Diallo makes point with two goals
Tampa Bay star, league's scoring leader, named MVP

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By José Alfredo Flores, USA TODAY

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mamadou Diallo showed why he is considered one of Major League Soccer's most deadly strikers in Saturday's All-Star Game. On a day of bright stars, the Senegal native was the Most Valuable Player.

Tampa Bay's Diallo, who had two goals and an assist in the East's 9-4 win , also had something to prove. He leads the league in scoring but wasn't voted a starter by the fans.

"Maybe I showed that the voting system should be changed," said Diallo, in his first year in MLS. "Perhaps the league should decide the All-Stars, not the fans."

Diallo took only three shots and was limited to 22 minutes because of a lower back strain in the second half. The injury is not believed to be serious, and he is expected to play Wednesday when the Mutiny host Chicago.

"It doesn't matter if you play 90 minutes or 10 minutes," Diallo said. "If you are a good player you can do something."

Diallo's goals came 73 seconds apart and were assisted by one of his best friends on the Mutiny and fellow East teammate, Carlos Valderrama.

To make him more visible to Valderrama, Diallo dyed his black hair blond.

"I know when he puts the ball on my feet he gets mad when I don't score," Diallo said. "I did it (dyed his hair) for Carlos. I want to make sure he can't miss me out there with all these great players."

East coach Octavio Zambrano thinks Diallo didn't have to dye his hair to get noticed. "Carlos would have found him if he were invisible," Zambrano said.

"I always knew he could score goals," said Valderrama, who converses with Diallo in French. "Now the entire league knows."

In a game where defense was practically nonexistent, Diallo was taken down by a leg tackle from West goalkeeper Zach Thornton in the penalty box, but referee Paul Tamberino made no call.

The tackle was nearly identical to one that occurred on July 15 in a 0-0 tie against Chicago, with Diallo taken down by the physically imposing Thornton (each player is 6-3, but Thornton outweighs Diallo, 230 to 190). A tackle arguably worthy of a penalty kick, but no call was made.

"Last time in Chicago he saved my goal," Diallo said. "I told him you held me down but this time I had to score."

Diallo did just that, scoring seconds later in the 59th minute, taking a nice centering feed from Valderrama on the right sideline and chipping the ball over a sprawling Thornton.

He scored again in the 61st minute on a great individual effort, dribbling around both West defender Peter Vermes and Thornton en route to an empty net goal.

After that goal, Diallo wagged his finger side to side, taunting Thornton for the hard tackle.

"Diallo is not only about power and strength," Zambrano said. "He is a flashy player who likes to do other things and have fun with the game. I definitely think he's one of the best."

The other side of Diallo is his vibrant personality off the field. He is one of the Mutiny's most popular players due to his ability to acclimate to American life.

He is called "Hollywood" because of the style of sunglasses he sports, his stylish blond hair and his sharp clothes. But Diallo is best known as "Big Mama" because of his physical stature.

What separates him from most players is his competitiveness. "I do anything to win," he said. "My job is to score goals and that is what I try to do every time I play."

He also sent a message to the MetroStars in a post-game press conference: "Next time we play, he (Zambrano) needs to put two defenders on me.''

Diallo made some new fans after Saturday's game. He spent hours after the game signing autographs for fans in the rain, even after his team bus had left.

"I'm very happy because it's my first All-Star Game," he said. "I had to give something back to the fans. They made this memorable ."

Maybe he was making an early attempt at convincing fans to vote him into the starting lineup next year.