Freddy Adu: An American in Aris [R]

Official Freddy Adu for 1.5 year signed(loan) ARIS FC

Re: Belenonsense: the further adventures of Freddy Adu

IT'S OFFICIAL!

ARIS F.C. ANNOUNCED THE AGREEMENT WITH FREDDY ADU!

http://www.arisfc.gr/index.cfm?pid=2&view=detail&id=1315


He 'll be an Aris player until the end of June 2011, on loan from Benfica.

Re: Belenonsense: the further adventures of Freddy Adu

second

Re: Belenonsense: the further adventures of Freddy Adu

Unfair! It took me some time to post the official link!

He's now talking to the Aris FM official radio station (www.arisfm.gr).

He said that he is very happy to reach an agreement with Aris and that he's coming to Greece tomorrow, Thursday.

He watched last game against Atromitos and he loved how we played. He underlined the incredible performance of Toni Calvo and he thinks that he's gonna set in well in the team.

He also said that he is very enthousiastic about his new team and that he loves the fans of the team who, he thinks, are the most passionate in Greece. He even watched this video:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbJZ8T0tsrI"]YouTube- Aris Salonica - Boca Juniors ? The Ring of FIRE[/ame]

...and was amazed by what he saw!

Finally, he thanked all Aris fans for their patience.

Article in English

http://www.arisfc.gr/index.cfm?pid=2&view=detail&id=1316

Loan is for 18 months (until June 2011) with an option to buy

Freddy Adu on Twitter

"alright guys done deal. Signed a 18month loan deal with Aris FC. Alot of thought and research went into this. Thanks for the support."

Smart move on Aris' part. Negotiate a long term loan that takes Freddy into the final year of his contract. You'd have to assume the buy is really really low. They actually have an incentive to develop him. If he meets expectations, they get an Aris quality player fairly cheaply. If he wildly exceeds expectations, they can execute the buy option and re-sell to anyone.

Official Aris thread
Freddy Adu: An American in Aris [R]
Eureka! I'm a Grown Aris Man: The Eddie Johnson Story
Ronald "Nacho" Garcia at Aris Thessaloniki Thread

Somewhere in the 1000 page other thread, did someone explain why this is an 18 month loan deal? What's the good thing about that?

I think it tells you how much Benfica wanted him...

the good thing is that there is at least some hope of a chance that he will actually play soccer, on a field, with a referee. And that is more than he has had in the last 2 years.

well..... duh.

And a funny picture... LOL!

So...the answer to my question is 'no'. Anyway, how long is the EJ loan for?

6 months

You mean 18 months. Until June 2011.

http://www.arisfc.gr/index.cfm?pid=2&view=detail&id=1316

how good is Aris?

Finally! Let's hope he shines, for Aris and for his own career. We'll take care of him for the next 18 months . That 18 months deal will help him I guess cuz he'll settle in a club situation where he'll get some playing time for some long time.

So now that he's an Aris player, it's our turn to ask some questions.

First of all. How long will it take to regain his fitness. Can we hope that he'll be ready for 90 minutes in 2 weeks?

What are the financial benefits for having him in our team? (Yea I know Monaco bought him to sell jerseys, that's not our priority, we want him to help the team, but some financial boost from this deal would be welcomed since we don't have some rich owner or smth.)

Wow, you Aris posters have me cautiously optimistic about this loan deal. When I heard his Belenonsense manager's quotes I was optimistic then also, but we had zero inside information. Aris sounds like the whole package.

Not a big club like Benfica, but not a non-entity like Bele.
A modestly ambitious club in good order with strong international connections, some commitment to letting a good manager build a program, and the opposite of Bele in having passionate supporters. Freddy is going to thrive on that fan support. EJ and his family to settle into Greece with. Another flair player, Calvo, who has gone from underachiever to developing well in the same system. Who knows what will happen, but it sounds great.

Did he sample the benches? Was that the deciding factor?

I don't know if you Aris supporters have seen this, but it's both EJ and Freddy playing against Spain in a friendly just before Spain won the Euro. This focuses on Freddy, but he gives EJ a goal at 1:00 (called back for offsides), and EJ shows his great speed vs Puyol and another Spanish defender at 1:30, off a great Adu pass. Finally a decent soundtrack. "Can I kick it? Yes I can."

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkfdocCVHkk"]YouTube- Freddy Adu vs Spain[/ame]

Since defenders in Greece are not the most athletic players, Eddie's run behind the defence and Adu's through ball will be a good thing.

This is fantastic. The 18 month loan and buy option gives Aris real incentive to play and develop him, and hopefully gives Fred some long needed stability that he hasn't had since DC United.