I think Pele played in the WC as a 17 year old. Edit: I think Pele holds the record for youngest player to score in a World Cup.
Lets hope he and the US do well in the U17 World Championships CONCACAF qualifliers in Guatemala (March 3 ). Otherwise, February 13 will be a good day.
Adu will supposedly turn pro at 15. If he does, Bruce will watch his play in MLS. If he is doing well, it is possible. These prodigies are rare but they do happen. Wayne Rooney is 17 in England now and his chances of an England call-up soon is very, very good.Wasn't Owen 17 when he appeared for England?
I've heard more on him wanting to play overseas for his club play, and for the US Nats..At least in his quotes.
I believe he is already two grades ahead of his age. This often happens with emigrant students from his home and others. He tested far ahead of American averages. He's a great student.
did Freddy Adu score a lot of goals? I'm curious, how good is he ? is he Rivaldo kinda player ?or does he have Tiery Henry's style of play? hasselbaink's kinda player or maybe has Rooney's style of strike ? how is he compare with Maradona in his early days ?
He likes to play behind two strikers in the middle. Yes, he scores a lot of goals.. He was second in scoring on the youth team last time around having only played about half the games. His dribbling has been compared to Maradona but he is faster (perhaps). Most fans have seen little of him and are getting second hand reports at this point but many trusted sources are saying he is "the real deal" and could very well develop into one of the world's great stars, at least. There are some good stories around from soccer writers that have seen him and some good posts hiding on these boards from people who have seen him. We can only hope it's at least partially true that he's that good and that would be nice. Hopefully we will get to see some of him on TV this year. He seems to have good support, lots of smarts and a good attitude, so that makes our hopes stronger that he will actually make it.
I got the impression that he wants to to play overseas eventually, but will probably start his career in MLS to ease into pro game. I am guessing DC United whe he is 15, b/c it is close to home..
That would be nice. As far as DC, I'm not sure he would have a big choice in the matter as the league is single entity and he would go either as a draft choice or perhaps an allocation. I'm not sure how they would do it but I can't see how he would be free to sign with his own choice of city.
Are there any barriers to him working in the US at the age of 15? If playing football at that age can be considered work.. Not trolling, just wondering..
Actually, single entity might be the very reason why we could see Freddie in DC. I'm not sure if it's a stated MLS policy, but the league has a history of placing younger players in cities not too far from friends and family whenever possible. Convey and Olsen in DC. Donovan in San Jose. I know there are other examples that I'm not thinking of at the moment as well.
The laws vary state by state and are usually dependent on the type of work so as to protect minors from dangerous situations, etc. Often, a parents signature is required for a minor to work. I don't see it as a potential problem for him. Some states, the protection laws only apply if the child is under 14, for example. If needed, we will change the laws by an act of congress so that he can play!! lol..
True but then there might be a bit more pressure in this case from other teams to give others a chance. Seeing how so much young talent always develops in California (as an example) due to population and other factors, that league policy of placing young talent on a team close to home, may run into problems in the future.
Look again. He is not"free" to sign where he wants, but he has a little old something called bargaining power. If Adu wants to go to DCU, I bet he will be able to. Of course, this is just speculation about him signing with MLS and preferring DCU.
I believe the rumors for Freddy turn pro at 15 comes from a John Ellinger (u-17 coach) quote where he predicts Freddy will be the youngest player signed by MLS. At the moment the record is held by, I believe, Eddie Gaven who is 16 and few months. Freddy will turn 15 shortly before next year's draft if I'm not horribly mistaken which sets up nicely for Ellinger's prediction to come true. I'm not sure if he's drafted when he's 16 will still make him the youngest player ever, though it might. Regardless, there's not much more Freddy can do with the U-17s since by then he'll have been with the team for almost 3 years. Therefore I imagine if he's not drafted next year he'll be more or less forced to look overseas, for fear of his progress stalling while he waits another year to be drafted. From that point of I imagine he will be drafted next year, even if he isnt signed by MLS beforehand.
Please do not take what I am about to say the wrong way. I want to see Freddy Adu on the nats just as much as anyone. But the one concern I do have about Freddy Adu's being on the nats is this: suppose he breaks into the full national team and becomes what Carlos Valderrama was to Colombia and Diego Maradona was to Argentina. In other words, he will be THE driving force behind the nats, Donovan, Mathis, et al notwithstanding. Supposing Freddy leads the U.S. to new heights. I can see those who are critical of the game saying things like "See? Only now that the U.S. got someone who learned his soccer abroad can they succeed on the world stage. This proves that Americans can't play soccer". I heard the criticism of the Denver Broncos teams of a few years ago claiming that the Broncos were "John Elway and 40 other guys". I fear it may happen in this case, especially if Freddy plays on a higher level than his teammates. On the other hand, it could be good in that kids born here could emulate him and go on to raise the quality of play in the U.S. But still, I think we will hear some criticism.
oh! that would be a crying shame. if a non-born american led us to new heights, i might quit being a fan and start a journalistic soccer-bashing career. unbelieveable.
He was 8 when he came here and soon, most of his playing time, if not already, will have been here and almost all his formal playing. I could care less what they say when the facts will be that his real development was here and it is US coaches that are helping him to harness his talent.