team midfielder take a considerable pay cut, it became very clear the two sides would never reach an agreement on a new deal. A little more than two months after the Revs traded Jones, it is sure looking like New England should have given Jones the money he wanted.
Jones has been a star for the Colorado Rapids, scoring three goals and adding two assists while propelling the Rapids to a 3-0-1 record since he made his Rapids debut. The Rapids now boast the best record in MLS, and Jones is playing extremely well in the surprisingly effective role of attacking midfielder.
Meanwhile, New England is enduring an increasingly frustrating season. Sunday's 4-2 loss to the LA Galaxy pushed the Revs' winless slide to six matches, and New England appears to have taken a step back from being the team that pushed the 2014 MLS Cup final to overtime.
Should the Revs have caved and paid Jones a big-money deal? Realistically, the Revs couldn't be blamed for not wanting to pay the 34-year-old Jones a $3 million salary, which is what he made in 2015. Then again, if you're the Revs, and you feel your team is capable of competing for an MLS Cup, do you haggle over money with someone who could be your most influential player?
Something else to consider is the fact the Revs had other players coming up on new deals, and if they had broken the bank to keep Jones, than that may have made keeping the likes of Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe more difficult.
Then you have the fact that Jones' family lives in Los Angeles, and Jones wanted to try and play closer to California. Having the chance to move to a team that plays on grass also was probably enticing for Jones and his 34-year-old body.
Give the Rapids credit. They didn't care about his age, only about the impact he could make. His influence was evident from the first match, and he has helped provide a dynamism the Rapids had been lacking for years. Now, with Tim Howard on the way and the Rapids playing superbly, Jones could be eyeing another run at an MLS Cup final while his former club looks more likely to miss the playoffs than make a run.
JAKE GLEESON'S QUICK TRANSITION
What a difference one week can make. Just ask Portland Timbers goalkeeper Jake Gleeson.
Last week, Gleeson made a plethora of stunning saves to help the Timbers beat Toronto FC, and Gleeson was later named MLS Player of the Week. One week later, Gleeson was on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline, with both goals leaving Gleeson looking culpable.
Vancouver's first goal Saturday was a Masato Kudo blast that beat Gleeson to his near post. The Whitecaps' second goal was a Christian Bolanos cross that went untouched before fooling Gleeson and bouncing past him for the winning strike.
From hero to goat, just like that.
In fairness to Gleeson, he made a total of 11 saves, including several top-shelf stops, so it wasn't as if he had a completely awful performance. But Gleeson was definitely offered a reminder of the roller coaster ride goalkeepers can take.
BEST OF MLS WEEK 10
Player of the Week: Didier Drogba. The Montreal Impact star scored a goal and set up two others to help lead the comeback from 4-1 down in a 4-4 draw.
Team of the Week: Houston Dynamo. Owen Coyle's men snapped a six-match winless streak by shutting out familiar rival Sporting Kansas City.
Rookie of the Week: Jordan Morris. The Seattle Sounders forward scored in his fourth straight match, belting a 23-yard shot through the legs of a defender to beat David Bingham for an insurance goal in Seattle's 2-0 win vs. San Jose.
Goal of the Week: Giovani Dos Santos :
That hit. Speechless.
Giovani Dos Santos scores a stunner to double the lead. #LAvNE https://t.co/jZEKVvSHbT
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 8, 2016
- Goal