If that were true, then 15 year olds would dominate marathons and distance running like they do women's gymnastics. They don't.
I think you may be stretching this assumtion too far with your anology. It takes years to train your body to run marathons at the level needed to dominate. Younger athletes tend not to tire as fast as older athletes, hence the endurance point. Regardless of what side of the fence you sit on here there is no disputing that Adu's effort last night compaed to his peers whom had been playing 65 more minutes was lacking, and as I stated earlier if it was by design then fine that's Novak's call.
Erm, I was being as facetious as you're trying to be here. The point was to illustrate the inappropriateness of the word 'bowing' as if someone was making you pass under the yoke. And you'll also excuse me for thinking that you don't really sound 'amused', so I can assume you get the concept.
The thing I get excited about is how he has been playing compared to how Landon Donovan played as an 18 year old when he came back to MLS. Landon was getting pushed off the ball when he first came into the league, much like Adu is now. But the thing that Landon provided was an excellent touch and vision. He tried to do things a little to much as well, but look how he has become the dominant force of US soccer over the past three years. Now look at Freddy. He is also making great plays, but he still has to mature developmentally. That will come over time. The one thing I think Freddy has an advantage of Landon is the fact that he is always thinking of scoring first, then making the killer pass. His ball skills are better at 15 than Landon's at 18. Give this kid a couple more years, and him and Landon will be tearing things up internationally. I can't wait to see him next year as he progresses.
Here's a hint--go watch the game you Tivo'd before opening up your homepage, which you know may have a suggestive thread title. Cripes. I really think peole like this aren't soccer fans (or they would be watching the game at the very first possible opportunity before surfing the net)--but rather weird people that just want to bust someone down for something so unintuitve as being shocked to find a score on a soccer messageboard.
D-Wall I dunno if you can take any difficulties Landon may have had that far. If you combine regular season and playoffs, Landon had 12 goals and 12 assists his first year in MLS (2001). And that was for a championship team. As I recall, it took about six games for him to make his adjustment to this league and become a top player.
Marathon running (dominate) vs. soccer fitness (game fitness).........yes one definatly takes longer to trian for. Its not a hard concept to grasp. If you had taken the posts in the context they were given you probably would have seen that. I know it is hard for DCU fans to be crtitcal after that awsome game with that high they experianced. But if the game had turned out diffrently would you be here asking why Freddy was running around with lead in his shoes? Or his defensive effort? If I was Olsen, Eski, Moerno, etc. I would have been pissed to see him jogging around with everything that was at stake while his teamates were running hard and pressing. I think he is a execptional talent and i realize the kid is young and it is is first pro season but I just am pointing out some area's he needs to work on.
Re: (R)15yr Old in Cup Final -Adu I should have know this thread would be a bitch fest between the spoiler-antispoiler crowd. How else could it have gotten to three pages.
ditto - while he definitely shoulda hustled back more and coulda applied pressure from the side to force opponents into bad passes, he does seem to have a big Yellow Sticky on his back - so in this case, it wasn't up to him to block shots as to harass defenders at the Fifty - and sometimes the best role of a forward on defense is to work to be open for the outlet pass - not so much for break-aways as just to be someone your teammates who are under pressure can find and pass the ball to instead of just wha(n)cking the ball upfield
Re: (R)15yr Old in Cup Final -Adu 15yr Old In Cup Final -Adu I still like the original title, because I think it is an incredible acheivement. Players on the field usually all have to be pretty damn good to get to a championship professionally. So at 15, I am really impressed. Look at the San Jose Players that many of us just take for granted...but they returned to the Championship twice in three years. Though they may not be common names they really had to play damn good to get there. "Onionsack" I agree with the others, that it is really difficult for 15 year old athletes to run with grown men athletes. I think around 19 or 20 the body starts to mature enough to run at the adult pace with similar intensity. Also I think Freddy's style is not to run maniacally anyhow. I think when he becomes a grown man he may still not run around as if defensive running is the strength of his game. But I expect his defensive contribution will continue to grow. I do think you have good points for a player to contribute defensively. However there is a practice of developing to your strengths and some coaches will foster that in a player that is special and not burden him with all of the labors demanded of others. This might very well be the right thing at the right time for Freddy Adu. But as you said it is entirely up to Novak.
You're excused. Wrong, but excused. Sound doesn't transmit well through text so i'll cut you a break on that one. I guess I too was guilty of missing the sardonic tone of your post. Its kind of difficult to judge the "sound" of someones text so forgive me for that. 'Bowing' was used for the same overly dramatic effect... it IS polite to follow the rules of the boards you post on *sarcasm alert* but the [R] rule is clearly a case of the tyranny of the misguided majority. My boss at work is a big fan of soccer as well, and if I know the score I don't tell her until she's gone home and seen the taped game, but BigSoccer is a soccer message board. You have to agree that a soccer fan coming here and not wanting to see a score or spoiler is like a pedophile going to the park and not wanting to see a kid. Its the park... kids are everywhere... don't yell at us as if its our fault you came to the park. * * * * * * * * * * * * As for the conversation on who has a natural advantage in the battle between a 25yr old and a 15yr old... the answer is clearly the 25yr old. But its a moot point, because Adu is 27.
I should add, its pretty much impossible to anger me over the internet without using the words: "Who plays the most ugliest soccer", "how to improve soccer", "whats wrong with MLS", "the liberal media".
They're better than Landon's are today. Really, nobody in MLS is close to Freddy technically. That said, when I saw Landon as a callow 18 year old with nary a professional game under his belt, his decision making & speed of thought were better than Freddy's are today, and I would guess better than Freddy's will be a year or two out. Because Freddy ain't all that good on those fronts yet.
And that would be saying something. I'm not sure there's any senior Nat I'd take over Donovan on ball skill, at least on a one-on-one, face-the-goal, beat-the-defender sense.
Not to mention first touch or striking the ball. Yes, I think Donovan is the best of the senior Nats technically. Claudio & JOB are pretty solid, too, but who would you rather have striking a ball from 35 yards? Also, Donovan is two-footed.
Anyone who wants to suggest that the spoiler rule be changed, go do that in Suggestions and Announcements. Until it's changed, please obey it - many of us appreciate it.
Re: (R)15yr Old in Cup Final -Adu how true. i feel like i've been watching a tennis match between karl rove and john malkovitch: horrible and fascinating at the same time.
Re: (R)15yr Old in Cup Final -Adu aww man. i might just purchase membership so I can have this in my sig line... unless i'm stuck being karl rove. i hate being karl rove. he can't serve for crap, though he does have a powerful backhand.