While FC Cincinnati re-aired their emphatic 4-0 win over Saint Louis FC in the 2017 home opener this past Saturday, the man who had the best individual performance in team history was on the other side of the world in Copenhagen, Denmark, smiling with happiness thinking about the match.
“This game was just unbelievable,” Djiby Fall said during Saturday’s Buffalo Wings & Rings Second Screen Experience with Tommy Gelehrter, the Voice of FCC. “I cannot describe how I was feeling. Even me, even the team, no one expected to win 4-0 and then I score all the four goals. I think it was the team work. I had four chances and I put four in as a striker.”
Djiby joined Tommy G to discuss this match, the 2017 season and what the Senegalese striker loved most about Cincinnati. These are some of the highlights from the Buffalo Wings & Rings Second Screen Experience – which you can watch here.
“I missed too many games!”
“When I come to Cincinnati, I asked, ‘How many goals did the last No. 9 score?’ They said 16,” Djiby said. “So in my mind, the goal was to crush it. And after four games and six goals, I said, ‘I need to go for 20.’ That was my goal to keep working.”
Djiby finished the season with 16 goals, which tied him with Sean Okoli (and later, Emmanuel Ledesma in 2018) for the most goals in a single season.
It’d be interesting to see how many he would’ve scored if he played in every match, though. The forward scored 12 USL goals from 25 appearances, but missed the other matches for yellow accumulations and a lengthy suspension.
When it came to playing in the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, he scored the game-winning goal in every match he played – all the goals Cincinnati scored in the competition until the semifinal against the New York Red Bulls. He missed that match, plus the and the Round of 16 against the Chicago Fire before it.
“I missed too many games,” Djiby said about trying to score 20 goals. In retrospect, he probably would’ve hit that 20-goal target.
FCC was one of his career highlights
“FC Cincinnati was one of the best memory of all of my career,” the forward said. “Me and the fans, we had a good relationship.”
Djiby said he first became interested in signing with the Orange and Blue because of the large fan base and the passionate supporters. He felt their enthusiasm from the first home match throughout the season.
But there were also other huge factors in him appreciating the Queen City.
Midway through the season, his family came and joined him from Senegal for the rest of the campaign.
“I feel at home,” Djiby said of the club helping him feel comfortable. He cited team president Jeff Berding being crucial in allowing that to happen. In return, Djiby’s on-field performances continued progressing throughout the season.
Djiby said it also helped having a large Senegalese community in Cincinnati. He said there are 3,000 people from his native country living here, which gave him pride representing both the city and the African country.
“When I did well and we went far in the Cup, the guys around Cincinnati were so proud because we have a guy from Senegal leading us,” he said. “When they came to games or watched on TV and they saw the flag of Senegal, they were so emotion. It was something very good.”
His favorite FCC memory
No, the memory wasn’t scoring against Columbus Crew SC in the first #HellIsReal Derby. It actually happened in Miami.
The Orange and Blue were eating a pregame meal in a Miami restaurant when Berding called the team for motivation ahead of a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal clash. During the call, Berding said he’d give the players a bonus if they won.
Djiby scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win at Miami FC.
“When I scored, every player, even the guys on the bench, run to me,” he said about the goal celebration. “It was like teamwork.”
Berding kept his word.
“When we got to Cincinnati, we go to the dressing room and he give all 25 players in the dressing room a bonus,” Djiby said. “When I saw everyone with a big smile, that was a special moment for me to see everyone so happy.”
On what’s next for the No. 9
He’s in the Danish capital recovering from an ankle injury and said he wants to continue playing.
“I still looking for something else,” Djiby said. “(Once I recover), I’ll see what’s going on when everything opens.”
He did say he’d like to return to Cincinnati to see FCC and spend time with the fans.
“I would like to come back to see them,” he said.
