The hoopla that has surrounded Freddy Adu is a joke amongst non-american soccer fans. If Freddy Adu was from any other part of the world he would be an 'exiciting prospect' at best, and i am being generous. Setting him up to be the saviour of American football is ludicrous. Plus, the boy is much older than 14. Believe me i'm African i no what a 14 year old African looks like! Remember Africa - Nigeria and Ghana - in particular have enjoyed tremendous success in youth competitions by sending out men to play against boys. Ghanians in particular are notorious for this Anybody remember Odartey Lamptey? The great Pele predicted he would one day be the best player in the World, little did Pele know that the 14 year old Lamptey was actually several years older when he played for Ghana in the 1987 under 17's. Lamptey peaked a year later and his career was a disaster. Hate to burst your bubble and i truly wish the boy all the luck in the World but i truly doubt if he can live up to the hype.
And such a clever and witty title to the thread. Boy, am I surprised no one else has ever thought of that one!
what a creative subject line!! how on earth does one think of that? someone get this man a job at sports illustrated!
I like Cheese. BTW- what's up with this recent barage of trolling sockpuppetry? Seems to be a new one every day or so. If you want to throw down, just do it on the rivalies forum instead of trolling over here.
Adu I agree But he won the visa lottery didn't he? This is the scenario: a Ghanian woman wins the visa lottery, she tells her family members about her good fortune. They promptly decide that she needs to help a young family member to the states. The family member is in his late teens but they are sure he can pass as her young child. All they need to do is get a Ghanian passport reducing his age and they are good to go. Remember, this is West Africa, getting a fake passport is as easy as catching a cold in siberia. The scam works, the family move to the states to fulfil their American dream. The young man turns out to be a pretty good footballer; in fact, compared to his "peers", he is sensational. The American press get a wind of the phenom and the boy is hyped to unimaginable proportions..... Sounds like a bad movie? believe me this happens all the time in Nigeria, don't see why Ghana shouldn't be different. I don't have proof and i hope i'm wrong, but that boy don't look 14.
Re: Adu And this would be the key element that you are missing in making such accusations. Maybe you aren't fully aware of this, but several people (professional journalists, not bigsoccer sock puppets) have attempted to prove that Freddy has been lying about his age. They have even travelled to Africa in an attempt to find documents to prove such allegations. No one has been able to find the tinniest shred of evidence of any misconduct. But, I'm sure all your anecdotal evidence about Ghana abuses is all that is needed to condemn this young man. Perhaps that is called justice in Africa, but here in the states you are innocent until proven otherwise.
he looked pretty small compared to most of the brazilians / etc. in either of the world youth cups... oh well... we'll know if he never grows another inch that he was in fact a 24 year old during the visa lottery.
Re: Re: Much Adu about nothing!!! Way to stand up for what you believe in. Another victory for US soccer!
Condemn??!! Condemn??!! I applaud the young man! He seized his opportunity and is living the American dream. I would do the same if i had the opportunity. If you wish to continue living in lala land thats cool; all i'm saying is that the situation is quite common in Africa.
Re: Condemn??!! It is quite common for people to cheat on their taxes, but that doesn't mean that every tax return is falsified. Did you not read my post?? Several professional journalists, who would love nothing more then to break a big story about Adu's age, could find NO PROOF of any misconduct, misrepresentation, or lying. How, exactly, is that "living in lala land"??? Perhaps it is you, kind sir, that is living in some alternate universe, where actual fact is trumpeted by anecdotal evidence of past African visa fogeries? If you don't think that throwing out baseless accusations regarding an age coverup is a condemnation then you and I have very different views on character and morality. I believe if an innocent Freddy Adu were to read your post he would feel severly condemned by it.
Re: Condemn??!! So why aren't you posting in the Chelsea forum. Enough about Freddy, let's find out about you. Why is an English soccer fan only wanting to talk about a 14 year old American? What's it to you? What's your analysis of Chelsea's play in the first half of the premiership. Are they toast, or can they catch the leaders?
Adu Chelsea had a dissapointing draw last saturday but i'd like to believe we are building a dynasty. In time we will be the best team in Europe. I am discussing Freddy Adu because i believe it is laughable the amount of hype placed on a kid that has done nothing. Like i said he is a decent enough talent but for me he is definitely not special, especially in the light of all the questions to do with his age.
Re: Re: Re: Adu Read the quote again. He said "here in the states", and the last time I checked Cuba and Iraq were not in the United States. Anyway, who gives a *#*#*#*# if Adu is 14, is a good soccer player and fun to watch.