Legend has it that when Pele was taken to Santo's try out he schooled their best defender to submission. He debuted at Santos futebol Club at age sixteen and scored a goal in his debut. A year later he was called up to the national team and the rest is history. Now we have the American Pele, the freddy, who became the youngest footy player to play in the MLS at fourteen years of age. He is called the phenom and each Youth World Cup he participates in i expect the new age Pele to carry the USMNT to glory. However he has failed to win any of the tourneys he has played in, not even making it to the final. So i ask how many of you still consider freedy Adu a phenom. Does the simple fact that he started playing profesionaly at a young age be enough to brand him a phenom ? How many more youth tourneys must he lose untill he is no longer considered the next pele ? the freddy has failed to impress that his age is no longer questioned. imo he is a very talented player but nothing exceptional.
I think a more important question is Would Adu be a phenom in another coutry? Would he be considered one in Brazil, Argentina, Italy?
I wonder if the world will ever see another Pele. That said, Freddy just turned 16, so he's still yet to fall behind any mark set by Pele.
depor15 hit the nail on the head. I think Freddy Adu can still be considered a phenom as far as US soccer goes, but he wouldn't be a phenom in Europe or South America. There are plenty of talented 16-year olds around the world, but the US has not seen someone like Adu. Who knows how good he'll be though.
Do you really think that the scouts at Inter, Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Manchester United are really that stupid?!
No, they think they can make him into a player given his indeniable gifts ... and teach him how to use his right foot. In the US, he's been taught how to back track on the defense. Yawn.
A very good point, naturally the talent pool in Europe n SA is much larger..Adu is pretty much a big fish in a small pond An example I can think of is Fabregas from Arsenal, he's like 17 (one yr older than Adu) getting quite a bit of playing time fer them, but is he considered a phenom in Europe? no. Just because these teams r interested tht makes him a phenom? is tht wht u mean? what they're gonna do is probably sign him n stick him in the youth team fer a few yrs. this is my first post
Exactly, He should have gone abroad immediately, if only til age 18, then come back to MLS to play first team football. He's learning nothing here. He is too young to play first team football IMO. He should be playing with a good clubs U-19's/Reserves. Attack me if you want.
True. You don't destroy the strengths of a player by forcing him to focus only on his weaknesses. How great were Dr. J, Dominique, Pele', Chinaglia, David Thompson, and many others at great defense? Even GOOD defense? I included NBA players simply as an analogy. Freddy should be made aware of his lackings at defense, but he should be encouraged to develop his offensive skills twice as hard. He will NEVER be an even above average defensive player, but he could be an extraordinary offensive weapon.
Yes, he is 16 and playing in mls and doing quite well. And I would consider Cese Fabregas a phenom as well.
The wording of this poll is retarded. I mean, Ronaldo and Maradona weren't the next Pele, but they were still phenoms. Michael Jordan was first team all-defense many times.
Adu was mis-used in the U20 Tournament. Sigi said before it started that they didnt know where to play Adu and that they didnt have any games to figure it out. Well Adu was wasted out on the wing. Put him in the middle with Benny and viola, you have a better team right there. Why was that so hard to figure out? So all those folks wringing their hands about Freddie not showing up missed what the hell was going on.
there is a starch difference between a phenom and a real good player. Pele, Maradona is a phenom, Fabregas is just a real good player. Like other sports LeBron James is a phenom. it really depends how broad ur definition of phenom is, urs is obviously broader
The US media has turned Adu into a circus monkey and every time he takes the field we excpect him to entertain us. I am left with the impression that Adu should be dominating opossition with sheer brillance. but besides some silky passing and the ocasssional cheeky move i dont see much domination. I even get the feeling that the USMNT team would do just as good as they have been doing even without the freddy on the field !!! All in all i blame the US media, or maybe Nike, for Overhyping a young player that must now take the field with extra weight on his shoulders.
VS, you've been here long enough to know that American sports are all about individuals. Elway was the broncos, Jordan the bulls and so on and so forth. They even heaped in on with Claudio Reyna so it's nothing new. Adu is going to have to deal with it, but I agree with just about everything you said. The one great player will take us to the top mentality is a joke. We need 30 great players. It may be good that Adu is not performing like some mesiah. Maybe the pressure on him will decrease and he can get back to enjoying the game again.
Pele world cup winner at age 17. Pele prolific goal scorer at age 17. Theres only 1 Pele. Adu is all hype,anyone have any idea how many kids like Adu have been lost? Too much pressure on him and hype will do him in. Come on hes been in 2 Wycs now and hasnt dione ********. How many goals did he score?
I forgot when scoring goals meant everything. Didnt Ronadinho only score between 5 and 8 goals this past season at Barca?
Let me get this straight: you guys are comparing a 16 yeard old boy who has only played in MLS with Pelé? He must be the overwhelming best player in MLS. How come he’s not playing in Europe?
Freddy Adu! your young star. I remember how much he got good reputation on this board. He was supposed to be one of your biggest stars - at least many of you wrote about him in this way. I´m not American and I could follow only U20 WC. I already wrote in other thread that I don´t understand why Americans tend do evaluate players only just few games. maybe you have big expectation on your stars. Of course Adu made few mistakes in the game against Italy. But he played good in other games. So why not to give him a chance? Well Adu is not next Pele or Beckenbauer. Adu is Adu. Pele is Pele. Every player is different. You will never find second Pele or second Beckenbauer. I also don´t think Adu is phenomen, he is good player. He has his future in US team, but he need some time. But I would not critize him only because on terrible game against Italy. Even Beckenbauer or Pele made mistakes No one is perfect. Don´t expect it from your soccer players. Adu is good player and you should follow his career. Look at german stars. Do you know how many times was Ballack critized? Many times. But the fact is he is still our best player or one of best. I don´t think it is fair to change opinion about players after every game. Just my opinion. fan of US team bltleo
well, imagine if he had signed for 750,000 at age 10 with inter milan and was soon to be an italian citizen
The last I heard it is still a team game. The guys he plays with are not the same type of players Pele had to play with. Imagine Adu playing with Argentina under 20's how much better would Adu game would have been playing with those guys. They are all competent players. Were our players all competent players?