Wikipedia

Aboubacar Keita

Not to be confused with Aboubakar Keita.

Aboubacar Kobele Keita (born April 6, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for MLS Next Pro club Columbus Crew 2.

Aboubacar Keita
Keita with the United States U20 in 2019
Personal information
Full name Aboubacar Kobele Keita[1]
Date of birth (2000-04-06) April 6, 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth New York City, New York, United States
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Columbus Crew 2
Number 24
Youth career
0000–2016 Santos Columbus FC
2016–2018 Columbus Crew
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018 Virginia Cavaliers 17 (1)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Columbus Crew 37 (0)
2019 → Richmond Kickers (loan) 3 (0)
2022–2024 Colorado Rapids 0 (0)
2023 Colorado Rapids 2 8 (0)
2024 → Bohemians (loan) 16 (1)
2024– Columbus Crew 2 4 (1)
International career
2019 United States U20 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:44, 16 October 2024 (UTC)

Keita was born in New York City but grew up in Ohio, attending Westerville North High School and playing for the Crew SC Academy. After just one year in college at Virginia, he signed with Columbus Crew as the 12th Homegrown Player in club history. Keita made his professional debut in 2019 while on loan to Richmond Kickers in USL League One.

Early life

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Although he was born in New York City, Keita was raised in Guinea, moved to Westerville, Ohio, at the age of 10 and attended Westerville North High School. As a sophomore, he was named Honorable Mention All-Ohio Capital Conference while primarily playing as a forward.[3] He joined the Crew Academy in 2016, playing in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy for the U16/17 and U18/19 teams and scoring once in 43 appearances.[4] Keita also trained with the Crew's first team and played against Charleston Battery at the 2018 Carolina Challenge Cup.[5]

In January 2018, Keita took part in his first international camp, training with an assembled United States U19 national team in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.[6] Later that month, he committed to play collegiately for coach George Gelnovatch at the University of Virginia.[7]

College

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Keita made his debut for Virginia on August 24, 2018, starting the season-opener against nationally ranked New Hampshire. He played the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory over the Wildcats.[8] On September 28, he scored his first collegiate goal as part of a 2–0 victory against Pittsburgh.[9] Keita appeared in all three postseason games for the Cavaliers, although they lost in the first round of the ACC Men's Soccer Tournament and were eliminated in the third round of the NCAA tournament.[10] After concluding his lone collegiate season with one goal in 17 appearances, Keita was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team[11] and earned an invite to a camp for the United States U20 national team.[12]

Club career

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Columbus Crew

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2019: Professional signing, loan to Richmond, and return to Columbus

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On January 22, 2019, Keita was announced as the 12th Homegrown Player (HGP) signing in Columbus Crew history. He became the third HGP on the roster for Columbus' 2019 season, joining Wil Trapp and Alex Crognale.[13] Keita had attended his first Crew game at the age of 12 and as a Crew Academy player had previously trained with the first team in prior years.[14]

In a bid to get acclimated to the professional game, Keita was sent on loan to USL League One club Richmond Kickers on March 6, 2019. The loan was for the duration of the 2019 USL League One season, with Columbus able to recall him at any point during the year.[15] Although he began the season back in Columbus, recuperating from an injury suffered while on international duty,[16] Keita made his professional debut on April 27. Against Chattanooga Red Wolves, he replaced Scott Thomsen in the 77th minute and helped Richmond see out a 1–0 victory.[17]

After suffering an injury during the U20 World Cup, Keita returned to Columbus from his loan to Richmond. On July 3, he made his debut for Columbus with a midweek start against Real Salt Lake.[18] Keita went on to make 10 appearances throughout the season for Columbus.

2020: Covid-19 pandemic and a shortened season

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Before COVID-19 pandemic derailed the initial start to the 2020 MLS season, Keita started and played 90 minutes in one of Columbus's two games. He started and played 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw with the Seattle Sounders.[19] Keita went on to make a total of 13 appearances for Columbus during the Covid-shortened 2020 season, 12 appearances during the regular season and 1 appearance during the playoffs.[20] Keita was part of the team that won MLS Cup 2020.

2021

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Keita made his debut for Columbus during the 2021 season by starting in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League game against Real Estelí; helping Columbus to a 1–0 win.[20] He subsequently went on to start and play 90 minutes during the MLS regular season 0–0 draw against CF Montréal.[21]

Colorado Rapids

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2022: Trade to the Rapids and ACL tear

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On January 5, 2022, Keita was traded to Colorado Rapids in exchange for $300,000 in General Allocation Money, with Columbus potentially receiving an additional $150,000 should Keita reach certain performance marks.[22] It was announced on March 10 that Keita had undergone successful ACL surgery on his right knee, which put him out the entirety of the 2022 MLS season.[23]

Bohemians loan

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On 22 February 2024, Keita was loaned to League of Ireland Premier Division side Bohemians on a one-year loan deal.[24] He scored 1 goal in 16 appearances for the club during his loan spell and on 15 August 2024, it was announced that the loan spell had been mutually terminated, with his parent club Colorado Rapids also releasing Keita as a Free agent.[25]

International career

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Keita was the fifth Homegrown Player in Crew SC history to play for the U20s, following Wil Trapp, Chad Barson, Matt Wiet, and Ben Swanson.

After earning previous camp call-ups for the United States U17, U18, and U19 national teams, Keita earned his first youth caps with the United States U20 team in March 2019. In the team's final camp ahead of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, he came off the bench against France on March 22 and provided Christian Cappis with a match-tying assist in second-half stoppage time;[26] Keita also started three days later against Japan.[27] On May 10, he was named to the final roster for the tournament by head coach Tab Ramos.[28] Keita started all five games for the United States, playing every minute of the tournament until being subbed off in the 86th minute of the team's quarterfinal match against Ecuador.[29] Throughout the tournament, he was noted to be sound defensively but struggled with distribution.[30][31][32]

Career statistics

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As of match played on 6 October 2024[33][34]
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Columbus Crew 2019 Major League Soccer 10 0 0 0 – – 10 0
2020 11 0 0 0 – 1[a] 0 12 0
2021 16 0 0 0 2[b] 0 1[c] 0 19 0
Total 37 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 41 0
Richmond Kickers (loan) 2019 USL League One 3 0 – – – 3 0
Colorado Rapids 2022 Major League Soccer 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
2023 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
Colorado Rapids 2 2023 MLS Next Pro 8 0 – – – 8 0
Bohemians (loan) 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division 16 1 0 0 – – 16 1
Columbus Crew 2 2024 MLS Next Pro 4 1 – – – 4 1
Career total 66 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 70 2
  1. ^ Appearance in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
  3. ^ Appearance in Campeones Cup

Honors

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Columbus Crew

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: USA" (PDF). FIFA. June 13, 2019. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2020.
  2. ^ "Aboubacar Keita". Colorado Rapids. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "OCC releases all-league teams". ThisWeekNews.com. GateHouseMedia. November 6, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  4. ^ Murphy, Pat (January 22, 2019). "Crew officially signs Aboubacar Keita to Homegrown contract". MassiveReport.com. SB Nation. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  5. ^ Hudak, Nick (February 1, 2019). "Keita is happy to be home, ready to get to work with the Crew". MassiveReport.com. SB Nation. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  6. ^ "First ever U.S. Soccer men's YNT summit brings 153 players together in single camp". USSoccer.com. U.S. Soccer Federation. January 4, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  7. ^ Shealer, Sheldon (January 29, 2018). "Recruiting Roundup: Jan. 29-Feb. 4". TopDrawerSoccer.com. TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  8. ^ "Bell Scores Game-Winner in Closing Seconds for Season Opening Win". VirginiaSports.com. Virginia Athletics. August 24, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  9. ^ Shiers, Mike (September 28, 2018). "#11 UVa Men's Soccer Team Beats Pitt 2-0 to Remain Undefeated". NBC29.com. WVIR-TV NBC 29. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  10. ^ "Aboubacar Keita – Virginia profile". VirginiaSports.com. Virginia Athletics. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Shiers, Mike (November 7, 2018). "Cavaliers Place Six on Men's Soccer All-ACC Teams". NBC29.com. WVIR-TV NBC 29. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  12. ^ "Three-team training camp kicks of 2019 for U.S. men's youth national teams". USSoccer.com. U.S. Soccer Federation. January 4, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  13. ^ Patrick Guldan and Pat Murphy (January 21, 2019). "Crew signs Aboubacar Keita to Homegrown contract". MassiveReport.com. SB Nation. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  14. ^ Jardy, Adam (January 26, 2019). "Just 18, defender Aboubacar Keita learning the ropes". Dispatch.com. GateHouse Media. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  15. ^ Wood, Patrick (March 6, 2019). "Aboubacar Keita joins Richmond on loan from Columbus Crew SC". RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  16. ^ Reynolds, Nathan (April 23, 2019). "Three takeaways from the Richmond Kickers' 1-0 victory over Greenville". BGN.fm. Beautiful Game Network. Retrieved April 27, 2019. The club confirmed today that Keita is still in Columbus with the Crew as he recovers from an injury sustained with the USMNT U-20.
  17. ^ Wood, Patrick (April 27, 2019). "Kickers down Chattanooga for second straight win". RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  18. ^ Hintz, Abigail (July 3, 2019). "Caleb Porter using three-game stretch to build depth for the Crew". MassiveReport.com. SB Nation. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  19. ^ "Seattle Sounders vs. Columbus Crew - 8 March 2020 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  20. ^ a b "USA - A. Keita - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  21. ^ "Aboubacar Keita". Columbus Crew. May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  22. ^ "Colorado Rapids acquire defender Aboubacar Keita from Columbus Crew | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  23. ^ mlssoccer. "Colorado Rapids defender Aboubacar Keita out with torn ACL | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  24. ^ "Colorado Rapids loan Aboubacar Keita to Bohemian FC".
  25. ^ "Colorado Rapids waive defender Aboubacar Keita".
  26. ^ "Second-half comeback boosts U-20 MNT to 2–2 draw with France". USSoccer.com. United States Soccer Federation. March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  27. ^ "U.S. U-20 MNT takes down Japan 2–1 in Spain". USSoccer.com. United States Soccer Federation. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  28. ^ Murphy, Pat (May 10, 2019). "Crew's Aboubacar Keita called up to 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup U.S. team". MassiveReport.com. SB Nation. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  29. ^ "United States 1–2 Ecuador". FIFA.com. FIFA. June 8, 2019. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  30. ^ Murphy, Pat (June 9, 2019). "The highs and lows of Aboubacar Keita's U-20 World Cup". MassiveReport.com. SB Nation. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  31. ^ Doyle, Matthew (June 13, 2019). "Armchair Analyst: U-20s post-mortem, and what's to come for the USMNT". MLSSoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  32. ^ Muncy, Alex (June 12, 2019). "USA U-20 2019 World Cup: Post Mortem". StarsandStripesFC.com. SB Nation. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  33. ^ Aboubacar Keita at Soccerway. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  34. ^ Aboubacar Keita at Major League Soccer
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