I think he got hurt, but came back and rode the bench the last 3 months. But I wasn't paying close attention.
Bello was getting time early in the season, got injured, and played a bit for the second team but didn't look the same athletically. He seems to have made a recovery and looks like he's back on track.
I drew that comp on reddit, I think. I'm not entirely sold on it, but he has more athleticism than Andrew and some of his flair. It's the latter part that I see the similarity -- the tendency to pull off the spectacular.
Haven't seen anything to suggest Clark is the dribbling talent Aaronson is. Aaronson's burst & close control helps him. But Clark has more final product & killer instinct. So yeah, more like we hoped Carleton would be, if he developed a little better physically, had his head on straight, cared about d, & went to a better system. The parallels to Adams path-wise and ability-wise are obvious though.
FWIW, comparing first full professional seasons: Aaronson (age 18): .51 g+a/90... .76 interceptions/90... .51 tackles/90 ... 1.28 key passes/90 ... 1.28 shots/90 Clark (age 17, so far): .831 g+a/90 ... .55 interceptions/90 ... .831 tackles/90 ... 1.2 key passes/90 ... 1.38 shots/90 Carleton (age 17): .37 g+a/90 ... .54 interceptions/90 ... .98 tackes/90 ... 1.85 key passes/90 ... 2.4 shots/90
After going through the Schellas ere at FCD and seeing especially Victor Ulloa become a pro after he left I pondered whether some of the players sort of gave up on practicing hard after doing so at first and not getting rewarded with game time. It makes me wonder if Carleton similar problems at Atlanta. Sure coaches don't play players that don't practice hard but if they can't win a spot by practicing hard it's difficult for most people to keep working that hard.
Shrug. Happens at most clubs on Earth. There are a lot of players coming thru academies and only so many can break into a key role with the first team. Coaches have their favorites amongst the players, so some youngsters won't get an opportunity. The coach changes, and opportunities change. In Ulloa's case the coach changed to his academy coach. If FCD had hired any other coach on planet earth other than Oscar Pareja, Victor wouldn't have played for FC Dallas. He was already out the door when Oscar pulled him back. FOr all we know he would have disappeared off the face of the Earth. So Victor was very fortunate in that case. Carleton? He'll find opportunities. He's too talented not to. His contract should be up after this MLS season, and we'll see where he heads.
No. Carleton was nowhere near as hyped as Freddy Adu. There have been plenty of U17 internationals coming out of Bradenton that didn't develop for a myriad of reasons. It happens to players that go to Europe and Mexico just like it does to players that stay in the US. Junior Flores.................... Freddy Adu WAS the savior. The lessons of Freddy Adu mean we don't make those mistakes any more.
So, in the context of the present group of players, is Carlton analogous to Freddy Adu.? I can't think of another player since Freddy that was as over hyped as Carlton. Obviously not to the casual sports fan, but within US soccer circles.
I think in the broader sports context...................Carlton was hyped so far less than Freddy Adu as to be in a completely different category. It should be noted that Andrew Carleton still only just turned 20. He's the same age as a player like Alex Mendez, who's never played a first team professional game. Its too early to pronounce his career as anything..............................
That's being kind. If Carleton does half of this it would represent a massive career turnaround. Carleton has never even scored a 1st division league goal. Adu has banged home numerous goals across 1st divisions and the full NT.
The closest thing to the hype Adu got as a 14 year old is the post-Couva commercial featuring Gio Reyna, 14 or 15 at the time. Reyna has turned out pretty good too. Adu didn't bust because of the hype. He busted because he didn't grow big enough and couldn't adapt his game to faster, bigger opposition. Not everything is a morality play.
Frankly, I don't even remember Reyna's commercial. I do remember (at least a little) Adu's commercial with Pele. Not positive, but I believe it was a soft drink commercial (7-up?). They were juggling? Either way, that was also a time when you did not see commercials involving soccer...at least not nearly at the rate you see them now. Edit: I was curious so looked it up. Reyna part of an Adidas commercial promoting soccer's future pre WC. ie soccer specific aimed at viewers that are at least casually or occasional (big tournament) soccer fans. Adu was part of a Sierra Mist commercial aimed at.....soft drink consumers. BIG difference in my opinion. That being said, you point stands that Reyna's commercial is probably about as close as you get to the hype that Adu recieved. It just underlines how massive that hype was. Ironically, the one other person that approached Adu (not too closely but closer than most), IMO, was Claudio Reyna, but his hype came at a much later age than Gio or Adu.