Bruce working to expedite Freddy's citizenship

[superdave]

Originally posted by jmeissen0
so many things to pick apart, best just to let you put your foot in your mouth though
1. Please look up the word "anecdotal" in the dictionary. The fact that you saw one kid or ten kids bigger than Freddy was last year will never negate the nationwide averages.
2. How many of those little leaguers were in the 8th grade? You're forgetting that Freddy has been moved up a couple of grades.

I'm not saying he IS older than 13. I'm saying there's legitimate reason for wondering in the case of a kid who a) was near the 99th percentile for weight in his age group last year, and was almost certainly 99th percentile once you exclude the fatties b) has been skipped a couple of grades and c) is from the very first nation any soccer fan would think of when the question comes up of U-x teams excelling with kids suspiciously physically mature, while their seniors are disappointing.

I'm also pointing out that if he's actually 16, he's still, apparently, the best kid his age in the US, which puts him on Landon's path, which is pretty damn good.

The difference is that if he's 13, he's on Maradona's path or Owen's path.

[nobody]

You do realize that being in the 99th percentile really doesn't put anyone in particularly exclusive company don't you?

Being in the 99th percentile in a country with something like 280 million people means that you are part of a group of 2.8 million people.

I do agree that there is a huge difference between a kid who dominates his age group and a kid who dominates kids 3 years older than he is. I just haven't seen anything other than speculation that would lead me to believe he is older than he claims. His size is absolutely not a convincing issue.

Personally, I'd be more sceptical of a kid coming from the school systems in Ghana and skipping a couple of grades very quickly once in the US than I would of a kid who is a bit bigger than average. Then again, with schools in the US nowadays, maybe not.

[BoulderBuck]

I ran into Cello before the Crew - Rapids game and asked him about a variety of soccer topics before getting his 2 cents about the Adu situation. He said that he heard from a lot of higher ups that the kid is 15, but may actually be 17. I tried telling him that most places have him listed at 13, but Cello wouldn't even hear any of it. He said he's seen the kid and he is a lot more developed than most 15 year olds. It's not about height, but his body structure, facial hair, etc....

fwiw

[fidlerre]

blah, blah, blah...

rehash, rehash, rehash...

over and over we go...

[mpruitt]

id like to institute a ban on, I met someone and they said.
or my cousin knows someone who knows someone whos friends with the US Nats and they said, threads or posts.

[togneter]

Originally posted by maxim-1
id like to institute a ban on, I met someone and they said.
or my cousin knows someone who knows someone whos friends with the US Nats and they said, threads or posts.
But I met a friend who once ran into you in a bar, and he says that you said you love these threads...

[usagoal]

I was at a bar and me and Freddy Adu were having some drinks and he said he was only 13. So there!

[K.P.]

If Balboa is in Colorado then he won't be won't be back for Saturday's game against the Burn...not that I expected him to be...what a stupid move by the Metros. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't take the field at all this season.

[alansl]

Originally posted by K.P.
If Balboa is in Colorado then he won't be won't be back for Saturday's game against the Burn...Well, I ran into Freddy Adu at the grocery store, and he said Balboa will be back for the Burn game.

alansl

[dark knight]

Adu threads merged. I don't think we need two threads running about the kid's age. I think some would say we don't need any.

[Lloyd Heilbrunn]

According to articles we've all seen, the Adus moved here in '98. Which means next year will be 5 years.>>>>

So he should be naturalized without further Adu..........

[superdave]

Originally posted by BoulderBuck
He said that he heard from a lot of higher ups that the kid is 15,
I'm one of the leaders of the "doubt Freddy" brigades, I guess, and I find this post reprehensible.

It's one thing to say, OK, here's objective information about his size at age 12, his skipping a few grades, etc. It's quite another to pull out this rank hearsay. And on a message board!!! Do you think anyone believes you?!?!

[dark knight]

Originally posted by Lloyd Heilbrunn

So he should be naturalized without further Adu..........

That definitely deserves a yellow card.

[flanoverseas]

Originally posted by superdave

According to articles we've all seen, the Adus moved here in '98. Which means next year will be 5 years. so why is anyone "working" on helping him get his citizenship?

[superdave]

Originally posted by flanoverseas
so why is anyone "working" on helping him get his citizenship?
The U-17s are here to train in Cary. As I understand it, they're preparing for a tournament in Finland. I don't think Freddy can play for us there unless he's a citizen.

Another possibility is that Freddy is thinking of going to Europe. That would stop the clock on getting citizenship, I would think.

[jmeissen0]

Originally posted by flanoverseas
so why is anyone "working" on helping him get his citizenship?

umm

let us think for a second about this one (all that needs to be done)


hmmm


so... his mommy is almost here the 6 years it takes to become a citizen and freddy is a damn good player... very promising... hmm, i wonder why someone might say that they were working on the freddy citizenship thing



OHHHHHH


damn, i so stupid... his mommy is almost there, she gets hers and that means he gets his... so by someone saying they are working on it (and it being so near)... they appease all those people that want him to have it and reassure them that it is coming


does anyone need explained to them again?

i had to sit down... it was hard to understand


i confused myself


oh yeah, because someone said they were working on it... that means that they are working on it illegally... damn, i knew that... :rolleyes:

[Shaster]

The problem is that if you put your application in there, without someone to check on it, you may never hear it for your lifetime. That's how Chris Gbandi got hurt on his application. It was on someone's desk until he passed his 17th birthday. Then it went his US U-17 WC spot. If he can play in 1999 U-20 World Cup, he may turn PRO at that time with the aim to make WC 2002 team.

[flanoverseas]

Originally posted by jmeissen0


umm

let us think for a second about this one (all that needs to be done)


hmmm


so... his mommy is almost here the 6 years it takes to become a citizen and freddy is a damn good player... very promising... hmm, i wonder why someone might say that they were working on the freddy citizenship thing



OHHHHHH


damn, i so stupid... his mommy is almost there, she gets hers and that means he gets his... so by someone saying they are working on it (and it being so near)... they appease all those people that want him to have it and reassure them that it is coming


does anyone need explained to them again?

i had to sit down... it was hard to understand


i confused myself


oh yeah, because someone said they were working on it... that means that they are working on it illegally... damn, i knew that... :rolleyes: OKAY, you guys are starting to get on my nerves

for the slow: and for the zillionth time:
If you need to read it a couple of times to sink in, I beg of you to do so.

I NEVER SAID THAT ANYONE WOULD BE WORKING ILLEGALLY TO HELP THIS KID BECOME A CITIZEN.

What I said, in my original post, was that money influences or opens doors or some crap about money being what makes the world go round. How anyone can disagree with that, I don't know.

What some of you, it seems, have inferred is quite different from what I was saying, so I have tried to clear it up.

Supposedly this guy is pretty talented. There are all sorts of people who would like to see him get his citizenship, who might be able to make a phone call here or there. It MIGHT, MIGHT, MIGHT, help. But the Adu family certainly has many more people concerned about the process, making sure all the i's are dotted and t's crossed than an ordinary, talentless immigrant.

News effing Flash: You CAN influence, or speed up the citizenship process BY LEGAL MEANS!!!If you don't believe me, ask David Régis. In fact, MONSTER himself said that Régis' wife was suspiciously given a job which would allow his citizenship process to be expedited.

I've had to sit down out of sheer exasperation.

[monster]

You so funny.

Still haven't heard your answer as to why this vaunted influence has never paid off before. Or why it hasn't gotten the job done yet.

Still waiting (I'll take a seat because I'm sure it will be a while).

As far as the Regis thing, they didn't influence. They found a loophole. Influencing requires someone on the other end of the transaction to change their perception. He wasn't even presented for citizenship until all that stuff went down. So how did they "influence" something that hadn't happened before and met all the merits of the law?

Forgive me for presenting real-life examples while you only speak in hypotheticals. Money can make things happen. But there is no precedent for US Soccer in using its influence in getting citizenship matters taken care of.

[Fulham9]

Originally posted by maczebus


Granted, I'm just thinking that the pressure on Maradona although probably not insgnificant, was not proportionately as great as it will be/is for this Freddy chap.

I just get the impression that the pressure on this boy will just be immense. What happens if he doesn't make the transition? Argentina had other fantastic players (Burruchaga, Cannigia to name a couple), what are the other 15 year olds like in the US. It's just not healthy to be so dependent on one 14 year old boy for footballing success.
IMO.

You are way, way off base here.

First of all, the level of pressure on American soccer players is nothing like the level of pressure on Argentinean soccer players. The 2002 World Cup showed that very well. The Argies played like they had the weight of a country on their shoulders, while Bruce laughed at the foreign press for even suggesting there was any pressure on the US. Landon Donovan has preferred to play in MLS precisely because there isn't any pressure on him. So, I would think that the US would be the perfect place for a prodigy to develop w/o pressure.

Second, how is the US "depending" on Freddy Adu? Sure, the USSF has invested a Bradenton slot in him, but so what? He's not the only player there.