Tell me how? Pato did as well as Adu in their homeland leagues. Adu has played more games though. Adu has gone to Benfica, and really should be playing more games as a starter, but he has done very well as a sub. But Pato has played 1 game for Milan and made an immediate impact. Scoring a goal and assisting on another(Rebound). Alright, let me correct myself. They are somewhat even.
Adu has proven more at junior level, played more in his home league and has played more minutes at a top European team
Pato won the South American Youth Championship with Brasil I believe. I did mention that Adu has made more overall appearances. I completely understand what you are saying...
Pato has 2 Pro Titles under his Belt: 2006 Fifa Club World Cup Champ: Internacional defeating Barcelona 2007 ReCopa Champs: Internacional defeating Pachuca PS: I should be getting royalties everytime someone reads this thread...
That was one sick goal by Pato . I think it's pointless though to compare the two at such an early stage when both are still largely unproven.
A problem many American soccer fans seem to have is they think the sum of a players parts equals the whole of the players talent. It doesn't. Adu is fast, young, talented, arrogant, and skillful. But he isn't a smart or decisive footballer yet. Pato at a younger age and MUCH less hype has already shown he has more composure and decisiveness for the teams he plays on. Patos first foray into European club football is at a much MUCH bigger team surrounded by the likes of Maldini, Ronaldo, Seedorf, Kaka, Pirlo, etc... and he's unfazed. Adu at times looked rattled when playing against FC Dallas or Toronto. So please, Americans, a group of which I consider myself apart of, stop overrating these players. You've absolutely no eye for talent. You're almost as bad as the English, who think that Agbonlahor is a good player...
Great point. I looove Adu, my favorite American player, but I think the main difference bewteen Adu and Pato isn't skills, but the organization around the player. We think we're further along in the US than we are in terms of organization. I remember talking to a friend from Ghana about Adu, thanking him for the "gift," and my Ghanaian friend said "we would have just screwed him up anyway..." Never would I have thought the US would do the same, but we did. In four years as a pro he's had one good coach, (Rongen U-20). US coaches (EPL wannabes) just aren't that good, especially for an "intangible" player like Adu. Sorry to be off thread...the point is that Pato's development has been ideal thus far, and now we're seeing the results.
Adu is a top young talent, no question. However this can be debunked. For starters, I - for one - dont' really put a lot of stock into the youth tournaments. The U-20's hold a bit more credence, but you never know about the final product. Adu did well in the last U-20, but Pato - who I think was playing through a bit of an injury, wasn't so bad either. As for playing in the home league and more minutes with a top European team... Pato may not have played a lot at Internacional, but when he did... he more than impressed. Again, I think he was injured a bit, here and there, and there wasn't a giant rush for him in the first team. But he played quite a bit with their youth team, which is where he really impressed. Meanwhile - for the 'top European team' part, IMO AC Milan is a much bigger club than Benfica. And also, IMO, this is why when Benfica approached Pato initially, they didn't go for him or the asking price, which was at around 20 million Euros at the time . The 'minutes' bit is really a triviality. I mean, Adu's played more at Benfica because he could. Pato had to wait until January to be allowed to feature for the club. And now that he has... he's had an amazing debut, and had it not been for the heroics of the keeper, very well could've had a hat-trick. This isn't to downgrade Adu, because I like Freddy Adu. But you have to keep these things in perspective. Of course Adu's played more minutes... because he's had more minutes to play! The question then becomes... "What happens when Pato, in far less time, plays as many minutes", and 'to what capacity."
I have a great laugh everytime I hear an american trying to compare Pato and Adu... Actually I laugh everytime they even talk abot Adu. what do americans know about futebol anyways. stick to baseball
PATO: Brought up from age 11 with Brazilian Club Inter which is KNOWN for creating many Top Class athletes for example: Falcão, Batista, Dunga, Mauro Galvão, Taffarel, Lucio, Rafael Sobis, Nilmar etc etc etc.... Inter has experience in molding these players. In the span of 2/3 Years Inter produced forwards NILMAR, SOBIS and PATO...no other team in the world has created such a Trio in such a short time. ADU: Grew up in the DC UNITED system. With all due respect for DC United one of Americas best Clubs, DC simply doesnt have the hands on experience to handle a 14 year old possible star. Making him a Pro at that age was probably a bad idea. That is why today Pato is where he is at and Adu isn't. It is to be noted that in the head on Pato vs Adu matchup in 2007 in the Canada under 20 WC, Adu beat Pato in performance. But thats about it. Pato will be the FIFA player of the Year in a few years, I dont think Adu will ever even be in the top 3.
Is Rafael Sobis really top class? If he was, wouldnt he have been called up by now? Wouldnt he have moved to a club better than Betis? Im just curious, not debating.
I don't blame them for talking about Adu. Make no mistake, I think Freddy Adu's a very good young player with a promising future. But there isn't a huge comparison between the two at the moment. Adu's biggest error IMo was going into MLS when he was younger when he had an opportunity to do better. Baseball? Well, have you ever been to a game? To be honest, it's rather boring. I have been to Fenway park a number of times, one of the most historical baseball places in the country. Their fans are a little nuts. But they are not 'rowdy' nuts like with football. At the game, you do wait, and there's little action. I don't see much of the attraction. There are 162 games in the season! However there is admittedly something more interesting about the playoffs with baseball. And it is a very very difficult game to play at the professional level. A shame we missed the opportunity to hook up in Foxboro in September! Though I don't doubt you were in one of the parking lots somewhere off of route 1.
Sóbis has been called up before. Let's remember Denilson played at Betis too and was successful with the Seleção and he didn't go to any of the top teams of Europe. SS also forgot to mention Daniel Carvalho, who plays striker or winger in Europe and has been speculated at Inter Milan. So far in this decade, the clubs in Southern Brazil are producing the best talent (Inter and Grêmio).
Sobis has been called up a few times to the NT but failed to impress enough ... like Vagner Love has Anyways, I see Sobis and Nilmar as merely good players ... not close to the same level as Pato will be.
Santos is supposed to be the next in the producing talent line. They're doing good in the Copinha with Alemao, Paulo Henrique and Tiago Luís, and there are three great talents there: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8NMiufOSB8
Sao Paulo - Kaka, Luis Fabiano, Julio Baptista Santos - Robinho, Diego, Elano, Alex, Renato Get over yourself ...
yep man, foxboro was fun! yeahh I've been to a baseball game. "everybody clap your hands!" and "let's go ***" over the speakers! ahahahahaha no creativity and no spirit on the fans side.. They must be told how to react by some announcer.. oh and don't get me started about most of the league being on steroids. What a joke!! call that a sport? No wonder there's no international league for that crap. lame lame lame