Bakary Soumare — Our Leader in Exile

In Chicago Fire tradition we expect our players to care about the jersey that they wear. All sport teams want this but the reality is with the nature of professional sports that does not always happen.

The Chicago Fire has had players that care about our club though. Players that have contributed to our community. Frank Klopas is the best example but Bakary Soumare is much more outspoken.

Before we consider his controversy, and his persecution by our ownership, we need to remember that Bakary Soumare was once a promising soccer talent. His height, physical ability, and skill set made him perfect for Major League Soccer when we drafted him in 2007.

Bakary established himself and became one of our better players. Bakary’s potential then outgrew our club quickly. He was outspoken to a fault. Denis Hamlett was a bad coach. This led to a situation some have described as a “confrontation” during a loss to the Houston Dynamo. His first stint with the Fire was over. He was European bound.

It hurts to think now but Chris Rolfe, Gonzalo Segares, and Bakary Soumare all spent their best professional seasons with other club in Europe. We developed good soccer players but did not retain them.

Bakary Soumare’s European adventure was not fair. It left him with permanent injuries and damage to his body that quickly racked up. First he was at US Boulogne and earned the captain’s armband but eventually they were relegated. Tough break. In his contract it said that if that happened then he could play for another club. He was loaned to Karlsruher SC but was injured. Worse luck. In 2012 his European adventure over.

When he came back to Major League Soccer it was with the Philadelphia Union. He never found a place with them and was an expensive feature of their bench. A weird situation happened where we played Philadelphia Union back-to-back then Bakary Soumare was a Chicago Fire player again. We brought him back home for another time.

But … his second stint with our team was not good. The club needed changes and it was probably a mistake to bring him back. The Fire were a weird Frankenstein between the wants of Frank Klopas and Frank Yallop. Bakary really did nothing notable other than score a goal, but he also scored an own goal as well. It just didn’t work out. His time as a player with our club was over.

After he left the Fire he played briefly for Montreal then FC Dallas. Something was wrong with his body and his career was way off track. At age 30 exactly he retired. An end of a once promising career but injuries are never fair.

Soumare is retired but he still considers Chicago home. He has kept connections with Chicago Fire fans. He has done more for our community than other former Chicago Fire players. That’s amazing that he does what he does for the Chicago Fire despite the active oppression he faces from Andrew Hauptman.

Bakary Soumare’s social media controversies should not be an issue because he just said what every Chicago Fire fan feels and then some more. He loves our team. He is our leader in exile!

Andrew Hauptman should apologize to Bakary Soumare, sell the rest of his ownership in our club, and allow Bakary Soumare to return to games!