Through just seven short years, Columbus Crew SC forward Kekuta Manneh's American Dream has led him through three countries, five cities, across 10,288 collective miles and two citizenships. The Gambia-born offensive dynamo by way of Atlanta, Austin and Vancouver, Canada, now calls Columbus home — as a member of Major League Soccer's Charter Member #01 playing in the country's first soccer-specific stadium.
"You can travel all you'd like, but if you haven't been to America — you haven't been anywhere," the 22-year-old Manneh said in an exclusive interview with NBC4 Columbus on Thursday.
His statement reverberates throughout his personal story, from day 1 to today. This weekend, Crew SC hosts Atlanta United FC — Manneh's first American stop was in Atlanta — in the Club's annual Military Appreciation Night at MAPFRE Stadium. Appreciation of the U.S. military is another similarity Manneh shares with his club.
Although he developed and matured in the Gambia while playing with the Gambia Under-20 National Team, Manneh earned his U.S. citizenship last January while maintaining a residence in northern Washington state despite playing for the Canadian-based Whitecaps for the first four years of his MLS career. Months after earning his citizenship, Manneh's life has changed: he received his first U.S. Men's National Team call-up in January, joined Columbus in a blockbuster trade in March and registered his first goal and assist in last week's 4-1 thrashing of the Montreal Impact.
Most impactful in his ever-budding American life, Manneh's older brother (by mere months) Cameron just graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2016 before completing Airborne School at Fort Benning in west Georgia (ironically just outside Columbus, Ga.) and Army Ranger School in Georgetown, Texas, last month and is now serving as a commissioned second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
"I had an open mind about it," Manneh said. "It was something that he wanted to do, but I had no experience in that. He’s very patriotic in that sense, and I was very supportive. I always was — even when I talked to him at West Point and he was going through difficult times, he still loves it. He made it through and I'm very glad he did. All the training camps he did, he was worried. But he made it through airborne school.
"Our mom doesn’t want him to go to infantry, but that's what he wants to do. He wants to be in the action. It’s tough for her, but even mom is supportive. But at the same time, have courage if that’s what you want to do. Our whole family is very supportive."
Manneh, who has embraced Columbus since joining Crew SC on March 30 the same way he embraced the U.S. after coming stateside as a 15-year-old, has played six matched (3 starts) with a goal scored and an assist in just 261 minutes. His performance at MAPFRE Stadium against the Impact on June 24 earned his first MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week honor after scoring the game-winner just 36 seconds after substituting into the match in the 69th minute. His assist on Ola Kamara's 72nd minute goal came just 120 seconds later.
His Crew SC breakthrough came after 86 days of slow assimilation and one big injury scare that kept him sidelined through Crew SC's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign and out of the June 17 match at Atlanta United.
"For him to hang in there," Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said following Saturday's match. "The frustration didn’t affect the attitude and that’s the important thing. We want guys to be frustrated if they’re not playing, but then you have to show it on the training pitch, you have to want to improve, you have to address your weaknesses, strengthen your strengths. All of that you need to do and he did that, he’s been doing that. It’s no surprise that he gets a chance to be in a position like this because he’s been working really hard.
"Everyone is pulling for him, everyone in the clubhouse is pulling for him. We want to see him succeed. We brought him here for a very specific reason, was to help the team, help the team in attacking areas. The guys are pulling for him, the coaching staff is pulling for him and we all want him to find his form."
If last Saturday's impact performance was a taste of things to come for Manneh, this week's match — kicking off in appreciation of those that serve like Cameron — will hold a certain reverence for the player and his family.
"I know that Cameron is going home (to Austin, Texas) this weekend to visit my family," Manneh said. "I’m sure they’ll be watching the game. They always do. They invite people over and always watch the game."
Crew SC next hosts MLS-expansion side Atlanta United FC on July 1 at MAPFRE Stadium. The match will celebrate Military Appreciation Night while featuring post-match fireworks in honor of the upcoming July 4 holiday.
The Black & Gold welcome German Bundesliga-side and DFB Pokal-finalist Eintracht Frankfurt to MAPFRE Stadium for an international friendly on Monday, July 17. The match is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
