i know this has probably been done to death, and so i apologize in advance to those of your angered by it, but it's been a question that's been burning in my mind. Does anyone think that it's better for Adu to be in MLS instead of a top class youth academy?. somehow i always get the feeling that him being enrolled at an academy at say a barcelona or Ajax , would be better than him barely playing minutes in MLS and being frozen out by resentful teammates when he does get on the field.
Yep. But I'm game. The problem, as I understand it, is that Freddy can't play overseas until he's 18. So yes, I think it's better for him to compete against pros today than to hang out in youth academies. I do worry about him being in the U.S., though. It's a very unhealthy place. Surrounded by sycophants, critics, people who want him to do magic tricks, people dogging him, allegedly jealous teammates, it's a soap opera ... he could really benefit from a place where he is relatively anonymous, and where the only thing determining whether he is on the field is whether he's good enough to help the team. Of course, that would mean foregoing the TV $.
In an ideal world, Freddy playing against the adults now is a better situation - he's learning more about real games at a younger age and is more visible to the Senior team coach and staff. THat said, the world isn't ideal and we are all hearing stories that Freddy's time at DCU is not going so well. So, I am starting to believe that he's be better off at Ajax in their youth program than at DCU. The competition would be significantly less for him on the field (and that's a negative), but the training and the coaching would be far superior and he wouldn't be caught up in the need to win (when all is said and done, Nowak would get fired for losing games, even if he were doing a great job with Freddy). This is a pipe dream anyway, as Freddy's not leaving MLS for 2 more years. We can only hope that the adversity he is facing now will strengthen his character and resolve. I don't see that happening yet, but please remember that it took 3 years for Eddie Johnson to mature from petulant youth into budding superstar.
But you know, it's also conceivable - although this would mean accepting far more risks than Freddy has had to assume so far - that going to Ajax for 4 years as an amateur would improve his skills to the current Netherlands U-20 level. He still would have been able to play for the various US U-17/20 teams, arguably as a better offensive player, which would have earned him some endorsement income along the way. Then, when he became ready to turn a full pro at 18, he'd have teams clamoring for his services, making a bundle at 18 rather than at 15-16. Or, if his mother decided to "move for a job opportunity", he could have began his career at 16-17 also. Ah, long-term vs. short-term objectives. Mind you, the kid may be worth $5-10M before he turns 18. So you can't really criticize him for taking that large sack of loot when somebody's giving it to him.