This is what I saw as well. There was one nice play leading Mapp on a breakaway, but that was it from Freddy. He has little ability in 1v1 situations at the moment since his first step is slow and nobody respects his right foot. DC overplayed that and were able to neutralize him pretty easily.
Adu never outran defenders. Though he has incredible post up skills he was never a great 1v1 player in the way of beating guys with a dribble running forward. He has played and excelled against better comp than DC United. People who know anything about the man know what he brings to the table.
I thought Adu was OK. He didn't stand out for me personally. Michael Farfan grabbed me by the balls and shouted "Call me up, you dolts." That was my first game watching MacMath for a full 90. Not bad. Could have done better on the Najar goal..............but his defense let Andy run the whole field without so much as a hint of stopping him. [I guess that was Farfan that let him do that also.] It seems like our Olympic qualifying squad is in good shape with Hamid, Johnson, and MacMath.
That ^ is the thing. I don't know how anyone would watch that game and think of calling up Adu over Farfan. Michael Farfan put together a very exciting--nay, mouth-watering!--performance.
not really. He was a great junior player but how much he brings to the table now in the adult world is not clear.
I would say the Mexican National Team is better than DC United, by far. This is a classic case of Big Soccer pessimism. People want to talk about what a player failed to do rather than what a player has done. The pessimism usually is brought up so that bashers of a certain player can feel validated.
I don't want this to be another 50-post Adu digression, but I just have to weigh in. What we saw last night is a snapshot of everything that Adu brings to the table: He has nice touch on his passes, something we see over and over. If soccer only required that, Adu would still be in Europe. At the risk of oversimplifying, Adu is physically challenged. No, not for a sheltered workshop, but to be an elite soccer player. He's small and slight of build, and can be manhandled by bigger, stronger opponents. But far more importantly, he's not very quick. It seems that every time he "beats" an opponent off the dribble he has trouble separating. That lack of quickness also seems to be accompanied by lack of quickness in his speed of play. I like to give players the benefit of the doubt, esp. those like Adu who showed much promise as a youth player. However, he's already 22, so I don't see more than incremental improvements in strength, speed, etc. Maybe it's OK to throw out his recent history in Europe, wipe the slate clean, and allow him a fresh start in Philly. Even with that, thus far I haven't seen him start much, or show some semblance of dominating his position. I know, I know, let's give him time to adjust to the team, coaches, etc. But until Nowak feels he's capable enough to start regularly and perform consistently, count me skeptical.
I do not even understand what you mean. I have never bashed Adu and we are all disappointed that he did not turn out to be a great pro. But that is just reality. I do have a bias towards reality.
I didn't watch the game but i've always thought Freddy's best spot might be as a deep-lying center mid if it wasn't for a lack of a work rate. However his newfound work-ethic and desire might make that switch possible.
I think you are ignoring the fact that you said Adu never excelled vs. better talent than DC United. Mexico is far better than DC. To claim he has been a great junior player and has not shown it against adults is asinine. He showed he could play with men vs. Argentina, Spain, his first few games with Benefica, in Greece with Aris, and finally in the Turkish 2nd division. All of those teams, minus Turkey 2nd, were tougher competition than DC.
I thought Adu one of his better games since returning, but the game itself was wide, wide open, and he had acres of space to work in. It's valuable to be able to work in that space, and I liked his touch and his passing very much. I hope he can build on it, and I also agree that his lack of speed/quickness is a huge detriment in MLS, and he may not be able to overcome it. I hope he can. I think he's slower now than he was when he was 16, but maybe it's just the league is faster or something.
I'd suggest eyeglasses to clear things up as he's been playing in the 'adult world' for over 7 years now.
Also, if MLS hadn't offered Adu $600K per year, he would still be in Europe. That is to say, his market value isn't off the charts, but it's still pretty good.
Does anyone know Fagundez's official citizenship status? Because if he's close, I will definitely start getting excited about his prospects with the US.
thats a true story. Benny Feilhaber has shown he still exists too. His creativity at least makes new england bearable, they needed him badly. monumental fail at the back by whoever new england's central defenders are these days. i guess thats why they are where they are.
oh dear me, and in the other game, it just keeps getting worse for Tim Ream and RBNY. Tim Ream and the rest of the NY d literally stopped playing assuming a player was offsides. three of the defenders raised their hand, stopped playing, the toronto player kept running for 10 more yards while all three looked at the referee......and he slotted it home. In what league do defenders stop dead in their tracks praying the other player is offsides???? that theres a bad....bad habit to learn from Rafa Marquez. that just made New England look graceful....
Well, he was born in Uruguay, but moved here (Boston) at age 5. Played on both the U-14 and U-15 teams. I'm no expert, but I imagine he could choose between Uruguay and the US. I agree he looks very promising.
Other than Henry (who was only good for the last 15 minutes, but for him that's enough) Ream was the best player on the field for RBNY. It was, yeah. Part of that falls on Ream - he was a half-step slow in springing the trap. But that play never happens if 1) Marquez doesn't give the ball away, or 2) tracks back to pressure Johnson on the pass.