Ibrahima Diallo

You want obscure? You got it! Usually, we profile players who played for Metro, be it in a rather limited capacity. Today, we will talk about two players who never saw a minute of first-team action. Both were signed in the middle of the 2005 season... still one of our favorite campaigns of all time, Alexi Lalas be damned.

On May 13, needing defensive reinforcements, the MetroStars signed two players: Brazilian Danilo da Silva and Senegalese Ibrahima Diallo. Da Silva, who rose from obscurity to play for Dinamo Kyiv, we already talked about. Diallo, for a good reason, we have not.

So little is known about the player. A lot comes from the confusion about his name. You see, when he was signed, the team reported him as "Mamadou Diallo".

That's right, he shared a name with a player who so prominently featured in Metro history: the thug who injured Mike Ammann in 2000 and then, sadly, became a Metro for the second half of 2002. Both Mamadous were Senegalese, but the one we're discussing today went by "Ibrahima" internationally. So we have no idea why his other name was reported.

A problem also lie that there are other numerous soccer-playing Mamadou and Ibrahima Diallos. The one we're concerned with was actually a Senegale international left back. He was capped twice for his country, so we had hopes of seeing him shore up the left side patrolled by the geriatric Jeff Agoos and the raw Tim Ward.

It never happened. A month after he was signed, Diallo was waived. He went back to his home country, and played for Olympique de Ngor and Renaissance de Dakar, before joining Guediawaye a year ago. So, apparently, he is recently active. Good for him, we guess. We hope he enjoyed his month in New Jersey.

	Daniel Garipe

There is also some name confusion about the non-player. We knew him as "Daniel" or "Dani Garipe"; apparently, he has since gone by "Cesar". Metro's pursuit of the defensive midfielder was first reported in August; the Argentine was then with Godoy Cruz. Visa issues delayed his signing, which came a month later. "I hope to be able to show my best playing qualities to the MetroStars fans immediately, contribute to the cause of the team right away, and prove the faith that Coach Bradley and President Lalas have shown in me," said Garipe.

"We feel 'The Ripper' can provide some bite and stability in our midfield," said "President" Lalas. "He's a no-nonsense player who's shown he has no problem getting down and dirty for the cause."

Unfortunately, Garipe had other problems. He was absolutely terrible. His biggest accomplishment was getting a red card in a reserve game. Neither Bradley, nor Mo Johnston, who replaced his mentor after Lalas' purge, had any thoughts of giving him a spot on the field. "Daniel Garipe right now is not where he needs to be. End of story," Johnston bluntly said. The "President" tried to raise hope, saying "don't bag on 'The Ripper', I think he'll surprise you."

No, "The Ripper" didn't surprise anyone, Alexi. He was cut right after the season and went back to his home country, playing for a low-level team. He had a stint with Everton in 2010... No, not that Everton. The one in Chile. But you said you wanted obscure...