At MLSNet, regular columnist Sigi the Hutt, also our intrepid U20 head coach offered his thoughts on how coaches feel after they lose as well as his personnel decisions for the Quarters loss to Italy. Here is what he had to say about Freddy Adu: "A lot was expected from Freddy Adu. He is still very young and had flashes of brilliance. In our final game we missed him. Good players always find the ball somehow and some way. On this particular day that did not happen for him. He faces pressure every day from the media and the fans and holds up to it much better than most adults would. I wish I could take the expectations away and let him just play. He is still learning the responsibilities that go along with talent and I am talking about helping your team win. He is an offensive player who needs to impact the team at that end of the field." Reactions anyone?
Seems like a pretty dispassionate description of Freddy's performance. Can't really disagree with anything he says.
If I could rep Sigi for that I would. All watching at my house were surprised by his lack of impact and horrified by his second missed penalty, thanks ref for the bail out. I think he is consumed by making SportsCenter and to my untrained eye, not doing enough of the little things well. You see him try to set up folks to burn them and get dispossessed a lot. He's a gifted kid and I'm glad he's on our team, but he still has a lot of maturing to do.
Me, either, especially when Sigi says, "He needs to impact the game on that [the offensive] end of the field" . Which is why I say let Freddy play up front. Not on the wings. Tell him to do one thing, and that is put the ball in the back of the net. The rest of his game will come with time.
I said almost the same thing last week (below) so [John McLaughlin] Sigi is obviously right[/John McLaughlin]... In my opinion (having seen almost EVERY game Freddy's played since the U-17 tourney), Freddy's got great skill on the ball and amazing vision. He's already made passes only a handful of US players could complete and every now and then comes out with some small piece of play that make you sit up and hit rewind on the Tivo (the full-stretch cement-bag trap he made on the dead run a couple weeks ago for example). But he hasn't figured out yet how to impose himself on a game. To be the central figure on a good side. I think it's ludicrous to expect that of a 16-year old or ding him becuase he can't do it. But this is Big Soccer, so what can you do?
Perfect description of sophomore slump. Fred needs to get his head screwed back on straight. I think he recognizes that now. He's a good kid. The problem is, he's not playing a kid's game anymore. It's just growing pains. When he learns how to seize a game by the scruff of its neck whether he's in as a sub or a starter and regardless of score, then he'll be something special.
I think in the Italy match, he would've been better served up top closer to Barrett. However, I don't like the way Sigi has come down on Freddy. Freddy wasn't captain, Freddy isn't the one who could get the ball out of midfield. And Freddy didn't start an unfit Spector, as this article has been dissected several times in other threads. Adu seemed to do better on the Right side than the left. When Adu was wide left, he tried to play like a winger. But from the Right he played through other players. Sigi's tactics only produced 3 goals in 4 matches. That's F'n Anemic.
Columnist Sigi the Hutt is spot on in his analysis of young Freddie; Adu's financial overcompensation should have been brought into the equation however. While other younger players seem to have problems with media glare and adjust, Adu's enormous financial compensation should uniquely help him "make the effort" on the pitch which was noticeably absent in his U20 performance. Indeed, others have made the effort with far less!
well... he is going to have an opportunity to impose himself on the Fire soon since we are shorthanded
I don't think it's a sophomore slump in the sense that I think as far as league play is concerned, he has done well and has improved tremendously from last season, albeit in a limited role. As for the tourney itself, yes, Freddy had a dissapointing run but as I have stated earlier, he didn't get much help if any at all. I agree Daniel, it's simply growing pains. This is the first real on-the-field criticism from a wide range of folks he has received and I'm interested to see how he comes out of this. He could pull a Martino or he could pull a Ryan Nelsen. As for Sigi the Hutt, I think it's flat out wrong to single players out. This is after all a team game. Had Freddy been utilized in his most optimal position (central midfield as opposed to left wing) we might be having a different discussion. This doesn't excuse Freddy in the least but I'm suprised at Sigi a little bit.
I don't think this 'singling out' is initiated by Sigi (or any of Freddy's other coaches.) I think mentioning him is a natural reaction to all the media interest. I guarantee you they are asked in EVERY press conference "So, how did Freddy do?" Anyway, if Freddy wants to be a superstar, he's going to have to learn how to wear that mantle well. Yes, he's only 16. So what? Nobody's forcing him into this. This is one of the responsibilities of stardom.
But Sigi didn't just single only Freddy out. He talked about some of the other players in a way that made me a bit queasy. I just find it odd the lengths Sigi went to talk in public about all these kids. Maybe the U-20 coach shouldn't be a regular columnist during the tournament. That's not to say he was wrong in his assessment. I'm looking at Fred's play lately with the U-20's and with DCU like this: He's quite talented but, somehow, he's not linking up with his teammates too well, or as well as he could. That's the difference when Quaranta started to play well; Tino was totally involved with his teammates whereas Fred was only sporadically so. With the U-20's the situation was even worse as the talent on that team (including how Sigi coached the offense) left Adu with few options too often.
Ursula, please don't tell me you are making the following arguement: The reason that Freddy doesn't play well is that he is more talented than the rest of the team and they cannot keep up with him. Not only is that bogus but it is wrong in so many ways. If the rest of the team cannot keep up with Freddy, than Freddy needs to adjust how he plays to get the most out of the talent his fellow players have. Outside of the US, I've never seen anyone attempt to make this arguement (and here in the US it was really all about Bobby Convey). I sincerely hope that I have misinterpreted your statement. The arguement has so many holes that it isn't even funny - for historic examples see Maradonna and Napoli or Cruyff at Barcelona - for more modern examples see Holland at Ipswitch or Ronaldinho at PSG. One player can make a difference and when he has loads of talent, his duty is to make the players around him better - not falter due to their comparative lack of talent.
Some were a little tired, such as Gaven, who always tries but was a little out of form because he carries such a large burden for the MetroStars at a young age. So Gaven has been playing so much that he's out of form? And if he's out of form, why not sit him down a little and let Freddy play his best position (where he's more likely to find the ball, by the way).
Because then Metros fans would bitch that Sigi intentionally Gaven's confidence to screw over the Metros just like Bruce did to Mathis.
No arguement with Sigi on this topic from me. Several Adu post game quotes spoke of him bringing leadership and making things happen, as when his deflected shot was netted by another teammate he seemed to take credit for the goal. No mention of a leadership role from Sigi. I believe in a wildly teterone laden group of U-20's there may be some resentment of Adu getting all the ink, having the side referred to ADU and the U-20s etc. Actually I'm surprised there wasn't even a hint of major discord in the locker room. Props to Sigi for keeping the wild bunch under control. Will Adu ever live up to his press? Frankly, I doubt it. He reminds me a bit of Gus Kartes, 5 mil as a 14 or 15 yr old to play in Greece, totally off the radar 4 years later. I wonder how many of those Euro clubs want him now? I'm not sure he isn't a liability even at DCU.
What I'm about to write is complete speculation on my part. I make no pretense to knowing what Schmid really meant. But I started this thread b/c I thought his comments so "interesting." 1. I think Schmid is being very diplomatic here. I think he asked himself, "Jabba, how can I write about being pissed about Adu but remembering that he's only 16 and it would look petty if I tore him a new one in a public forum?" So he wrote what he wrote. 2. I think Sigi re-exposed some of his limitations (now that's a scary sight!). He's pretty darn good at defensive organization. He has a good track record at taking American college players and making them into good pros. He runs a solid team. But that said, he's one of the few MLS coaches with more than 2 years experience who really hasn't shown much with P-40/youth players. 3. I've said in a couple of places (and even gotten negative rep for it) that while Adu might be DCU's most instinctive finisher, has good vision and is one of the 3-4 best players at taking people on from the dribble, in many other areas of his game he's not among DCU's 15 best players (such as: tracking back, ball-winning, defending, pressuring the ball, moving off the ball). In short he's a young teenager with tremendous talent but some huge holes in his game. 4. I don't think he's going through a sophomore slump. I think he's a far better player now than last year. His holes aren't as big or there aren't as many of them. But he's still a kid with some amazing individual technical skills who doesn't integrate into a pro team well and is a liability on the field in some areas. I think a lot of people assumed that once he got a year under his belt he'd have filled in all of those holes, he'd fit in, and we'd get a chance to see the marvelous touch and instinctive finishing. He's still a ways away from being a 90 minute player who's earned his 90 minutes. 5. I think Sigi didn't know what to do with him. He didn't fit Schmid's system. So he shunted him off to the side in the hopes that maybe he'd create something but he'd do minimal damage with the other aspects of his game. And I think that Sigi Schmid resents that this 16 year old boy didn't dominate these 19 year olds.
He is an offensive player who needs to learn how to track back and play some defense. He always comes back from his U-20 stints with an over inflated ego. Maybe this time since the results weren't so favorable he will comeback with a level head and do what he needs to do to get better. This isnt the U-20s, he is coming back to play with bigger players that just body him off the ball.
In my opinion, the problem with Freddy is that he is a kid who has to basically almost reinvent his game. He has always been head and shoulders above the other players. He has done what he wants to do, and how and when he wants to do it. He could get fancy and then when he wanted a rest he could just pass to a teammate and watch for a few minutes (and I know - I used to watch Freddy in NCSL). He is only 16 and has to, in some ways, start all over. I'm hoping he's able to.
Trading Freddy sooner rather than later would be best. While everyone is still blinded by all the hype, DC could really get some good players and let someone else deal with Freddy.
But why trade Freddy, I hear he's the best player on the team and the other 10 players around him just bring his game down, because they hate him. Maybe we should trade all of them ...... This thread is getting silly.
Well at this point, its not about whether Freddy is a good player or not, its about the media distration this is creating around DC united.