La Canfora: Starting Off on Right Foot

[sch2383]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34300-2004Feb11.html

Sounds like Freddy had a pretty good day:
Adu made one long run through the midfield in the game, holding off his defender, and was a constant presence on the flank, sending several dangerous crosses into the box with both his right and left foot. Adu also took corner kicks from the right side, sending one sterling delivery that was nearly headed in, and also took free kicks on that side of the field. He used a deft touch to sneak several through balls into space -- twice he nearly set up teammates for breakaways -- and at the end of the half he chipped a ball across the box and onto the head of Olsen, whose header went just high.

"Coach told me after the game that I couldn't have done any better," Adu said. "So I guess that's a pretty good start."

Adu, who trained with the national team over the weekend, was a vocal presence on the field, alerting teammates when he was open and following their instruction on how to best position himself defensively. Adu's defense -- not his strong suit -- seemed to impress U.S. Coach Bruce Arena the most. On one sequence Adu cut off a cross attempt, then stole the ball cleanly, managing not to concede a corner kick or deep throw in.

"Come on," Arena shouted from the sidelines. "I can't believe we couldn't get a corner out of that."


Also of note:
After the game, Adu, Nowak and some teammates were interviewed for a feature the CBS program "60 Minutes" is doing on the youngster, and he was roundly congratulated for his effort.

There is another article on Team Freddy...don't know if that deserves a thread on its own, here is the link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34387-2004Feb11.html

[TCompton]

OK, I'm getting excited about Freddy Adu. I've put myself into a controlled optimism, but it sounds as if he's going to do very well this year. The combination of Bobby, Benny and Freddy tearing up the midfield sounds really, really exciting... especially if all players are more of roaming midfielders.

[CHICO13]

I'm happy for all the press that Freddy's been getting (three articles this week alone :eek: ) but I could use a little more news on the rest of the team.

[sch2383]

Originally posted by CHICO13
I'm happy for all the press that Freddy's been getting (three articles this week alone :eek: ) but I could use a little more news on the rest of the team.

You might as well get use to it. It will be like this the rest of the year.

[CHICO13]

Originally posted by sch2383
You might as well get use to it. It will be like this the rest of the year.
I think once camp breaks and they head back to DC, Steve Goff will temper his reports to reflect the state of the team and not just focus on Freddy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic he's creating such a buzz not only here but nationwide. I've had conversations at my local watering hole about him and the team with friends that couldn't have cared less about MLS a couple of years ago. THIS is a good thing......

[McOwen]

Not sure if this was mentioned anywhere else but there was also a nice piece on Freddy on the local ABC 7 news.

They interviewed him and showed some exc. clips of him working w/ the team. There was a really cheeky little back heel shot he threw in on one drill.

I have to admit i have been pretty pessimistic about what Adu might be able to do for our team this year, but seeing him in action does show you there is something special there.

[Lowecifer]

I like all the attention that Freddy is bringing to United and the league (the 60 minutes episode might bring out the septuagenarian set to the matches!) but I agree with Chico that Steve Goff will temper the curiosity effect with good reporting on the team and its progression through the season. That will include Freddy's progress, but I'm confident we'll continue to get the same stellar reporting from Goff.

[mellon002]

How can we find out when this episode of 60 minutes is going to air?

[sch2383]

Originally posted by mellon002
How can we find out when this episode of 60 minutes is going to air?

I'm sure we will know well in advance...IIRC, when Freddy was in New York a few weeks ago, there was a mention about him doing an interview with 60 Minutes as well.

If it was up to the MLS, this would come out end of March, but I wouldn't be shocked if it came out sooner than that.

[onefineesq]

I understand what everyone is saying here, but I will say this again ........ we should ALL be writing and/or emailing the POST with our thanks for the coverage. They could just as easily not be saying a word. This is the type of "superstar" coverage that will get a few people out to the stadium who would never show up otherwise. Lets all be happy for the coverage for now, because we all know that the team and the league needs it. :)

[Sandon Mibut]

Freddy is starting to get me excited. I've been skeptical about how a 14-year old would do against men but it sounds like he is living up to all the hype and in some ways could be exceeding it, in terms of how quickly he can make an impact.

I wonder if he still would have been with the first team had Bobby been there.

Is Goff on vacation? Seems odd the Post would send someone other than him to cover such a big story on United.

[mellon002]

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/images/I34477-2004Feb11 ... Oh yeah, he's already breaking ankles.

[onefineesq]

Yeah, I think that most of us were skeptical about how quickly this kid could make an impact, but it's starting to look scary right now. If you believe the Post article and the writers descriptions of what Freddy was capable of, it almost seems like the kid was dominant. Dangerous crosses with both his left AND right foot???? Hell, we have a bunch of guys who can't cross with EITHER foot! Penetrating through balls? A cheeky chip to the head of Olsen? A CHIP? How many guys in this league have ever pulled of a chip in traffic in their lives? I don't want to jinx him, but we all better just hope he doesn't fall prey to injury, because it looks like we could be in for quite a wild ride over the next 3 and 1/2 years ............

[Sandon Mibut]

Originally posted by mellon002
http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/images/I34477-2004Feb11 ... Oh yeah, he's already breaking ankles. I'm sure Wolyniec is just gonna be THRILLED about that image!

I bet tomorrow he's gonna catch some major stick in the locker room!

[Gary Gnu]

quote bt sandon mibut:

Is Goff on vacation? Seems odd the Post would send someone other than him to cover such a big story on United.



i believe jason la canfora is the reporter that covers the youth national teams for the post and knows adu already.

chico13 is right, we will get coverage from goff after camp breaks. maybe he will be at blackbaud.

[footfetish]

Originally posted by mellon002
http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/images/I34477-2004Feb11 ... Oh yeah, he's already breaking ankles.

that looks suspiciously like a future metrostars game... :D

[fatbastard]

Originally posted by sch2383
RE:60 Minutes
If it was up to the MLS, this would come out end of March, but I wouldn't be shocked if it came out sooner than that. If it was on ABC, it would come out the end of March :) Since it is CBS, look for it in Feb for sweeps, which is also good. Depending on the angle they take.
Chico, there was all sorts of stuff in that article about the rest of the team, like this nugget no one mentioned:
Nowak left only a few regulars on for the second half, among them fourth-round pick Joshua Gros, a tall forward who has been impressive in training camp. Defender Mike Petke left the first half early after a hard tackle and did not return -- he was going for precautionary X-rays Wednesday night -- but no one else was injured.
or thisAdu, who was excused from school to participate in the scrimmage at the IMG Academy, responded by being one of the standouts on the field during the first half, in which D.C. United controlled play against the U.S. men's national team.
The only bad press I've noticed so far was one article in a Fla newspaper I think where, in one paragraph, they said the United 3 times!

[DigitalTron]

This is obviously great news, and I'm quite excited about the prospect of Freddy's quick aclimation to MLS. But let's remember a few things. In pre-season there are far less likely to be physical challenges, particularly to Freddy while Bruce Arena is watching, so his finesse game is going to have to adapt to that once the season starts. Also, at this point in the pre-season, no team is going to have a cohesive defense, thus there is more space and more gaps to exploit.

And also, Freddy's not used to such a long season, nor is he used to the consistently physical play, so his natural progress will be fighting rookie fatigue and adjustment, so there are likely to be spurts of both good and quite unimpressive play.

If he earns more than 30 minutes a game, we'll have to call his rookie season a smashing success. Let's not saddle him with wholly unrealistic expectations. Eventually he's going to be dominant, but doing well in pre-season doesn't mean that will be soon.

-Digital

[fatbastard]

I just had an odd thought spurred by all this new press coverage. I hope MLS has told all its teams, DC United in particular, to beef up the goodies and conditions in the press boxes. If you fatten up the press corp, they may come to a game or two to actually cover the team and league instead of just Freddy. Or give some comp tickets to interns and copy editors and turn them into fans. These folks may one day be sports editors, etc :). Besides, there are guys on this board who need to eat better free food on Saturdays. Or the team could set them up with a Screaming Eagle tailgate meal before the game and let them meet the fans, they can always sneak over to the Barra to get their drink on :)

[GrillMaster]

Originally posted by DigitalTron
This is obviously great news, and I'm quite excited about the prospect of Freddy's quick aclimation to MLS. But let's remember a few things. In pre-season there are far less likely to be physical challenges, particularly to Freddy while Bruce Arena is watching, so his finesse game is going to have to adapt to that once the season starts. Also, at this point in the pre-season, no team is going to have a cohesive defense, thus there is more space and more gaps to exploit.

And also, Freddy's not used to such a long season, nor is he used to the consistently physical play, so his natural progress will be fighting rookie fatigue and adjustment, so there are likely to be spurts of both good and quite unimpressive play.

If he earns more than 30 minutes a game, we'll have to call his rookie season a smashing success. Let's not saddle him with wholly unrealistic expectations. Eventually he's going to be dominant, but doing well in pre-season doesn't mean that will be soon.

-Digital Absofreakinglutely, Tron. Right on point! Just ask Rico Clark about the rigors of an entire season.

I find it exciting, yet humorously ironic, that the Bruce wants to temper Adu adoration yet is constantly being quoted as contributing to the Adu aura. I liked the coverage of Piotr's pre-game discussion with Freddy. I also found the quick adjustment of switching Adu and Gros very promising. A portent of a competitive team, IMO, is one that makes quick adjustments. No mention of Ara, however.

I've been one of the Internet Nuts calling for tempered expectations of Freddy. It's hard not to get carried away, however.

What's the url to that countdown clock again? ;)

GM