RSL-Colorado game, in progress. If Ballouchy needs someone to help him study for the citizenship exam, I'd be glad to volunteer. He's the best player on the field, I'd have him in camp the minute he's a citizen...if he decides to go that route. Adu is great in space, but if you can't get past Dan Gargan one on one...eh... Cunningham pretty much just sits around and waits for the perfect pass most of the game. Why he's not a successful international is not much of a mystery. Herculez had a legit goal taken away, and has been a constant threat. Had a great cross field pass to Terry Cooke on the counter. I think he should be a US international. He's moved up to forward, and if he has a respectable goal talley this year, he should be an international in the fall.
I actually believe that this was the most complete game Jeff Cunningham has ever played ... he even passed the ball once or twice, made runs into space, took a correct dribbling decision, etc. Freddy looked very good but his successes came against a not-so-stellar opposition. I still think he needs to play in the middle of the field just behind the strikers. The guy showed that he had a right foot! This was also the best game Colorado has played in a while and that includes Gomez and Beckerman, who pushed the ball forward and were much more aggressive than so far this season. BTW, Jason Kreis deserves a huge praise for waking up a dormant RSL team.
Man, Freddy has good skills, but he's got to step his energy up a notch on occasion. He always seemed to be going the same speed, and never quite fast enough to break things open at the seams. On the other hand, his mates were not exactly running hard off the ball to create fluid passing opportunities and when they did happen, they were rather poor.
I felt he looked average last night, with a couple of bright spots and a few not so bright spots. Adu looked good in the first half, and not nearly as strong in the second. The spots where he didn't hustle in the second half cost several simple give aways. Still, he was about the only one on RSL making anything happen. For the most part the rest of the team was pathetic, so who knows how either of these two would look with a stronger supporting cast and the right system (yeah, I know we've seen Freddy with a much stronger supporting cast). Thought Gomez looked like a guy out to make an impression. IMO the Rapids keeper deserved MotM not Freddy (and I'm not a Freddy basher, he just made several key saves). Heck, even Rimando had a few good saves in the second half, although if he'd have punched the first cross there would have been no own goal.
Agreed on the Rapids keeper -- he looked quite good and made some very good decisions to come out of his net -- he really controlled the match despite RSL having the run of play. I also was very impressed with Adu -- I think he has certainly improved from last year at least based on his play in that match. Looking forward to seeing him with the U20s.
I noticed RSL was very committed to getting him (Adu) the ball throughout the first half, with decent results. I think the wide position is OK as long as that commitment is there. When wide, he has some space to operate and a little more time to make decisions than he would centrally. And he needs that time at this point. I don't think his decision making is that fast right now (it will get there) and he had some space last night to take his time.
Regarding Freddy, the announcers almost had me convinced that LM is the place for him with their comparisons to well-known wide midfielders. Then I started thinking "why didn't they mention SW-P?" Then, I thought, it's because Freddie's not nearly as fast as SW-P & doesn't do the blaze-down-the-touch-line thing. Then I thought, well Overmars didn't even play LM. He played Left forward in a 4-3-3. So, now, I'm not so convinced. To me, Freddie's game is like Dempsey's. He can beat people one on one, consistently. He hasn't really shown the propensity for the weaving run through traffic to create a shot (beat one guy? yes. Beat two guys? Not so much) When playing wide, he consistently dribbles toward the goal, instead of down the line to get a cross off. They are both capable of getting into space down the line, but that's not their inclination. And, neither really blazes down the side. Beasley does that more than either Clint or Freddie. At the same time, maybe both could develop into a poorman's Christiano Ronaldo. CR is faster, but he's a left mid that goes to goal from a wide position. Anyway, I like the way Herc plays. I hope he starts scoring some goals so he can get into the mix. And, despite the comments of the announcers, I thought that right back for Colo did a pretty good job. When he was one-on-one up tight on Freddie, he shut him down. Several times. Yep, he gave him space out side. But, Freddie wasn't going to be crossing, and if he wants to shoot from way out on the wing, let him. The two games that I've seen Colo play, Kiro has been invisible. Is that partly Beckerman's fault? Is he not getting the ball to Kiro?
As does that Ronaldinho guy ... perhaps a better comparison for Adu, in that Ronaldinho is mostly looking to beat 1 defender and make a pass, as opposed to beating 9 players a la CR (or Messi).
Adu is improving, but still makes too many mental mistakes: 2nd half showed many errant passes to the GK or out of play, 20 yards from a teammate. Continued lack of hustle as times; poor defensive pressure. Lack of willingness to play physical - he's small, but not smaller than DMB. Not tough enough yet to overcome his lack of size. Lastly - I don't know what it is about MLS strikers that get the ball outside the box, in front of a defender and just wait for 2-3 seconds. Do they think they are point guards in basketball and they're waiting for their teammate to clear the pick? The good players don't hold the ball and try to head fake everyone to death (maybe 1-2 elite players do) - they make a fast decision. Adu's hesitation in this spot is the same as most young players (Cooper drives me nuts just standing there) but it just let's the defense get into position.
That's a reasonable comparison (to the extent that comapring <i>anyone</i> to 'dhino is a good comparison - but I know you're talking about style, not talent). Messi doesn't play wide, does he? (I'm askin', I haven't seen him play with Barca much. And, I don't remember whether he played wide with the Argies). He played centrally with the U-20's, but that's a different deal. I don't think CR tries to take on all 11 opponents like he used to. He get's a fair amount of assists these days. He used to be Denilson, Jr. But, he's not now. Anyway, to prevent someone chiming in about how stupid it is to comapare a 17 year old who hasn't done anything to the best player in the world, and the best player in the EPL (according to his peers), let me reiterate: we're talking about style of play, and role on the team. And, the style & role that Freddie projects to. I don't see Freddie being the caliber of a 'dinho, or a CR. But then, I didn't see 'dinho or CR play when they were 17. But, I saw CR when he was 18, and Freddie's almost 18.
Comparing Adu to Marc Overmars was idiotic by the ESPN announcers. The guy may not have been a big dude but he had jets, which is entirely consistent with a winger's profile - small and very fast. Freddy isn't really that small and he's certainly not very fast. It'd be interesting to see if some Dutch club - should Freddy ever get there - gives him a run-out as a wing forward in 4-3-3. I think he could be a Farfan type, if he can't hack the central midfielder spot.
adu created more offense than any single play last night... the 1st minute chance, gondoul nice save... the rsl goal, serving the ball into the right spot was the right move, ball gets past mastro and cunningham has a gimme... the 45th minute chance, brilliant save by gondoul... the late minute chance, where adu attacked the edge of the box, and laid off a very nice pass for ballouchy to mishit.... when adu plays with world class players his skills will be enhanced, he passes the ball well, and while he doesn't work hard enough for some, he worked hard enough to do more than anyone except gondoul.... senegal calling....
I agree with all of that. It's unfortunate that Overmars had that big injury. Iirc, he was a damn good playa in the WC at 20. Had an injury that wrecked him for the WC when he was 24. And, when he was 28 he was a little past it, and Holland had up & coming players that supplanted him. Anyway, Marc was fun to watch. One heckuva football player. But, yeah, seems like Freddie might be well suited to the top left of a 4-3-3. Get's him up, closer to the goal. Where he only has to bust one move & he's created chaos for the D. But, I'd really like to see him get a shot as a CAM somewhere. He appears to hold the ball very well under pressure & is able to dribble out of pressure, and pass well.
IIRC, when CR was 18 he pull a move or two that would leave you breathless and thinking "Wow", then do something equally mindless. Those "d'oh!" moments become much fewer with enough time, good coaching, and an ability to learn from one's mistakes.
Right, and Freddy is no 18 year old CR in terms of his ability to dribble opponents. If he was, he'd be commanding $20 million on the transfer market, too. Because being able to dribble defenders silly is a very rare skill. Ask Freddy. That's what he did as a 13 year old, and why Freddy was so darned valuable, and so hyped, at the time. Bottom line is, Adu has morphed from being a very rare player type (the unstoppable dribbler) to a more common player type (combo dribbler/passer).
Typically, he roughly plays right wing in a 4-3-3 for Barca. I say "roughly" because they are very fluid and free with their shape and because their 4-3-3 isn't quite a traditional #9-plus-two-wingers formation. He basically does whatever Ronaldinho does (though I agree they are stylistically very different), just on the right instead of the left. If I had to put it on paper, it might look something like this: ------------------Eto'o---------------- ----Ronaldinho---------------Messi----- ------------------Deco---------------- -----------Iniesta------Xavi-----------
On paper, you're right. Which is why I am reluctant to put Barcelona on paper, because I don't think my little diagram describes them very well. I guess I wasn't clear on being unhappy about the way it looks when you diagram Barca. You aren't saying you believe that Barca really play the Dutch 4-3-3, are you?
With Rijkaard and Neeskens? Ya, this is a standard 4-3-3, even if Ronnie and Leo tend to pinch in more. But Ludovic Giuly plays the right side in a more traditional way.
And he was playing on much, much, much better teams than RSL. Don't overlook how disadvantaged Freddy has been by his USA passport.
I remember one occasion last night when Freddy had the ball and just threw his arms up in frustration at his lack of options. Couldn't see what his teammates were doing, but I'd imagine not much. And I think a lot of his apparently bad passes are a result of people not running where he expects them to run, and so it goes to the opposing team. That might improve as the season goes on and he and his teammates get to know each other better, or maybe he just needs to be playing with a higher caliber of player. Or maybe they're just crappy passes...
I think there is more of a difference between Messi and Giuly than just Messi pinching in, but I'll concede the point. I haven't really seen much of the glory days of Dutch football, so the differences I see are more in comparison with the Robben/RVN/RVP lineup. Maybe that's where my perceptions are off. Not only the quality of the players, but of the coaching as well. That, ultimately, is why I think he went from arguably the best in the world at his age to just another good prospect for his age in four years. The other kids his age who were pegged for stardom have been in the best programs in the world since they were 12 or whatever.
How much of this do you think is due to the emphasis on fundamentally sound/more complete players in this country? Something similar seems to happen to transcendent prospects in all sports in the US. I was just thinking that some of that truly special ability gets smothered by this style of coaching.