Posted by

Harjeet Johal ,

September 18, 2015 Twitter

@HarJournalist

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VANCOUVER, B.C. - In his third season with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Kekuta Manneh is coming into his own and becoming a mainstay in Carl Robinson's lineup. The 20 year-old has brilliant pace and acceleration, but he's not always been able to harness his talent to his full potential.



The 2015 MLS season has been a somewhat of a breakout season for the midfielder affectionately known by his teammates as 'Scooter'. A career high 22 matches started with 6 goals and 6 assists to his name, Manneh is finally starting to put consistent performances in each and every match.



With a roster full of exceptional young talented players, the Whitecaps have created a culture and environment of teaching and growing a wave of young talented footballers. Play-makers, Mauro Rosales, and Pedro Morales have missed chunks of the season with injuries. Thus allowing players like Manneh to earn more minutes, responsibilities and trust from his coaches.



His speed and footwork on the ball have caused opposition defenders nightmares. Growing up in Bakau Gambia, Manneh constantly worked on his speed. He was involved in 100-metre and 160-meter track. After moving to Austin, Texas at the age of 15 and later being adopted. Track had to take a seat on the bench as Manneh's primary focus was school and soccer. His speed however, always kept developing.



"I think as I grew up I did work on my speed. I did track so that definitely helped when I was in Gambia. At the later stages of my career I realized that I had speed and other people didn't have speed so I took advantage and I try to use it."



Since being drafted 4th overall in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft by Vancouver, Carl Robinson has helped Manneh continue to grow as a player and person on and off the pitch. In becoming a first team player, Manneh has had to look at film and work on improving his skill set. Robinson's advice may not always be what he wants to hear, but so far Manneh's on field play this season speaks volumes in his progress.



"It's always great. I've been with Robbo for three years now, since day one that I've been here. I always take his advice on board. Now that he's my manager I don't really have a choice, I have to take it, but it's all really good advice. Every time we play he makes me watch the games, clips of me, and things I need to do better. At time he's said, I do a little too much. All I need to do is run by players and just finish it. I find that very helpful in the past couple of months and I've scored 6 goals now in the season. I find his advice very helpful, and he's one of the best coaches I've had since I started playing."



Like many footballers, Manneh is a big supporter of the EA Sports FIFA franchise. FIFA 16 will be released in North America on Tuesday, September 22. Manneh was ranked as the 9th fastest player in the video game. With a 94 Pace rating he joins the likes Theo Walcott (1), Gareth Bale (6) Dominic Oduro (8) Raheem Sterling (16) and others in the Top 20 FIFA 16 Fastest Player rankings.







A surprise to nobody who follows the Whitecaps closely or those with a pulse on Major League Soccer. Being named 9th fastest among all the players featured in FIFA 16 is a huge honour for the humble and soft-spoken Manneh. Someday 'Scooter would like to put his pace to the test vs the likes of renowned footballers like Walcott and Bale.



"I think it's a bit of an honour. I really have no idea how fast all the other guys are. I know (Theo) Walcott is very fast, but I can't really say. Gareth Bale all those other guys, I don't actually know how fast they are. It would be kind of cool to play with them and not race them, but kind of chase them to see how fast they are. It's an honour to even be in the game in the first place. Being on that list, it's great."



When he is not playing as the Vancouver Whitecaps, Manneh enjoys taking to the video game pitch with Manchester United, Barcelona, and Real Madrid. The out pouring of messages, and well wishers has completely taken Manneh by surprise. At first he assumed one of his teammates was having a laugh.



"When it came out, I had no idea. Pa-Modou Kah posted it on my twitter and I thought, whoa. I thought maybe he's mistaken and that was last year. A lot of my friends and Facebook friends tagged me on Facebook and they have it on their profiles. I saw the list and it was very cool. My friends and family are very proud as I am too."



If you are at a Whitecaps match or just happen to play FIFA 16 you might see Kekuta Manneh burst by you at BC Place or from your couch on XBOX or PlayStation consoles. He's certainly fast, and not furious.



Notes: The Whitecaps return to MLS action on Saturday, September 19 vs Seattle Sounders FC at BC Place in an all Cascadian battle.