So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS? [U20 Rs]

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

IMHO, the difference in quality of his play is painfully obvious when up against kids vs. the grown up men in MLS.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

look at the difference in the game vs S. Korea and the game vs Poland. With Poland he was given lots of space, with South Korea he ws closed down immidiately. In MLS he is given very little space and is physically defended.

He still has his moments in MLS but the lack of space makes it harder for him.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

1. Physical size of the players.
2. The Physical play of MLS.
3. The speed of MLS. Look what S Korea did to us, we were very lucky to tie.
4. The talent level.

Novak was doing the right thing at DC trying to introduce the wunder kind a little at a time but Freddy didn't like it so now he is with Salt Lake, stinkin up the place. (what I mean by that is that Freddy's potential is sky high but he is performing like an average MLS midfielder).

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

I've seen the kind of ball Freddy delivered to Robbie Rogers on the run v. Poland be delivered by Freddy to RSL players who just stand there and don't react like top level talent.

Freddy KNOWS HOW TO play the game. Some people might have physical attributes that allow them to be pro athletes (most of his teammates at RSL) but they don't quite have that "KNOW".

Freddy was truly mystified like only a 17 year old can be at how well he performed at his Man U tryout. He genuinely couldn't explain to me why he looked so much better there than playing for RSL. But, it's not hard to figure. He was surrounded by equal soccer brains and talent. Comparable to the rest of the U-20 WC, the US is also loaded with talent.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

So you're saying it's:

1. The level of talent

I really hope you're right. We'll know soon enough. If he excels in Europe next season we'll have the answer for two questions, which to my mind we don't yet have enough data to evaluate (despite the kitten slaughter and euro-snobs vs. the homers ad nauseum):

a) Is Freddy Adu the real deal?

b) Does playing MLS retard the development of our top talents?

I think all fans of the US will be rooting for (a) to come through in spades ... how many will have the intellectual honesty to accept that if Freddy performs better against stronger competition it strongly implies (b)?

Of course, it is a moot point if he goes over and struggles.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

I'm hearing that he probably won't see any offers from top clubs in Europe any time soon, or any playing time even if he does (think of the young Landon Donovan in Germany). Without his name recognition, which ultimately means little about his abilities, he's just another promising young midfielder from the worst team in the MLS. Why would Chelsea or Man U want someone like that? He can't increase ticket sales over there, can he? Maybe they'd want him for their reserve squads. Or he could definitely find a second-division team in England who would want him. But I think MLS is his best bet for the next few years while he's still learning, growing, and maturing. Call me pessimistic, but while Europe could be an ideal place to learn world-class soccer, I don't see him learning any more there than he's learning here. I see him sitting on the bench there. His coach at Real Salt Lake is like a father figure to him. His coach at Real Madrid or wherever would more likely see him as just another "snotty kid from America".

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

I agree with this 100%. Many top-level players have come to MLS and other lesser leagues and don't shine. But don't forget, one person does not a team make. For example, I think Schelloto is probably a very good player, but I sat through a Columbus game a few weeks ago, and he was simply mundane. I chalk that up to the fact that he is playing on a very poor team.

I worry about Beckham because of that. Beckham shines on top teams--but he can't do it all. Same for Blanco (and probably moreso, since Chicago stinks SO BAD right now.)

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

I think part of it is that a 17-year-old isn't going to carry the authority to force his will on an MLS game. To dominate the way some people here seem to want, he'd have to be a team leader. No one was going to take him seriously as a leader with D.C. United, not with Moreno, Gomez and Olsen on the team. RSL had other issues.

Basically, he hasn't had the Sidney Crosby-style "grow into your role as team leader" situation. And he won't.

It's worth remembering that Adu has had some very good stretches of play in MLS. He grew a lot last year with United, though he was doing plenty of things that wouldn't show up on the stats.

In one of RSL's Thursday appearances, he was terrific. But I'm not sure if he was credited with a point.

And some players simply need to be in the right situation. See Shevchenko, Chelsea, for an example of a good player gone wrong.

I'm guessing Angel was just in the wrong situation in the EPL. After seeing him in MLS for half a season, does anyone doubt he could go to a mid-table EPL club, and given the right fit, be a 10-goal scorer?

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

That coach (John Ellinger) is no longer RSL's coach.

Maybe Real Madrid might see him that way, but there are plenty of clubs in Europe.

I'm figuring a team outside the G14 is most likely. Or maybe a G14 and a loan.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

Some part of it likely has to do with motivation and goals. Freddy has the issue of very blatantly seeing everything he does as a venue and forum for his own personal career progression. U-20s, playing for USA, MLS... It's all a stepping stone. So he tries to do things himself, he tries to shine for himself. But his skill set is that of a creator, breaking down the defense and then a pass. He's not going to score a ton and dominate as a 17 year old in a grown man's league. He can however dominate given a younger opposition and a lower skill class. But if you look at the roster, a bunch of those Poland kids are on youth teams and reserve teams of pretty big euro clubs, including plenty of EPL teams. They're good players, but they're still just kids. And Freddy is still younger than almost all of them.

I think he has a great future, but things like this only show that he needs to leave the MLS, not stay. His progression within the league is stagnate this season, where he's currently at, etc. Yet he still obviously has plenty of talent and potential. Somewhere else, better suited to his skillset, some place with a reputation that he'll respect rather than see as a stepping stone... Some place that will mix his opposition so that he plays against younger players enough to keep his confidence while also allowing him to play against better and bigger opposition, but never expected to just carry everything.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

I've watched every RSL match this year and this is what I have garnered. It's about 1 part level of talent, 1 part mental and 1 part physical.

There is no doubt that sometimes Freddy delivers the same great balls for RSL players who plain dont have a clue what to do with it. Im sorry Chris Klein (while he was there) might have been a nice hustle guy for the USMNT in the 90s... but he and Freddy just dont mesh.

When that started happening youd see Freddy throw him arms up and mope around. Not exactly helpful.

Finally, as you saw in S Korea, a physical fast team can take Freddy out by just catching up to him before he crosses midfield and bodying him. In order to punish that style you need to get Freddy running more in the opposing half of the field... something he couldnt do because of how bad the team was against S Korea.

The other thing I will point out is Freddy has said time and again that he is more comfortable in the middle of the field. Yet RSL keeps sticking him out left in favor of keeping Ballouchy in the middle. I tell you this now... watch an RSL match while Freddy is away... Mehdi is AWFUL. Why he is of the level to push Freddy out is beyond me. I am not saying he doesnt have talent but he does nothing with it. He and Quaranta should hang out.

Is Freddy going to be great someday? Dunno. GUess it depends on how he learns to adjust to physical play.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

He has. He scored some incrdible goals on individual efforts that I saw while he played here for DC United.

One thing: He is denitely a good bit smaller than most MLS players and that seems to throw his game off a bit. Look at him with space or slower defenders and he can do magical things. Also, look at his play in some World All-Star games and friendlies against teams such as Chelsea in which defenses lay off of him a bit. He does incredible things.

That's why most people in the know are hoping that Freddy doesn't play in England right now. It just isn't a right fit at all.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

Are kidding, no place is better then MLS for Freddy unless he wants to ride the pine in some Euro team. The reason he's good with U-20 because of MLS. Once he gets stronger as a grown up , he will be scoring left and right. Europe is not the answer and you can ask LD how he did in Germany.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

Some very good responses, but ultimately...

MLS >>>>> U-20.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

Not true at all.

The soccer in the U-20 is significantly better. Most MLS games devolve into grab and hustle. Adu is a soccer player. That, I think, is the difference.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

Dude. Szetela, Adu and Altidore are not nearly this dominant.

Then you take a look at some of the other players that are dominating throughout the tournament and they're regular guys on their club.

A good 20+ domestic leagues are better than U-20s. MLS is one of them.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

I'm thinking he was making a stylistic assesment.

And to soccerdude...

Unlike the MLS, for european teams it is not often the case of young players just riding the pine, as you say. Seeing as they have fully fleshed out reserve leagues, youth leagues, and a handful of different competitions in which a player can get minutes. And beyond that, they have loaning systems where you loan the player down to a place where they can play regularly.

I think it's a silly point to think that just because they put him on the field here that the MLS is his best option. There are plenty of other places that would put him on the field in some capacity, with an interest in developing him into the best player he could be. This league isn't the type that best suits his skills and his current situation is far from ideal.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

Perhaps the same reason why Landon Donovan didn't have much impact in Budesliga; a good players that's not in a league where their particular style of play can be dominant in that league. I didn't know why he thought he could do so well in Europe until the U-20/international games.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

If Lee Ngyuen can win a spot with the PSV reserves, Freddy can win something similar, without question. Sean Wright Phillips is way small and plays for Chelsea - not all that well, but well enough to keep him on.

Freddy would - and I think - will, win a pretty good-size role in at least a mid-table club in England, Holland, or Spain. A club with bucks to burn will roll the dice on a talent like that, especially after seeing him shine yesterday. He played happy and turned the game on its head.

The only real question is whether or not MLS will get too greedy with him.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

Better but also different.

My hunch on Adu -- and it's nothing more than a semi-educated hunch -- is that he has the talent to contribute on the right European team but lacks the experience to lead an MLS team. In the U-20s, he can be a leader.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

I think there's also the important point that the players around him aren't nearly as talented. Teams can therefore focus on physically eliminating from the game because they know that his teammates won't do anything with all the extra space they're getting. Freddy would thrive in the right situation and away from all of us and the ridiculous pressures we heap on him.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

It could be his under-performing is due to him being exposed to the media and over-hyping at such a young age and hes become complacent.

 

Re: So Why Can't Adu Perform Magic for MLS?

This certainly isn't true in DC. And from what I've seen, it's not true in New York, Toronto, New England, or Houston either. And it doesn't seem that way in RSL.

Are you watching reruns of old Columbus-Metros games?