Re: Freddie Adu?

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THE HCP

THE HCP

NorthEastPortland'sFinest
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Freddie Adu?

Whatever happened to this cat? Wasn't he supposed to be the Next Great Thing?
 
Still pretty young. Could someday be something on the international stage.

People in America got excited about him because he was good at a young age. What they didn't realize is that most footballers turn pro at 15, 16 years old. Guys are brought into footballing academies and youth teams much younger than that (8-12 years old).
 
what Speeds said. I hope with the better product that MLS is starting to put on the pitch (although still very inferior) that European Clubs will invest in academies here in the states.
 
where is he? wasn't he playing for D.C. a while back?
 
He's bunking with Felipe Lopez, in the Lenny and Omar Cook(e) wing of the "overrated hall of fame".

btw, why don't people complain about 15 year olds going "pro" in tennis and soccer and not much older in baseball, like they do about basketball players?
 
Greece
11.jpg


Freddy signed with Portuguese team Benfica which played him a bit, then loaned him out to Monaco, some other team I can't remember, and he's presently on loan to Aris FC in Greece. I believe Benfica still own his contract.

I read some comments by a coach at Benfica that said Freddy is very skillful but his tactical awareness is comparable to a youth player. Freddy just needs to keep playing and getting experience and he'll be OK.
 
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I don't understand how the whole "loan" thing works!
 
^ Players are owned by their clubs. They can loan a player to another team to get his salary off their books for a season or less. Usually the player has to agree. This is also common when the player isn't ready to be a first-team player on his squad. He is sent elsewhere to get playing time and experience. Something like MLB clubs sending players down to the minors for seasoning.
 
^ Or also the D-league for Basketball. Just to help HCP out a little more ;)
 
Maybe somebody will "LOAN" LeBron to us for 10 years!
 
saw you walkin into PGE yesterday in the press pass part.. you walked in to fast to say hi though.
 
HCP said:
What the fuck! You shoulda said what's up!
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I was going to man, but I was exchanging tickets and you walked in too fast. Def woulda said whats up though. Next time Paisano! :cheers:
 
adu has generally been pretty good when he actually plays. he's definitely been good for the national team in his few appearances.

but he must be horrible in practice or just have a terrible attitude or something because he's bounced around a few different places without really getting regular time. i still feel like he'll be a very good player if he ever can find a team that gives him consistent minutes.
 
rocketeer said:
adu has generally been pretty good when he actually plays. he's definitely been good for the national team in his few appearances.

but he must be horrible in practice or just have a terrible attitude or something because he's bounced around a few different places without really getting regular time. i still feel like he'll be a very good player if he ever can find a team that gives him consistent minutes.
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I think it's more to do w/ his age and knowledge of the game. It's still professional sports and he was going against men as a kid, so there is physical barriers of how good he can be. Also, I'm sure most teenagers in any sport, still are learning the game, adjusting to the different style of the game, and the lifestyle that comes with the professional sports. Changing team so much could of stunted this development a bit, but should of helped him mature. He's about to turn 21, so he's like a college kid age wise, which I believe is where the guy will need to finally prove himself as a good player or a flop.
 
wow i made a long post and it was lost because for whatever reason i was logged out :(

way to go new message boards
 
okay, going to try again.

Anyways, Adu is still playing abroad, and will definitely be a factor on the USMNT going forward and should contribute on both the 2014 and 2018 World Cup teams. Unfortunately, his progress has been hampered by a few things - some in his control and some out of it.

First and foremost, Adu is a textbook example of how to not handle a young phenom-type player. While no one can blame him for accepting the MLS/NIKE deals while his single mom worked two jobs, it certainly did him no favors to be thrust in the spotlight at that age, told how great he was, etc. and I truly believe his contract/age created some bias towards him on the MLS scene.

And just because we've heard about him for seven years now does not mean he's old. He's 20 (allegedly, although likely a bit older), and still has his prime ahead of him. Charlie Davies and Clint Dempsey, two of the four or five best players on the USMNT, were just sophomores playing for their college soccer teams at Adu's current age. While soccer's elite players generally come on the scene at age 18 or so, that's never been the case with the US because of our poorly structured our youth academy system is. Adu, as a 24 year old for the next world cup, is roughly the same age as many of our other, "young," players.

Secondly, and most importantly to his abilities, is that Adu really got screwed at his club teams between owner and manager squabbles, and twice he was basically forced to sit. He's now at a solid, Europa qualifying team in Greece where I believe he starts (or will start). So, again, as a 20 year old he's starting for a decent Euro club whereas many of his peers were playing college ball stateside. The following is a quote on Adu's club team politics that I took from another board I read:

He still has to prove it on the field, but he's also been caught up in some pretty stupid politics with teams, especially Monaco. The president of Monaco brought Adu in because he thought it'd draw buzz and gain some notoriety for the club in America, the coach hated that idea and took it out by not playing Adu. Then Belenenses, the Portugal club he was loaned to for the first 6 months of the year, the coach basically refused to play players on loan. Well, they got relegated so good riddance. So, Freddy basically went 18 months of not playing, much like Feilhaber a couple years ago.

Hector Cuper, his coach at Aris likes him a lot and I think can get Freddy back on track. I think had this loan started at the beginning of the season, Freddy would've definitely been on the 30 man roster.
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So, he basically hasn't had a chance to play and improve in nearly two years.

And finally, and this is just my opinion, is that Bob Bradley (the USMNT coach) is a horrid coach who hopefully isn't coaching our team following the WC. His "system" (word used sarcastically, because I don't believe Bradley has a system) does not favor a player like Adu with his creativity. Hell, look how underused Donovan is on our club! And Adu is likely best positioned directly behind Altidore, with Donovan and Dempsey on either side of him, but our team does not run that formation and Altidore has not developed enough to be the lone striker.

Adu is likely our most skilled technical player and maybe our most creative player, and truthfully is one of our best 23 or 30 players, too. Still, he's not in form and has yet to really start reaching for his ceiling. He's already one of our superior attacking talents and as he develops his understanding of positioning/defense, he'll be a real player.

Lest we forget that just two years ago, when he was in form, Adu was absolutely killing it for the USMNT.

[video=youtube;pkfdocCVHkk]

That's Adu in 2008 versus Spain's A squad in their preliminary Euro 2008 friendlies. Adu had the best team in the world on their back heals for the entire first half (0-0) before he was subbed out.

And, going back one year further, Adu was the best player on the U20 squad that featured Bradley, Altidore, etc. who are not contributing or starting for the WC squad.

[video=youtube;EmExheyGwKs]

Against what is a stacked Brazil U20 team (with numerous players who'll make contributions on their current WC squad), Adu was one of the best on the field.
- Sweet give-and-go with Altidore around 3:00
- Drawing the foul at ~4:30, and the accompanied free kick
- The settle at 5:20
- His creativity at 6:50 is perhaps his most well known highlight
- Again setting up a chance at 9:20

In the same tourney, against another talented Uruguay team: [video=youtube;slq3MVbiPU4]
- Feeding both corners into the box that led to goals
- Leading the counter at 4:18 with the wonderful over the top pass

Tearing up Poland, again in the same tournament: [video=youtube;t6rY4KF5t-s]
- The goal at 1:56 is disgusting, and I think he had a couple more in the same highlights.

Etc. etc. He had a had trick in the U17 tourney I believe against Canada, and played well in the 2008 summer olympics (especially agains Netherlands, a 2-2 tie) which is U23 with 3 extra players.

So, Adu through 2008 had done incredibly well against those his same age and truly looked like a phenom in that setting. Then he stopped playing for 18 months and is out of form.

He'll regain that as he plays more and will be a factor going forward for the US squad.
 
Interesting post, BengalDuck. You largely compared him to USMNT talent...how do you think he compares to talent in the soccer world at large? Does he have the chance to be a superstar, one of the very best in the world, do you think? Or just one of the best/the best on the US team?
 
I think he will be one of the best on the USMNT (and, again, the most creative so he'll have some world-class highlights) but he's too limited of a player to be an elite player on the world stage. He probably has the technical talent to be a Messi-type player but not the physical tools nor the "soccer IQ" (to borrow a term we hear stateside with basketball) to be anything else.

If he reaches the very peak of the type of talent he possesses, then yes, he could be a top 20ish player in the world. But at this point, that's fairly unlikely. I do think (hope?) that by the end of his time, he'll be the best attacking player in the history of the US team, though.
 
I think it would be cool if my Timbers landed him for next season. Bring a big name over to help jump start our new team!
 
Minstrel said:
Interesting post, BengalDuck. You largely compared him to USMNT talent...how do you think he compares to talent in the soccer world at large? Does he have the chance to be a superstar, one of the very best in the world, do you think? Or just one of the best/the best on the US team?
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No. As BengalDuck stated before, the US youth system is sort of fucked so European, African, and South American talent generally has a good three to four year head start. Cesc Fabregas joined Arsenal (one of the leading football clubs in the world) at the age of 16 and has now established himself as one of the best playmakers in the world and captains the club at 23 (turned 23 in May). That is quite an achievement for such a young age.

If Adu stays on-track and gets good playing time, he should establish himself as a big part of the US' team but I can't see him becoming a top player in the world.
 
Ronan, what do you think of your guys' national team final 23? (assuming you're english).

I can't personally believe Adam Johnson was left off. And Heskey wouldn't even make the US team, but I guess he's there because Rooney plays well with him...?
 
HCP said:
I think it would be cool if my Timbers landed him for next season. Bring a big name over to help jump start our new team!
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haha that would be sweet. Although I still think it will be some years before we get players who will cost a bit of money, and are almost in their prime. We will get some leftovers for a while still.
 
BengalDuck said:
Ronan, what do you think of your guys' national team final 23? (assuming you're english).

I can't personally believe Adam Johnson was left off. And Heskey wouldn't even make the US team, but I guess he's there because Rooney plays well with him...?
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I'm more disappointed in Walcott's omission but I guess that is solely because I'm an Arsenal fan. To be honest, Rooney could perform well with anyone by his side. His workrate is amazing and he sets a great example for any youngster inspiring to make it to the top league(s).

Anyway, I have no idea why the England coaches continue to pick Heskey. Zamora (I believe he was left out due to injury) and Darren Bent could both take his spot. The only other choices I don't support is Warnock. He has been absolutely awful in the Mexico and Japan friendlies.

Overall, I'm quite happy with the choices but I'm a bit bummed Walcott isn't going to SA.
 
Walcott was primed to explode this Summer.. they will be sorry!!
 
Funny, I thought Walcott looked like shit recently and was maybe Arsenal's worst player when they faced off against Barca in the CL.

and lol at Adu going to the Timbers... he still commanded a few million pounds (or euros, whatever) even though he hadn't played in two years.

if he washes out in Europe, though, he could end up in Portland's MLS team, I guess, because it makes sense that he'd come back stateside and maybe they'd want to place him in a new franchise?
 
you'll see. Walcott is gonna be bigtime
 
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