The latest on our man Freddy Adu http://soccer365.com/US_home/Features_Interviews/page_38_36615.shtml Seems he doesn't yet have his citizenship, but the powers to be are working to get it done. How much should the MLS offer a 14 year old?
How long of a contract should a 14-yr old signwith MLS, especially one who has already attracted Inter's attention. The lessons of McBride and Mathis may cause him to skip our league, and I can't say I blame him.
Yeah but his mom's going to have a lot to say about this whole thing since he's not 17 or 18(or whatever the age is for independence) yet.
if freddy is only 14 they shouldn't even be discussing a pro contract yet. Let the kid live a little before he's put under all that pressure. Though he's been disected here on BS for the few years though. But seriously, his mom shouldn't even think about allowing him to sign with anyone until at least 16.
He feels like he is ready to turn pro and if he indeed does play at next year's youth championships the Euro scouts will be all over him. Inter offered up like $100K plus per year to him LAST year.
I've followed this story for the past year so I know that he's already been offered a contract. I meant that if I was his parent I wouldn't want him to focus 100% of his time on soccer until at least 16 or 17.
Re: Re: Bruce working to expedite Freddy's citizenship Which lesson was that? Play in MLS and you can perform well on the world stage?
Re: Re: Re: Bruce working to expedite Freddy's citizenship No, it was play in the MLS and you can start and gain experience.
I can't believe there's so much fuss surrounding this Freddy character. Does anyone else think pinning an entire nations footballing future on a 14 year old is a bit wierd? Not to mention the fact that that amount of pressure usually buggers things up. What happens if, like so many other promising youngsters the world over, he fails to translate his talent to the bigger stages?
Re: Re: Bruce working to expedite Freddy's citizenship Just as the lesson of Donovan and Twellman would tell him to skip Europe.
While I very much hope Freddy is the next Pele or Maradona, those are some rather weighty comparisons you guys are throwing out there.
Granted, I'm just thinking that the pressure on Maradona although probably not insgnificant, was not proportionately as great as it will be/is for this Freddy chap. Argentina produces great footballers year after year. If Maradona hadn't made it, there would have been others to put in his place (granted wouldn't have been fill it exactly). The loss wouldn't have been that colossal had he not blossomed into a great adult footballer. I just get the impression that the pressure on this boy will just be immense. What happens if he doesn't make the transition? Argentina had other fantastic players (Burruchaga, Cannigia to name a couple), what are the other 15 year olds like in the US. It's just not healthy to be so dependent on one 14 year old boy for footballing success. IMO.
As a counterpoint, this is football in America where the world's greatest players can come and be anonymous. There are maybe a few hundred of us on big soccer (guessing at the number) who know who this kid is. The internet faithfull might have their hopes pinned on this kid, but that is only a handfull of people. The pressure we can exert is miniscule at best. Unless he reads Big Soccer, of course. Scumby
Quotes please? That's okay, the U.S. produces two to four kids just like him EVERY year to take his place. All the Americans have to do is find, train, develop, and field them. What the Brits have yet to figure out is this, they have reached the apogee of their football\soccer potential. The Americans have only used 10% of their potential and still made the 2002 World Cup QUARTERFINALS!!! How sad that the bitter Brits don't want a former colony to win a WC!
Good point. There is a propensity (at least there is for me) to be able to forget that the people on here who are (for the most part) reasonably, if not very well informed, are by no means the majority in the US. Indeed they are only just a minority Easy to forget when it's not the vacuous (football wise) US NASCAR loving public one speaks to on here. That aside, I still think it's a bit excessive to be giving so much 'air-time' to whether this 14 year old is the future of US football. Also, isn't there some kind of debate over his true age? Given that he's distinctly bigger than his playmates. Of course he could just be a big lad. Only way to tell is to saw his leg off and count the rings.
I'm not going to rise to the bait which was the rest of your post. The points I raised (I thought) were decent ones and in no way derogatory to the situation I was hoping to discuss. Not sour grapes. If the US produces this many youngsters with such talent, then why are they so desperate to get young Freddy naturalised? And just so long as that's 'all' the US has to do. Find, train, develop and field them? Sounds like a decent size job to me. And note I did just (in my previous post) say that people on here were adequately knowledgable for the most part.
to maczebus: ha! no, he's not that much bigger! yes, he is indeed 13! and no, no one among the coaches and administrators who really matter and deal with him on a regular basis has pinned the fortunes of u.s. soccer on this kid. it's just a few crazies on this board who do it, and knowing some of them by their writing, they do it tongue in cheek. freddy will be fine, and if he doesn't pan out there'll be others - maybe not as good but good enough.
Ok people I'm sorry for ever suggesting anything at all. I was jst commenting on what I've learnt on these boards. Like I said, I learn more about the state of US football on these boards than I do anywhere else, given that there's almost no coverage of US soccer anywhere in this country. Channel 5 have 1 game per week in the middle of the night. I was just trying to get to the bottom of the situation. My concerns where more for the state of US football than for poor Freddy if it doesn't work out. But once again, genuine questioning has been met with over-bearing patriotism, that has taken what I've said and mangled it into a slur on the state of US football. People really should stop being so touchy. If you're in any doubt, please re-read what I've posted. I'm not a troll, that's too easy. 13? 14? Does it make that much difference?