Too bad that he didn't get in, but I didn't see it happening against Dortmund down a goal. Fantastic that he was on the bench at the first time of asking. Kudus to the kid at his age. Not too shabby what the YA contingent has going on in the BL at the moment.
He'll get beat at the 6 in BL at this stage of his career so I don't see it happening but who knows? Playing the r-mid in a 442 tends to marginalize him imo. Plus he isn't all that pacey as a drone winger. Hwvr I believe Leipzig play a 433 for the most part, don't they? In that case he plays well as one of a 3 man midfield (lmid imo) who can move touch line to touch line in a more advanced position to support the offense and break up counters. I don't know what the other mids are like because I don't watch Leipzig much but his fellow mids will determine how well he plays at the end of the day. But who needs to write anything about Tyler since it looks like they have ambitions for him and we'll see him play some soon.
Tyler Adams and Christian Pulisic swap jerseys after Leipzig/Dortmund pic.twitter.com/ZbO2qBUtXe— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) January 20, 2019
Interview: https://www.sbnation.com/2019/1/22/18163433/tyler-adams-usmnt-future-rb-leipzig-transfer He acknowledged that it’s impossible for Americans to escape Adu. But unlike many, he doesn’t see Adu as a joke. Sometimes pioneers don’t succeed in the way that the audience demands. Adu didn’t become the American Pelé like he was hyped to be, but he gave future generations of American soccer players, like Adams, hope that they could contend with anyone abroad. “People always make fun of him, but he started all of this. He was the first one,” Adams says. “He paved the way for the rest of us. Maybe he wasn’t as successful as they wanted him to be, but he deserves some respect for what he did. I don’t like when they talk about him like that.” The upside for Adams is that in this new generation for the USMNT, many young Americans are moving overseas and forming their own community. Adams will have an easier transition into a new culture than many of his predecessors did, mitigating the sadness he might feel. The Bundesliga in particular contains a who’s who of the USMNT’s most promising players, including Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Josh Sargent, John Brooks, Timothy Chandler, Fabian Johnson, and Bobby Wood. “I’m in a group chat with a lot of those guys,” Adams says. “We talk all the time.” But even with friends abroad, I asked if he was still afraid of the move, of the hardships that are sure to face him off the field as much as they will on it. But again, he seemed at ease. He was used to being alone. The experience wouldn’t be new to him.
“People always make fun of him, but he started all of this. He was the first one,” Someone needs a history lesson.
Adu wasn't the first, but he was the MOST hyped. It was MAJOR news when he move to Benfica. Pulisic to Dormund, pretty nobody knows about it except for a very limited number of people that follows youth soccer closely.
Freddy Adu is almost certainly the most famous American male soccer player of all-time*, so I'd agree with your post, and understand where Tyler is coming from. * - I'd entertain arguments for Donovan or Howard, but that's it, and I think they fall short of Adu.
Adu was not the first, but he provided a baseline low enough. Now any player that goes out there has the encouraging thought that no matter how badly it goes, it won't be as bad as it went with Adu.
But he's done nothing to pave the way for future US players in Europe. There were many before him who were actually successful. And we're not talking about the general public. We're talking about a professional, USNT soccer player.
Last thing we need is an Adu discussion here! Anyway, Tyler is saying that Adu paved the hype-train to Europe (really, to US Soccer in a way no one else had ever before). He’s got a real point, but it’s totally esoteric.
According to the author he's saying Adu gave future generations hope that they could contend. How a failure does that and not successful guys like Reyna, Beasley, etc... is beyond me. Frankly I think he's just being nice because Adu's name always comes up anytime an American goes to Europe.
And that's ok if he is. There's no good reason for everyone to keep kicking someone when they're down.
Something is wrong when young American prospects cite Adu as anything other than how NOT to have a professional career. It's bad enough that he mentions him in a conversation about trend-setting Yanks Abroad. Adu deserves nothing more than a cipher in that regard. The bigger joke is that the Adu farce is still taken seriously within some US Soccer circles.
It's easy for folks to point out Adu rather than Reyna or McBride. Kids can relate to Adu. Young dude (immigrant background which is newsworthy) and became a millionaire. Career was a flop and he was massively overhyped. But I have people who don't even understand the game of soccer, but know who Adu is. Some folks didn't follow Scottish or German or English football in the 90's or 00's so they have no clue who some of that generation's stars were.
Feels like some are putting more thought into this than Adams ever did when he made the offhand remark about Adu. Also, he is 19, unlike us nerds, he might not have that great a knowledge of YA history. As remarkable as it seems, this interest/hobby/whatever the hell it is isn't mainstream.
I have no problem with Tyler Adams speaking respectfully of a fellow player. In fact, I'd encourage it. Getting this good is really hard, taking tremendous talent, effort, health, and some luck. No one knows that as well as the people trying to do it every day. I'd be a lot more concerned if Tyler ridiculed Adu - that would show some obnoxious immaturity. It's OK for someone on a message board, but I think it's not appropriate from a fellow player.
I wouldn't expect Adams or any other 20 yr old to have the full historical perspective on Adu, his career and all things wrong that made it the joke it became. What I would expect is someone older and wiser in the ways of soccer carrerism to have educated Adams as to that cautionary tale. There's no need to ridicule Adu. There is much less reason to cite him as a trail-blazer and example. What would show Adam's maturity would be his ability to filter historical fact from urban myth.
Indeed, people who know nothing of soccer in the USA usually know only two names: Adu and Donovan. Actually, Adu's life lends itself to a TV movie quite well. To adu something should be a verb in the OED.
US Soccer should have done more to promote the EJ's (at his peak) or Dempsey's. You want talented US players? Get those working class boys. Their stories sell themselves. How many kids can relate to the story of a middle-class kid playing soccer? Certainly not in parts of Latin America/Africa (and still in many of Europe today). It's the kids on the street. They look up to those who pulled themselves up (out of sheer will if not talent alone).