There is a small story in today's Washington Post saying that Freddy has been invited to train with the under-20s next month after all. Rongen has apparantly changed his mind. Official roster for camp should be released soon.
Interesting. I wonder what changed Rongen's mind or if it was at all motivated by Nike, Richard Motzkin (also Rongen's agent), Bruce Arena or Dan Flynn. Or maybe it was just changed because Freddy is really good. Regardless, I still think Freddy is a long shot to make the team but I'm curious to see how he does.
Why all the conspiracy theories? But you hit on something more insightful in your 2nd graph. Too bad you still don't believe he's good enough to make the team. But I still do.
I think Adu would be a great guy to bring off the bench in this tournament simply because Freddy is a big time name at this point. If for no other reason, when we bring Freddy on as a sub in a close or tie game, the other team may very well pay him way more attention than is warranted, freeing up space for guys like Convey, Clark, Johnson and Mapp (what's his injury like?) If the other team thinks they're about see some 14 year old go Pele on their ass, there's a chance it could disrupt their gameplan. Freddy's certainly good enough to hold his own out there, but I'd be careful not to expose him to too much physical abuse. The 75th minute sub sounds like a decent plan to me. Maybe the other teams vaguely have heard of Convey beacuse of the Tottenham move, but they KNOW Freddy. The kid's 14 and has made like 3 appearances on Futbol Mundial already.
I'd expect it to be the usual Univision family of networks coverage, with most of the games probably being on Galavision and some on Telefutura and Univison. Basically the same set-up as the U-17's. And I ditto the love for the "go Pele on their ass" phrase.
i KNEW i should have bought the Washington Post yesterday! this is actually very good news. Hopefully the kid can do well and bring some exposure to the game here. I'm sure that we'd get some sportscenter hits if the guy could climb up in age like this and score a couple of goals (crossing fingers).
there is no question that Adu is very good, but Rongen gave us a reason why he won't call up Adu and i accepted his resoning. Now the change of mind and we ask why ?, there could be one, or more then one reason as you mentioned above. I might ad that maybe the recent interest fron Euro clubs might have something to do with it. US Soccer and the powers that be in this country might want to keep Adu busy and involved constantly within the program and not give him enough time to think of Europe.
could that be it? some sort of pressure that is coming down from clubs around the world that want to see him? hmmmmmm, this is totally speculative, but does this whole thing smell of a soon to be signing somewhere for Adu?
Just curious, where does the kid fit in one this squad? He isn't going to play forward. We're stocked there with Eddie Johnson, Santino Quaranta, Alecko Eskandarian, and Mike Magee among others. If I remember correctly Bobby Convey, Arturo Alvarez, Justin Mapp, Ned Grabavoy are among the midfielders he'd have to beat out.
Aleko is a U-23. EJ look sgreat on paper, but... Can't say that Santino has been the answer in DC. Magee has been a large part of the anemic Metro attack.
Isn't Freddy supposed to be going to MLS next year? He is finishing school early so that he can do just that. If so, why would anyone be worried about him getting beat up playing with U-20's. I think that he is going to have to get used to it anyway. Look at how teams played vs. Maradonna... In his prime he was CONSTANTLY fouled. I am not saying that Adu will be as good as Maradonna, but it is clear from the U-17 tourney that he is already a target. Personally I have no doubt that he can play with the U-20's. I think that his biggest obstacle on the U-17's was that the guys around him lacked composure and couldn't anticipate him. In essence, they were useless in combination with him. He will look better with the U-20's, as they have a lot more experience and skill than the U-17's, and won't feel content to just watch him try to take on the opposition by himself. I hope he makes it.
considering where to play him, i've always thought the kid would be dynamite running behind two forwards- eddiej and magee or whoever but he could do some damage as a sub.
I don't understand the questions about where Adu would play. He's not physical enough to play midfield, and he's lethal up front. He's obviously what Italians call a "seconda punta", the small forward who needs a big centerforward foil like McBride to play next to.
Adu has graduated from the U17's. Now, the assessment must focus on the rapidity with which he might be able to develop into a full USMNT player. The only way to do that, it would seem to me, is to insert him into the mix of various teams, e.g., U20's, Olympic, etc. to assess his fit with those guys. It doesn't necessarily mean he will be on the roster of any team going to any particular tournament. It does mean that he will be assessed in increasingly high level situations. There is a lot of maturity necessary before anything at the USMNT level can really happen, but that is the ultimate goal. Any lower level national team tournaments between now and WC06 would be great, but not necessary.
Other players should also be moved up to the U-20s. Memo Gonzalez and Johnathan Spector as well. Adu is possibly in the Japan-Friendly squad due to Quaranta's injury.
Not to nitpick but I got a socceramerica e:mail today stating teh Quarantra was slated as a midfielder, and was added today to the roster....... (dont ask for a link, I already tossed the e:mail in the recycle bin..) Still doesnt answer your question, but it is one less forward to beat out....
http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/latest_soccer_news/386369.html Adu in the squad because of the vacancy created by Quaranta's injury.
Team of the tournament , U17s(WorldSoccer) Oscar Ustari(Independiete) Defenders Leo(Brazil) Ezequiel Garay(Argentina) Francis(Spain/Barcelona) Midfielders Sisi(Spain) Junior(brazil) Fredy Guarin(columbia) Alberto Ramirez(mexico) cesc(Spain) Forwards Freddy Adu* Abuda(Brazil)