Bruce on Adu

[Rowray]

Thought I'd share this with you folks that were unable to attend the Nike Friendlies and corresponding events. Last night (12/3) there was a sort of finale show put on by Nike with 3 guest speakers: Bruce, John Hackworth and Freddy.

Anyways, Bruce touched on a few things that hint at how highly he thinks of Freddy and what his plan might be with him.

1) He said that Landon is probably going to be the most capped player in the history of the sport (I'm assuming he meant Americans), but then he said it could also easily be Beasley or Freddy - placing Freddy in the same category as LD and Beas.

2) He also said that Beasley was a guy that he was going to bring to the 2002 WC just to gain the experience but Beas ended up playing so well in the May camp that Bruce was forced to play him opening day. What I took from this is that he is willing to bring guys along for experience...which I would guess ups Freddy's chances of making the team.

It'd be nice if US Soccer put the video of the event up on all_access but if they don't, atleast you have this.

[Jabinho]

Thanks! Did Freddy say anything interesting also?

[russ]

Cool.January should be interesting.

[superdave]

Interesting.

And Landon has a real chance to be the most capped player, American, whatever, IF (big if) he's an MLS lifer. Cuz Landon will be playing in all the friendlies, all the Gold Cups, etc. My sense is the US plays more friendlies than most because they have to schedule some for the Euro half of the player pool and some for the MLS half. And Landon has enough speed that even when he slows down, he'll still be fast enough to play. He'll probably become exclusively a midfielder, though. Anyway, he could shoot well past 200, with a reasonably long and healthy career.

But as for Freddy...well, he's got his chance. He can't ask for anything more. And if he plays in the World Cup, will he become the youngest player ever? Because his birthday is early June; not only will he be 17, but he'll be barely 17. How old was Whiteside?

[The Big Ticket]

Thanks! Did Freddy say anything interesting also?
"Peter Nowak does not care about black people."

I could definitely see Frederick make the same transition Beasley made. Not saying it will happen, but it's possible.

[Justin O]

1) He said that Landon is probably going to be the most capped player in the history of the sport (I'm assuming he meant Americans)

I would think he meant anyone, not just Americans. He wouldn't need that many more caps than Cobi anyway to be no. 1 all-time.

[Rowray]

Thanks! Did Freddy say anything interesting also?
No problem.

The whole show was spectacular. Nike is truely awesome. They showed some of the Nike video clips (of the US and that crazy new crossbar one of Ronaldinho) as part of the presentation. Some outtakes from Nike ads...one from the ad Freddy did in HDC at 2am - I guess, the director randomly threw Freddy an orange, probably thinking he would enjoy a snack but Freddy had another idea. He proceeded to juggle the orange and then volley it on goal.

It was pretty laid back too so that was fun. For instance, Fro Adu was sitting in the crowd with his national team and when Freddy got up there he had a few informal dialogues with Fro from his seat in or close to the back row (one about someday possibly playing for the same national team).

One question Freddy was asked was if he'd be mad if Fro became a better player than him and he handled it very well - saying "no," that he'd be extremely happy for Fro since he works so hard. He even said that he hopes Fro does become a better player than him because he feels Fro deserves it.

Another question Freddy was asked was about rumored links to club moves and he handled this well, too. He just responded by saying he is focused on making DC United a better team.

I know I already said this but it was really an awesome show put on by Nike and US Soccer and I hope they atleast make some highlights from it available online.

The funniest part of the night was probably when Bruce was being asked about individual players and he commented on Onyewu. The hot hostess mentioned that many people thought Bruce was crazy for giving Gooch so many chances and then to clarify herself she chimed in by saying, "Not me..." Then she raised her hand and emphatically said "I love Gooch!" You can imagine what a bunch of 16-18 year olds thought they heard.

Another teenage moment was when Freddy was talking about how he's put on 10 lbs so far this off-season and the hostess said, "Yea, you look beefy." Well, Freddy started cracking up so so did the audience and then he made sure everyone knew she was talking about his muscles.

[USvsIRELAND]

Good Times.

[Scoobs]

:D :D

Good stuff, Rowray.

[USvsIRELAND]

Fro Adu is a 1992 right?

[Rowray]

Fro Adu is a 1992 right?
'91...it's amazing how different he and Freddy are. Body type, mannerisms, and playing style are all different. Fro's kinda tall and lanky and a much more defensive minded player. He's also much more vocal than Freddy is on the field.

[Jabinho]

Fro's kinda tall ...
5’10” already..I'm almost sure.. Unless he's grown recently.. :)

[USvsIRELAND]

'91...it's amazing how different he and Freddy are. Body type, mannerisms, and playing style are all different. Fro's kinda tall and lanky and a much more defensive minded player. He's also much more vocal than Freddy is on the field.

So maybe he'll go into Residency soon?

[Rowray]

So maybe he'll go into Residency soon?
I'd assume he'll be there in January. The game I saw, he subbed in for the '90's against Brazil. I think he was the only '91 rostered with the 90's.

[pokemoncards]

Did you see anyone recording it?

[Jabinho]

Did you see anyone recording it?
I can't imagine Nike doing anything and not recording it.. Well perhaps they don't record the kids making the shoes.. ;)

[HardestWorkingFan]

And if he plays in the World Cup, will he become the youngest player ever? Because his birthday is early June; not only will he be 17, but he'll be barely 17.
Pele won a World Cup when he was 17, though he was almost 18.

[Rowray]

Did you see anyone recording it?
I saw people with cameras when I first arrived but didn't see anyone filming when the show started...however, that definitely doesn't mean that somebody wasn't.

[robchap628]

Fro Adu is a 1992 right?

Unless you go into the WR forums in which case most non-americans list him as and 83

[StillKickin]

So maybe he'll go into Residency soon?
I have a question. I was watching a college soccer match on tv a short while back, and it was Virginia vs. Somebody, and I believe it was Virginia that had a player on it named Fro Adu - at least that's what the announcer kept calling him. I just assumed it was Freddy's brother since how many Fro Adu's are there in America? then I thought that was incredible, given that he's younger than Freddy and Freddy just turned 16, how could his little brother be in college.

So was that guy Freddy's brother, or was that an imposter? :)
And if it were Freddy's brother, if he is in college, he wouldn't still be eligible to go to Bradenton, would he?