If Freddy can become close to the player that Messi is currently, I would do backflips. I love Freddy and his upside. But one off-tournament is hardly the litmus test for Messi's abilities. His performances subsequent to that should put to rest any concerns about his ability to be dangerous. Freddy's prior U-20 was a pretty bad one for him as well. It was hardly indicative of how well he would do at this most recent U-20 or as a professional. Freddy may be the best thing the US team has ever seen, but that still may not make him one of the best in the world. I believe Messi is one of the best players in the world. If Freddy could achieve that status, then the US should have many entertaining years ahead.
messi won the golden ball and gold boot while argentina won the entire tourney. he was absolutely dominant. adu played ok that tournament and had a very good tournament this summer, but was still nowhere near messi's level of unrivaled dominance.
again, see my above post. messi had one of the greatest tournaments ive seen in that u-20 tourney and won the golden ball and shoe...
obviously you don't understand my point of you use messi as an argument. not sure it will do much good responding considering the above response and the one before that. but even with messi, i think that he was more than ready for very significant before he got them. and i think he's may be a better player for not getting those minutes until he was more than ready for them. i think many players, rooney, walcott, etc were ready for much more significant pt than when they actually got it.
My bad. That's a good result, even at home. What is it about Italian teams having a tough time in Scotland? Still, does this year's Celtic squad really inspire confidence in you? Be honest.
As one who thinks going to Europe being a good idea for a young player depends on the situation, Adu seems to have picked a perfect spot for him. Working into Champions League games in 30 minute increments is great progress and hopefuly just the start. It also adds good evidence to those that claim that Adu's lack of success in Utah was due to misuse and the lack of ability of the players around him.
Adu does seem to explode when sorrounded by better players making better runs and understanding the game quicker. Maybe he really is that good mentally about the offensive side of the game.
On second thought, Milan have slipped to 11th place in Serie A, so they are not exactly lighting it up this season.
Messi is a great player, no doubt. But Freddy can be potentially at that level or even higher. For sure? No. But his skill and creativity is at an almost unlimited level.
http://global-ussoccer.blogspot.com/2007_10_21_archive.html#1185548556700171786 Freddy Adu became the youngest American to play in the UEFA Champions League proper when he came on in the 61st minute of Benfica’s 1-0 win over Scottish champion Celtic in their Group D match on Wednesday. ....
Spector was not 18 years and 11 months as reported in this blog. He was born in March 1986 and played against Fenerbahce in December of 2004.
Article in the british press yesterday about the manner in which Wenger has managed Walcott since he joined Arsenal http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...all.html?in_article_id=489540&in_page_id=1779
Great article. Useful reading for anyone who wants players like Freddy Adu and Charlie Davies do well.
After reading the article, it was very interesting in how it was saying Walcott was not focusing on the business side of the sport, just football... This is something that I feel has definitely affected Freddy, signing with Nike at such a young age and getting the exposure he has gotten... On one hand, I tend to think that young Adu has handled the media very well and is very media savvy, but on the other hand, people were scrutinizing his every move and writing him off before he even reached the age of 18... crazy if you ask me, but I just feel that he didn't get the opportunity to develop the way he needed to at such a young, so much speculation, but I feel he's in a great situation right now and we are already starting to see the fruits of Benfica's labor with him after only a couple of months... Granted he's not starting, but I feel he's definitely on the right course to become a great player... Only time will though...
You mean Adu couldn't learn from great players like Eski, or some of the RSL midfielders that I couldn't even name? That is a great article for this discussion...patience, my friend!
But that's the point: for his physical and mental development, he probably ought to not be starting right now. It appears that Benfica is looking at him like one for the future, and us USMNT fans should be doing the same thing. His time will come. In any event, you're right: Adu could really become a great player.
LOL - I think it's worth remembering that the article differentiates between Walcott and other players of the same age. Fabregas and Rooney have blossomed with first team football from a young age, others not so much
An old favorite of mine, from my BS youth {May 2006, pre-WC} ... https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=349844 Arena v. Eriksson: Analysis of Squad and Reflection on Coaching Acumen, Style From NBlue's thread-starting post: "Obviously, the news of the day is SGE's selection of his 23 including the 17 year-old youngster with all kinds of potential, Theo Walcott. http://www.rte.ie/sport/2006/0508/england.html Although another thread was locked for consideration of Walcott v. Adu (and I think rightly so -- think of the kittens) I think this news should allow a look to the managerial styles and predilictions of Arena v. Sven and perform a review of their squad selection with an eye on how it will help their teams perform at the World Cup. .... ********** I argued then and still believe that Adu should have been on Arena's 2006 squad, but it was SGE who rolled the dice with Walcott.