What Do We Do With Adu?
I live in a suburb of Washington D.C. As punishment for this, I have had to endure all of the ridiculous hype revolving around Freddy Adu. And I’ll admit, I was drawn in just like everyone else. If you had asked me in 2004, I would have assured you that “14-year-old” Freddy Adu was the world’s next superstar. He would play for all of the biggest clubs and eventually carry the United States Men’s National Team through to world cup victory.
The biggest news about him was that he was so good at such a young age. But was he really 14? Reports were coming in that there was no actual record of his birth due to poor record keeping in Ghana and that his mother could not actually remember the year of his birth. So for all we know, he was 16 or 17. This would make him break absolutely no records. Bobby Convey, now at Reading, signed for D.C. United at age 16. So was all this hype warranted?
In his first season, he struggled to even get into the first team. No criticism was put on him since he was still “only 14″. Even with limited starts, he did manage to score 5 times in his first season. But since then, his scoring has decreased dramatically. After more than 3 seasons in the league, he has only 12 goals, which are terrible numbers for an attacking midfielder/winger/support striker.
He was traded away to Real Salt Lake from D.C. United after the 2006 season. Since the move, he has done even worse than before. He is tied as the number one goal scorer for his team…….. with one goal. In 9 tries, Real Salt Lake has yeat to win a game, and has scored only 3 times all season. Adu looks out of place. His first touch is dreadful, he is easily pushed off of the ball, and he has trouble keeping the shape of the team. He is played on the left wing, yet he seems to just drift aimlessly around the field.
In the MLS break, which happens during the Premiership season, Adu had a 2-week trial with Manchester United, and this opened up the old debate of whether or not Adu could make it in the big leagues. Eventually, nothing transpired from this trial and Adu was sent back to the states. With this decline in play, his small size, and his uncanny ability to disappear for 10-game stretches, I don’t think Adu will ever play for a big team in Europe.
I hope he can eventually live up to the hype, and do us Americans proud, but I just don’t see it happening. What does everyone else think?
- Manchester United will probably move for Adu next summer
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Discussion - 14 Responses
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I can remember seeing clips of Adu when he was just a kid on Grandstand (Saturday TV footy show) doing all these nice tricks and keepy-ups and what not. Everybody was saying the same, he was gonna be this and that and play for all these top clubs but it looks like he just hasn’t progressed from those early days. Its hard to say whether his lack of progress is due to lack of ability or lack of proper coaching. I know US sports teams are always very fit, but im not sure to what level he has been coached. Im inclined to think its probably got more to do with him just reaching his own playing level/standard. He probably peaked really early and has just kind of levelled out since then. Im a Manchester United fan (from Manchester!) and i was a little worried when he came for trials, but was soon relieved to see him head back States side, i think he is too much a show pony/trickshot player. Not good enough at ‘football’ for the top clubs i dont think.
Just don’t see it happening - he was over-hyped when he was young -and has failed to live up to those expectations. But he’s not the first to do that and will not be the last. Not sure what it is that he lacks - but I guess for one he would be scoring a lot more goals.
What he lacks for me is the right attitude. He thinks he is a star when he is anything but. He should have gone to some small European clubs or a club like Ajax to learn the trade as a youngster. But chose to buy into the hype instead.
Remember Ooompa loompa scored a PK this year, making that 3 really just 2 in live play. He is not a good player, he doesn’t have the muscle to win a 50/50. Ralston has more playing ability and I still celebrated when he was not chosen for the 06 WC.
Back in my day, a player didn’t have all this hype surrounding them. They either performed or they were forgotten. Like me. I performed and I haven’t been forgotten! But I digress. What dmiedzinski and Jimz say is true. Adu is not so good but thinks he is. Why, I watched him drift aimlessly around the pitch just the other day! One might say that is the sum total of his game. Oh that and getting dispossessed.
I think he’s just got the hype and popularity into his head. From the get go, they said that he’ll be the next big thing, and that he will help the USA go far in the World Cup. However, i just dont see that happening. Soccer in the US isn’t that big, so without the proper guidance and coaching from people who know how to play football (not soccer) then he wont grow as a normal football player, let alone a superstar.
He’s the next Cherno Samba. And we all know what happened to him.
He must be one of the biggest misses (so far) in terms of hype. Have you seen any US soccer player receive that much hype. Its not just marketing either; the league evaluated his talent and drafted him no.1. He leads the all star voting which is terrible. Can you name anyone else who got this much hype this young and not done much of anything? I cant. Beckham received a lot iof hype as child prodicy but at least he was winning some trophies in his age group and heck by 18 he was playing in the big EPL and by 19 making a big impact on a big stage.
Freddy Adu is apperently going to Derby for 22 Million Pounds, from the same resource also Jason Koumas from West Brom is joining the Rams for 7 Mil, David Nugent also signing with them for 8.5 Million, Alan Smith is with them too for 3.5 Mil, Mark Schwarzer for 3 Mil and Sturridge also with the Rams for 11 Mil…
Bullshit
Is this Not Silly?
Who told you proper records are not kept in Ghana. Please, why don’t you come to Ghana to find things for yourself? Who did you that great deal of disservice by telling you things that are totally untrue and absolutely and palpably rubbish. Even our forefathers who did not have the opportunity of going through the so called formalised type of education had such a great retentive memory that they could “documment” the dates of all events by way of relating them to certain important happenings in the world.
Those who claim to know better like you should not just open their mouths and utter things that are merely figments of their own imiginations.
Please, do a proper research before you put anything out there for public consumption. It might interest you to know that Fred was born at Tema in the Graeter Accra Region of Ghana; the region that hosts the capital of the great nation with great people and minds. A nation that produced a single individual which took the whole American Intelligence Unit to scheme to eliminate.
Please, we keep records here and at least, the greater majority of us know our dates of birth.
Freddy Adu is a good player, with a great natural talennt.The FiFa u-20 world cup sows that. Although he reallys needs to get away form this child superstar image because he both developing an ego and wilting under the spotlight. Furthermore D.C knew they had someone pretty good so they threw them into the fire hoping to promote themselves and attract a big headline grabbing transfer, which means that Adu never learnt about the game and to work for his future both important things. Lastly he is a product of the MLS which means he a warpt footballer of whirl kicks and pwer slams, he hasn’t seen the real football.
He needs to be taken out of the spotlight and placed at a big club but away form the razzle, the reserves. This will renkidle that natural talent and to lose all of this superstar image and play football because he loves to. It should be a big like with a good youth production like Manchester united/Liverpool/Ajax as the have the wht it takes to make him a great player
Well, for those of you that compare him to other players, like Beckham, should evaluate him from a different stance. At 14 scoring 5 goals is impressive, and saying his play declined from there is bullshit. It takes a team to help a striker score, he can’t score alone. A team can help build the attitude people have about a player. Like DB, who had some stunning years with Man-U, but he himself was only so-so. Give Freddy some time to play over in Europe for a bit, and he will mature into the star we all expected him to be at 14. How many of you were pro level at 14? or now for that matter?
freddy adu rocks !!!!!!!!!!
Adu looked impressive in that last tournament for the USA..i think it was the world cup for under somthing…not sure but lookd really good..he killd polska!