Outside The Lines -- Convey on Adu

I missed it but apparently someone was talking as if it were a foregone conclusion that Adu would end up with DC United if/when he signs with MLS.

 

I caught it. Convey spoke mostly about how his transition was made easier because of the fact that there were plenty of people looking after him in the absence of his parents. I did notice, though, that Adu seems more at ease in front of the cameras than Convey.

Some good clips of Adu with the U-17s taking apart Jamaica in the WCQ and Newcastle in the Dallas Cup.

 

Bob Ley, the host, did say something to that effect, yes.

 

I just caught the end of it. I only saw Bobby speak once and I unfortunately missed all the clips with Adu. Do the re-air this show. I know its become a daily thing but will it be re-shown, even if its the middle of the night I could set my VCR.

 

I don't think they show it again. OTL airs nightly during the week, but its a different topic each time.

It also looked like Bobby had a fat lip, or was that just me?

 

I mentioned this in the other thread on this topic, but if someone happened to tape this, or has a copy and was willing to send me a copy pm me. thanks.

 

Convey is a BAMF. Hes a great player and is still a prodigy in my eyes. Give him a few more years to fully develop. Either way i need to get my average post per day count up to ten so this is helping i think.

 

Prob. from Tino's g/f.

 

Details?!?!
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You can't post something like that without further explanation - you should know better than that!!!

 

In the article today about Adu's $1 million deal with Nike, it says " . . . Adu might play a season or two in MLS, he is interested in playing only for DC United (to stay close to his familay) and the league is very interested in securing his services when he turns pro, sources said." Hence, the focus on playing only for DC United, before going to Europe, seems to have some truth to it.

 

Don't take everything so literally.

 

Good Piece on Adu- Not 13 years old!!

ESPN did a good job on Adu but I will tell you right now the kid is not 13 years old. Don't get me wrong, HE IS VERY GOOD and probably will be great but no 13 year old has that kind of body development. You should have seen his composure in front of the camera, he did not talk like a 13 year old. The piece even said some people questioned his age. There was a prof. goalkeeper coach that questioned his age because of his physical development and he said the African nations have been known to put a 25 yr old in the Olympics when he claims to be 17 yrs old.

I know we should not get too hung up on his age but he is not 13 years old. My guess is he is 16 years old. He has some of the quickest moves I have ever seen.

 

Yeah, but what difference will Adu make? Ray will undoubtedly do one or more of the following:

1) Not play him in favor of Etcheverry and Stoichkov, both of whom he just re-signed, claiming that their experience is invaluable
2) Play him at defensive midfield
3) Loan him out to Richmond
4) Cut him in mid-season when, say, Steffan Effenberg decides to finish out his career
5) Trade him to the Metros for Richie Williams

 

Thanks for the laugh Lanky.

 

Re: Good Piece on Adu- Not 13 years old!!

Will everybody stop bringing up the age issue. He loses out if he says he is younger than he really is (has to wait to play professionally). Yes he looks very mature for his age, but go by any middle school and there are always a few kids who look to be much, much older.

 

What's up with Adu? I know the kid is supposed to be the real deal and all, but as soon as Eurpoe calls he'll kick us to the curb. I know he's gotta go where the money is at and all, and given the fact that he may help put some W's in our pocket, i'd like to get at least a 3 year commitment out of him.

 

Makes sense, you figure he won't go to Europe until he is 18, he will join the MLS when he is 15. Really we should make him sign a 5 year deal so the MLS can get a huge transfer fee out of this kid from some big European club.

 

Re: Good Piece on Adu- Not 13 years old!!

Sports Illustrated and Grant Wahl did a very good piece on this issue. They broke the story about the little league pitcher who was overage.

They want to Africa, checked documents, birth certificates and came back saying he's the age he says he is.

Also, FWIW, I think it's physically impossible for him to be 16. Can't remember the details about his original birth and dad but what I seem to recall (and my memory may be wrong on this) was that his parents had gotten together at a certain date (no Freddy at that point), he was born, Dad left, Mom won the immigration lottery and came to the USA.

Plus, if he claimed to be older, he could sign sooner. He's got disencentives for lieing about his age in this sport. This isn't little league football or baseball.

From my perspective, the issue isn't his age. he plays on the U-17 side and is the best player on that side. Call him 16 or 14--he's still a phenomenal player.

As for him going to Europe after 1-2 years, we'll see. Nike is investing a lot of money in him. They don't want him (as they didn't want Donovan) to go someplace and then be invisible. If he goes to Europe and starts, that must mean he's an incredible player (in which case we'll have been lucky to see him). And remember, the conventional thinking was that Quaranta and Convey and Olsen would be in Europe by now. Things don't always play out like we expect them to. Maybe a WC success in 2006 elevates MLS visibility and salaries? We can always hope!

 

13 year olds can certainly be as physically developed as this kid and more. I've taught 5th, 6th, and 7th graders for 10 years and I've seen many kids that look ridiculously more mature than you'd think possible. We taught a 6th grader (12 years old) last year who was 6 feet, sculpted and could dunk easily on a regulation basket. I can't wait for him to go pro and pay me back for all the grief he gave me. There's tons of other examples. Not saying I know anything definitive about Freddy, but his being physically developed is emphatically not proof of anything.

 

I was 6' tall, grew a mustache and beard, could dunk a basketball, had size 12 feet, and could buy liquor anywhere...all when I was 13 years old. Everything is exactly the same today...except for the dunking of the basketball. I am now much, much, much older than 13.

Give this kid a f-in break about his age ALREADY!! You look incredibly judgmental and just down right silly focusing on his age. Have you not considered that regardless of his age he is heads and shoulders ahead (figuratively...as he is short) of every kid in this country that is 16 years old or younger. A lot of experienced and more knowledgeable people than us have indicated that he is better than everyone under 20 years of age.

Get over it already!!

Tim

 

You have a mustache and a beard? Where have you been hiding it?

 

I think it's likely that Adu will sign a deal with a major Nike affiliated European club in the next year or two. Part of the deal will be a loan to MLS until he's 17 - 18 years old. It's not at all unusual for this kind of deal to be made. Liverpool signed the two best kids at the last U-17 WC (on the French team) and proceeded to loan them back to the club they started with in France (Le Harve). Now 18, they are to begin training and playing with Liverpool this year. Nike affiliated are ManUre and Barca. Two likely candidates. It's all about the shirts and the shoes.

 

There aren't too many professional athletes that are more at ease than Freddy.

 

Somewhat serious question: Will Nike want Adu to start his professional career in an Addidas uniform?