BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Bakary Soumare had to take a step back to take a step forward.
After a rookie season in which he played as a holding midfielder for both Dave Sarachan and Juan Carlos Osorio, Soumare was moved back to his natural position of center back for 2008 by new Fire coach Denis Hamlett.
In that position, Soumare helped the Chicago Fire hold the lead for most of the season in fewest goals allowed (a position they relinquished late in the season), and he was rewarded for his work with a nomination for MLS Defender of the Year. The other nominees are veterans Jimmy Conrad of Kansas City, the 2007 MLS Defender of the Year, and Chad Marshall of the Columbus Crew.
That Soumare was selected in his second MLS season after only one year at the University of Virginia is an indication that someone took notice of him, which is not hard to do, as he stands 6-4, is lanky and covers a lot of ground.
"It always feels good to be recognized in this way," Soumare said. "It shows the hard work paid off, and that I am developing as a player."
Soumare not only played in front of MLS Goalkeeper of the Year winner Jon Busch, but he also played in most games with the same back line: Gonzalo Segares (23 games), Wilman Conde (22 games) and Brandon Prideaux (27 games).
"Every time you get to play with good players, it makes you look even better," Soumare said. "Look who is standing behind me, Jon Busch. You just don't know how much he talks to me as a player, pointing me in the right directions. He is like a quarterback, telling you where to go. He helps me tremendously. I've never been part of a team that I have had a 'keeper behind me that is such a great communicator.
"I think Wilman on my left is phenomenal; I think Gonzalo is the best left back in the league, and Brandon has all that experience," Soumare said. "Remember, I started the season playing with Diego Gutierrez, and although C.J. Brown hasn't played a lot this season, he has been absolutely fantastic for me. I give a lot of credit to C.J. He makes sure I keep my head on my shoulders and keeps me plugging away and not taking a day off."
Soumare also credits coach Denis Hamlett for moving him back into the defensive line.
"This year, Baky has progressed immensely in terms of developing the confidence to play as a center back," Hamlett said. "He has become a real presence back there. We are excited by his progress, and throughout the league, his peers have seen that and that is the reason he was nominated one of the finalists for Defender of the Year."
Asked to explain how he has improved over the season, Soumare said he has benefited most simply from the amount of playing time he has had. He played in 28 games, missing two games due to yellow card accumulation.
"You can go to practice every day and work hard, and obviously you will get better, but the one thing I believe is the more games you play, the better you get," Soumare said. "The fact that I have been in a lot of games this season, I have been able to improve my game. You make mistakes and improve on them and move on."
Soumare said he has done a good job of using the information he has acquired from the veterans around him.
"As long as you are man enough to take the information and use it, you will be a better player," Soumare said.
Hamlett said he hopes to see improvement from Soumare in the area of yellow card accumulation, which is the only thing that held him back from a 30-game season.
"He has to be able to control his decision-making," Hamlett said. "He picked up too many yellow cards this year, and the last thing you want is to be labeled as a guy who always gets yellow cards. There has to be better decision-making in the type of tackles he goes into. It's not always about winning the ball, it's about containing the player.
"With his size and willingness to attack the ball, he should also be one of those guys who wins everything in the air," his coach said.
After just two seasons, and only one at his natural position, it appears Soumare has successfully made the transition to the pro game, enough so that he is one of the nominees for the league's Defender of the Year award.
"If he continues to develop he can be one of the best center backs in the league," Hamlett said.
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