http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/sports/story/0,4136,99547,00.html It's amazing what a Yahoo news search for "Freddy Adu" will turn up. That's a pretty good list BTW.
Well they made a boo boo by saying "after that" as he will go before he's 18.. Just means he won't be going on a free transfer and MLS will make something on the sale..
With Lionel Messi tearing up La Liga, Freddy Adu isn't the most sought after teenager in world football. However, he might be the most sought after of the guys who aren't yet playing regularly at a top European club. I suspect that's the true meaning of that statement.
Coveted is a pretty strong term. I don't think he's coveted. Attracting interest, a curiosity, huge potential but not coveted.
As soon as Freddy turns 18 and is off to Chelsea, I think we'll have a better understanding of how coveted he is.
I suppose you believe it was by some coincidence that Chelsea decided to play DC United, and only DC United, on thier visit to America this past summer.
I don't think it matters. Money's money. Inter's Nike. He's already got used to black and white. If I was given the appropriate intrade odds, I'd say he ends up at Inter. Veron's getting old.
I'd be very surprised if Adu doesn't end up with Chelsea after he turns 18. I don't think his Nike endorsement will factor into it.
Execept everyone who thinks he will be going to the EPL as soon as he turns 18 seem to forget that unless he goes to the WC in Germany and plays in every game, he won't qualify for a work permit until he's atleast 19 if not 20. And if you think he'll get one on appeal, you're deluded, just ask Convey or Benni McCarthy how easy they are to get.
Actually I believe (from all the talk when Bobby went over) that there is room for an exception if the player shows abilities that are not otherwise available in the UK (or something like that). Where Bobby is a good player when he wants to be, there was never any talk of him being the next Pele. Freddy doesn't need to meet the MNT numbers, just continue to show improvement and that he has untapped potential (or be tearing up every team he plays against by the time he is 18). Furthermore, Chelsea, ManU, and the Gunners have a history of getting around the work permit issues where other teams fail. So as long as he can keep one of them interested, he has little to worry about. -dave
the problem with that so called exception is currently there are players who show the same abilities in the UK. We may think freddy's special but everyone else sees him as a very good player with a long way to go. If you're really relying on that possible exception I still think you're deluding yourself to think that without any or very many caps that Freddy will get a WP. Chelsea hasn't had to deal with getting around the WP rules because every player they purchase doesn't have an issue with the rules. What player has ManU supposedly bent the rules for, and Howard doesn't count (the reason being that the rules are slightly different for a keeper and he was on the verge of getting Hungarian citizenship which would have made him eligible anyway)? Same fo Arsenal, name some players. Adu is only being talked about the next Pele by fans here in the US.
Please name some of these players. If you could list some of their accomplishments, like perhaps, schooling manus u-18 team at 13, second leading scorer at the u17 championships at 14. Called up to the national team at 15, and being the best player on his team in a world all star charity game, that'd be nice. And no, the next pele thing isn't only by fans in the U.S. And it wasn't started by Americans.
Actually I don't think he is all that. I think he is currently overrated for what he can do now. United has had a bad run with "potential" so I don't get too worked up about what any player "may" do until they do it game in and game out. I would think the interest that some of the big name Euro teams are showing in him suggests that the US isn't the only place that thinks he is something special. One way or another, he is gone to a higher playing league as soon as he is 18 as long as he hasn't turned into a flop. If something can't be done in in the UK, one of the other Euro teams will pick him up. I don't remember the details since I don't care enough to follow the details of any team other than DCU, but I remember a few years ago there was some stink about a lower ranked team (was it Blackburn?) that attempted to get a player a permit and failed, and then ManU turned around and got the WP for the same player. -dave
With all due respect, the above statement is at the heart of the Adu situation and why people do or don't rate him highly. He just completed his first two seasons of professional soccer. He started, played and scored goals as a 14 year old in a professional league. The mere fact that someone deems him overrated at the ripe old age of 16 is seemingly ludicrious. I don't mean to pick on you per se so please don't take it as direct criticism. It's just that with all regard to Freddy, he is still years away from making the type of impact that we all hope to see. With all that being said, what he has done to this point in his soccer playing career is quite amazing. This will seem completely off topic but it's pretty relavent to my point. I was sitting on the sidelines during the last Reserve League match watching Freddy move intently. I was watching the quick darting moves, the ability to assess imminent danger (usually in the form of a reckless Crew Reserve tackle) and get out of that danger in the blink of an eye and also his ability to see the field and hit pinpoint passes over short and long distances. And all this from a 16 year old kid in a Reserve match in a league that probably isn't even rated amongst the top 15 leagues on the planet. I also seem to recall when I was 16 years old and the difficulty I had in playing in what was then a very tough division of high school soccer (playing against Bowie, Eleanor Roosevelt, High Point, Northwestern, Laurel and assorted other talented soccer teams in the early 80's). I remember sitting there in the bleachers shaking my head in amazement at the speed of thought and play from Freddy. Nobody, and I mean nobody could ever play at that level back then. My long winded point being that what he has done to this point is simply amazing and for anyone to deem him overrated probably has no idea what they are talking about. Again, I'm not criticizing you Mr. Gnat, just the prevelant thinking sometimes that Freddy "isn't all that". One really has to consider what this kid is up against. For what it's worth I think he has done amazingly well. This isn't to say however that he hasn't suffered from Athletes tongue on occasion. I chalk that part of his development to the fact that he is for all intents and purposes still a kid. Freddy isn't immune from criticism in regards to his play on the field and some things he has said off the field, but to say a 16 year old is overrated defies some sort of logic.
Somehow, I think that if Chelsea really is willing to pony up $$$ to get Adu when he turns 18, getting a work permit will not be a problem.
I'll agree with this, I'm only arguing that he won't be going to the EPL at 18. I would think that Holland would be very good for him, maybe France as well.
Except the money paid for the transfer has no bearing on him getting a WP, or are you suggesting that Chelsea or whoever will bribe the Board to accept their application? Look these people who sit on the WP panel are not in any way associated with the sport, they are bureacrats who have a set of rules that they apply to the application. They don't care about Freddy and probably don't even know who he is (I know it's hard to believe). These people live their lives applying rules. The appeals process is little bit tricker but it is still to a board of people who aren't connected to the sport and are applying a subjective ruling when it comes to appeals. I don't think he has a shot on appeal, regardless of how much Chelsea want to pay. They can't say he'll be a guranteed starter considering there are very few guaranteed starters in that team and I don't it will be enough that he will be given the opportunity to earn a place in the team. For him to get in on appeal, whatever team he goes to will have to pretty much gurantee he'll be a starter or play in at least 90% of ever game he' available for. He needs to be a player that the team will build around and that ain't gonna happen at Chelsea, ManU, Arsenal or Liverpool. I think he would have a better chance of winning on appeal at a team like Aston Villa or Fulham or some other mid to bottom table team where he is going to play all of the time and be the centerpiece of the team, not on a team where he'll be lucky to see the bench on any given gameday.
None taken, in fact we agree completely. My view is that right now Freddy is a kid doing some impressive things, but he is not currently anything above and beyond any other decent player (yes that does rank above many in MLS, but that's another topic). I'm just saying that since I don't need to worry about being fired after he becomes a world star because I didn't sign him early and cheap, I have the luxury to sit back and watch him develop without thinking he will be the next Pele. -dave
Because all bureacrats are good upstanding citizens The money won't be (all) for bribes. It will also go to legal teams to find the loopholes to go around the system. It's just a matter of how high they (the team) value the player and thus how much they are willing to spend to aquire them. -dave