FOXBOROUGH, Mass. ā On Tuesday, in reaction to a swell of trade rumors on the internet, Kei Kamaraposted a tweet urging the Columbus Crew SC faithful to āstay calm.ā
Two days later, as the trade deadline approached, that tone completely changed as Columbus surprised both player and fan bases alike by shipping one of the leagueās most deft finishers to the New England Revolution for a package full of allocation money and draft picks.
āI told everybody to stay calm, then I told everybody to panic,ā Kamara said with a slight chuckle when he met with the media for the first time as a member of the Revolution on Friday. āTo me, it wasnāt something that I thought was going to happen, I thought it was just one of those [things] at deadline day.ā
The situation for Kamara in Columbus, where he scored 27 goals in 41 games over the last year and a half, came to a head this past weekend following an incident between the Sierra Leone native and teammate Federico Higuain over a penalty kick.
After expressing his frustrations following the incident, the rumor mill kicked into high gear. But despite what was being said, Kamara was again surprised to find that this incident was not the death knell for his time with the Crew, but that the Revs may have been in pursuit for quite some time.
āI donāt know, I canāt really say what lead to the trade,ā said Kamara. āObviously, the situation that I thought is what led to the trade, it was clear to me that they said, 'We didnāt trade you because of the incident that happened over the weekend.'
āFor me, I canāt debate and stop anything from happening. Itās all about moving forward. When I spoke with [Jay Heaps] and he told me heās wanted me since my Kansas City days, that put a smile on my face ⦠[He] said that this wasn't something that just happened this week. Itās something thatās been in the works for a long time.ā
Now Kamara is out to prove that this trade will not slow his mission: to help his club win MLS Cup.
He joins a crowded New England attack that has struggled at times to finish, a factor in the Revs' 1-3-7 start to the season.
Kamara says he's ready to inject his enthusiasm into the group and push them back above the red line in the Eastern Conference standings ā despite one minor flaw he encountered on being introduced to his new team.
āIām just happy to be here,ā said the 31-year-old. āIt just kind of sucks that I feel like the old guy around these guys. Because theyāre all young boys, theyāre willing to play and Iām happy to be around them.
āIām not coming across here to sit on my butt and relax, saying that because this happened my season is done. Iām ready to play.ā