And it's not Fro. His name is Charles Renken, he lives in southern Illinois, he is listed as having a December 1993 birthday, he is from Africa, and he is very technical, very fast, and he is very large for his age, being 5' 8" tall. (Two inches shorter than Fro, who was listed as 5' 10" as an 11 year old.) He attended last year's '91 national camp. At this year's '91 regional camp he was the top player. He scored 2 goals in a 2-2 draw that his regional team earned with one of the top '89/'90 club teams in the country. Freddy himself could have done no better than to score 2 goals in a game against an excellent team where the average player was 4 years older than him. Do I get a prize?
Who said he's not American? John said he was FROM Africa. Obviously though, he lives here, and he may or may not be a citizen already, or on his way to becoming one. Should we only talk about descendants of native Americans?
I'd like to see how this math works. It's currently JULY of 2005 Born in DECEMBER of 1993 Please explain how you get 13 from this scenario.
Did you study arithmetic. He was born in December, 1993, according to the story. That means he turned 10 in December, 2003, 11 in December, 2005 and will turn 12 in 6 months. So he is 11. HE IS ONLY 11! HE IS ONLY 11! Think of what will happen to our player development program if this becomes common. Never heard of a soccer player who was 5.8 when he was 10 years old.
no but why not spend the time looking for about Americans born in the US? wouldnt it be better to have a skilled 13 year old boy from the US instead of having another kid from Africa?
Ummm, you mean "born in" rather than "from," right? Because this kid is from Illinois. That's where he lives. Two, the answer is very simple: There are no U.S.-born '93s who according to high-level '91 standards can be described highly technical, lightning fast, and good-sized. If there were, they would also be playing several years up. FYI, a kid I know who was at the '91 camp who has always made monkeys of his opponents through superior technique and first-step quickness was astonished to find an 11 year old -- an 11 year old! -- who could not only match him in technique, but easily beat him with speed & size. That young man is a bit annoyed ... how would you like to be a hotshot 13 year old and be schooled by an 11 year old?
hopefully this one won't be raped by the media and develop a gigantic ego thats complimented with lackluster play
Last year, I believe. My source knows the difference between "a black kid" and "a black kid from Africa."
it's funny how you see Freddy Adu as a disappointment, i don't see how at his age you can be viewed as a disappointment when your introduction into a game always injects more energy into the midfield, you've scored a few goals, you can run by most players in the league just by pure speed, and you're still ike 16.........without stars like Freddy Adu there is no such thing as a sporting event in this country, 'cause there has to be something to get excited about. now stop belittleing the skills of this bona fide prodigy just because you predicted Freddy Adu was destined for Micheal Jordanhood.
Despite several people in this thread's reluctance to accept him, I hope he develops well and if he is US eligible that he chooses us. I am all for any american citizen no matter the country of their birth as any other attitude just seems distinctly unamerican to me.
i'm not one of those reluctant to accept him. he can't be president, but he can be anything else he wants to be - including american soccer player!! i don't see italy rejecting rossi because he was born in the u.s.
Here,here! Granted, Freddy has not yet lived up to the incrdible hype WE as US Soccer fans desperate for a champion to call our own heaped upon him, but how can we possibly call a kid who's already scoring playing a significant role in MLS at his age, a disappointment??!! If this kid from Illinois/Africa EVER gets to the level Adu is CURRENTLY at, he's be considered VERY successful in the game of soccer!!!
Charles is a great player. I watched him play in that game. The team did a great job. Of course you realize that wasn't really the top 89/90 team they played as the 89's and 90's were at ODP that week so 7 of the team's starters were at ODP and 3 other players weren't there. Basically you had 6 players from the top team and then a bunch of other boys thrown in. I was still impressed with the regional team's playing ability against boys who were much taller than they were.