I know many of us believed this already, but, to me, Carducci's signing with Halifax is confirmation that Cavalry chose to move on from him. Like many of us, I have mixed feelings about him leaving. I would evaluate his time here as overall an above average CPL keeper who was prone to gaffes at the most crucial times. I think his strongest seasons were the first few. So, from a pure performance perspective, I think moving on is the right decision.
I'm really interested in seeing where Musse lands. I also was frustrated by his inconsistency but I came to accept that as part of what you get with him and I think he grew immensely from the time he arrived back here in Calgary after his stint in Winnipeg. I remember Leon Hapgood commenting that Musse was a project for him; he tried to do whatever he could to prod more consistent performances out of Musse as he saw his ability to change games on his own. Wide attacking players are often hit-or-miss on any given day, though Musse was perhaps more erratic than most. There were many times where he came through in the the biggest moments for the club and singlehandedly changed the outcome of a game. I'm thinking specifically of his extra-time goal in the final against Forge a few years ago. That should have been the winner (see my analysis of Carducci above for why it wasn't). Musse was capable of competing at a very high level, I'm thinking specifically of his performances against the Whitecaps a couple of years ago and against Pumas last season, particularly in the match in Mexico. He gave MLS and LigaMX defenders problems.
To sum up Musse, I'll never forget watching the home game against Forge this summer when we beat them 4-1 or whatever the score was (a memorable day, by the way). I was sitting with my 84 year old dad, who has dementia, in the accessible seating in front of 103. Musse was attacking our side and it was the first Cavalry game my dad had been to. After a couple of Musse dangles and long distance shots, my dad commented, "#7 is selfish but he'll score. He just needs what he's doing to work once." That's how I'll remember Ali Musse.
In the end, all the CPL players who are here year-after-year have flaws in the their game or they'd likely be playing at a higher level. I was starkly reminded of this watching the second leg of the Whitecaps-Forge CC tie. Mo Babouli was absolutely torn apart on the defensive side of the ball. His lack of ability to defend and unwillingness to track back was embarrassing. I reminder thinking, "I didn't know he was that bad a defender." Those flaws get exposed against better competition.
Anyway, I really enjoy the conversation on here.
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