Bob goes to Charlotte
It always stings to see one of your favorite players go to a rival team, Robert Ssejjemba is certainly no exception.
It was the week before Christmas in 2004 that news broke that the Kickers had signed a new forward out of Virginia Intermont College. Pre-season reports were promising as the Ugandan racked up the goals against college opposition. He made his professional debut as a substitute in the season opener against the Atlanta Silverbacks, one fan describing him as being ‘a little eager’.
In a season where the Kickers had a wealth of options up top thanks to Matt Delicâte, McColm Cephas and Kevin Jeffrey (those were the days), ‘Bob’ had a hard time breaking into the team but managed to make some notable appreances and ended the season with three goals.
After the Kickers relegated themselves to Division 2 in 2006, Ssejjemba was the sole survivor of the previous season’s striking quartet, practically guaranteeing him a starting position. It proved to be a break-out year as Bob set the league alight with 17 goals in 19 games, earning the D2 MVP to go with his championship medal. He was a joy to watch that season, enjoying his game and slicing easily through opposing defences. DC United were impressed enough to loan him for the remainder of the MLS season.
With such an impressive year under his belt, Ssejjemba became a marked man in 2007. It wasn’t unusual to see the guy double and even triple covered whenever the Kickers moved forward. As a result he only managed six goals in 16 games tying both Ricky Schramm and Matt Watson for leading goalscorer (the Kickers scored 13 less goals than the previous campaign). He also missed the end of the season due to family issues.
Given the frustrations of last year perhaps Bob feels he needs a fresh start to get back to his best. I don’t think it’s about the money, and I’d bet the Kickers would have gladly re-signed him given the opportunity. But players tend to go to Charlotte for a ‘higher calling’ and given the work they frequently do in his home country of Uganda with the church, I’m sure this was the main motivation for Ssejjemba’s move.
Our loss is certainly Charlotte’s gain and I can only wish the man the best of luck in his personal life and thank him for the memories. I’m pretty sure we will see him scoring at UR Stadium again, it just won’t be for us.
3 months ago