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Author Topic: Freddy Adu Thread  (Read 119116 times)

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Offline vb

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #540 on: November 10, 2013, 03:40:37 PM »
It really that hard for him to get a good MLS contract?
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Offline Tiresais

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #541 on: November 10, 2013, 03:45:31 PM »
MLS doesn't pay well sadly. Great shame what happened to Adu's career

Offline Toppa

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #542 on: November 10, 2013, 07:54:03 PM »
MLS doesn't pay well sadly. Great shame what happened to Adu's career

Wasn't he all American marketing hype? Did he ever have genuine talent? Just asking...
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Offline Tallman

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #543 on: November 10, 2013, 09:12:21 PM »
MLS doesn't pay well sadly. Great shame what happened to Adu's career

Wasn't he all American marketing hype? Did he ever have genuine talent? Just asking...

Yes he had/has talent. But his advisors and de MLS mess him up. Dat whole marketing ting was also a negative ting for him. Instead of letting de youth develop at one of de academy's/clubs in Europe dat wanted him at de time, dem was studying tuh get some hype by playing ah 14-year old in de MLS.
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Offline Toppa

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #544 on: November 10, 2013, 11:19:22 PM »
MLS doesn't pay well sadly. Great shame what happened to Adu's career

Wasn't he all American marketing hype? Did he ever have genuine talent? Just asking...

Yes he had/has talent. But his advisors and de MLS mess him up. Dat whole marketing ting was also a negative ting for him. Instead of letting de youth develop at one of de academy's/clubs in Europe dat wanted him at de time, dem was studying tuh get some hype by playing ah 14-year old in de MLS.

True, true.
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Offline Coop's

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #545 on: November 11, 2013, 06:41:56 AM »
MLS doesn't pay well sadly. Great shame what happened to Adu's career

Wasn't he all American marketing hype? Did he ever have genuine talent? Just asking...

Yes he had/has talent. But his advisors and de MLS mess him up. Dat whole marketing ting was also a negative ting for him. Instead of letting de youth develop at one of de academy's/clubs in Europe dat wanted him at de time, dem was studying tuh get some hype by playing ah 14-year old in de MLS.
     Tallman is correct,his agent and who ever was advising the family i guess made some money off ah the deals they made with him,the only thing is i hope he benefited form the education part of it so he has something now to fall back on. 

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #546 on: November 11, 2013, 08:06:52 AM »
... His mother was also influential (or influenced) in the decision to stay US-based. I gather there was some measure of gratitude to the US for the opportunities the family had access to, merely by being in the States. However, in a footballing context, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that Adu brought some great moments to the table, and that he enjoyed several highs.

Aside from that, focus is often placed on Freddy not having become a staple at a top tier, world class club, but what mention is there regarding his work ethic?

Offline Fantastic

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #547 on: November 11, 2013, 09:48:00 AM »
Freddy is a very good player technically, but his physical attributes didn't support continued dominance past youth soccer. Very few let's say less than powerful, tiny, not fast players have succeeded in high level pro ball. Suspicion of his true age at younger levels can also be a factor. I think his handlers have done a good job of masking his deficiencies while making as much money as possible.
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Offline Trini _2026

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Freddy Adu still holding out hope that he can make US World Cup camp
« Reply #548 on: February 16, 2014, 06:26:59 AM »
Freddy Adu still holding out hope that he can make US World Cup camp: "You never know"
FEBRUARY 15, 2014
Simon Borg
MLSsoccer.com


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/XXab7AFIS5I" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/XXab7AFIS5I</a>

Freddy Adu hasn't appeared for the US national team since the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, but he's hoping deep down to join a new club that will give him the chance to make one last run at the 2014 World Cup roster.

"You never know," the free agent Adu told the official site of Blackpool FC, the English second-tier side where he is currently training. "You play well for the next couple of months and you're in camp for the World Cup. You just never know.

"You have to make the right decision and you have to do what you have to do to get on the field and play and when you get on the field, you have to make a difference on the field and stay there."

And that's what comes first for Adu, who has been without a club since terminating his contract with Brazilian side Bahia. He landed the Blackpool training opportunity through his agent's personal contact at the club.

"I've loved it," Adu said of his time with Blackpool, currently in 16th place in the 24-team English Championship. "They've all welcomed me. I'm happy here. I'm learning a lot. The training here is very intense. It's different to what I'm used to and I absolutely love it because that's what I need as a player.

"I love football in England," he continued. "It would be a dream come true to play here some day. I don't know when that will be. But it would definitely be a dream come true and I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen."

Will it be at Blackpool?

"Right now, I'm really not in a rush to really get anything done right this second," he said. "I need to make the right decision for my career, as well. I haven't always made the right decisions as far as choices of teams I've gone to in the past. I have to make the right decision this time."

This coming March will mark the 10-year anniversary as a professional player for the 24-year-old Adu, who says he's "still young enough to correct some of the mistakes I've made." Adu turned pro in 2004 at the age of 14 and was picked No. 1 in the SuperDraft by D.C. United. Since then, he's played for nine clubs in six different countries.

"What most people don't know is that I decided to go pro because my family was real poor," Adu said. "At that point my mom was a single mother working 2-3 jobs and what am I going to do? Say 'no' to millions of dollars at that age while my family is struggling? No. ... When Nike gives you a multimillion-dollar contract, what are you going to say? I was like, 'yeah, I'm in.'

"As a 14-, 15-, 16-year-old, you're young, you're immature and you kind of get caught up in that a little bit ... There was a point where honestly I did get caught up in it. And maybe I wasn't training as hard as I should have. And it hurt me. It hurt my development as well. At that point you just have to be real with yourself."

Being real these days for Adu means coming to grips with a new reality compared to those early days. Adu has gone from being the biggest name in American soccer to a journeyman player, hoping to latch onto a new opportunity to prove himself.

"That's all I want to do," Adu says. "Be a professional football player. Not a star off the field."
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Offline elan

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #549 on: February 16, 2014, 09:57:20 PM »
Freddy is a perfect example of how USSoccer for all the strides they have made and ll the success they have had, they still cannot develop a WC player even when that player is filled with Potential.
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Offline Tallman

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What Happened to America's Pele? The Rise and Fall of Freddy Adu
« Reply #550 on: May 23, 2014, 11:37:55 AM »
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Offline maxg

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #551 on: May 23, 2014, 11:51:07 AM »
I saw him play a couple games in a Youth WC in this city. I swear he was the most dangerous & outstanding player on the field for US. I think he had to have been misused, mismanaged or overlooked for some other reason than his ability. He wouldn't be the 1st I know got that.

Offline Sando

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Re: Freddy Adu
« Reply #552 on: May 29, 2014, 04:37:00 PM »
From being called the next Pele to now being clueless and still only 24.

What happened?

Did his real age catch up with him?


Offline elan

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #553 on: May 29, 2014, 09:01:37 PM »
From being called the next Pele to now being clueless and still only 24.

What happened?

Did his real age catch up with him?



US Soccer happened to him. MLS. Have you ever seen DC United develop a world class player?
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Offline Tiresais

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #554 on: May 30, 2014, 09:46:50 AM »
From being called the next Pele to now being clueless and still only 24.

What happened?

Did his real age catch up with him?



US Soccer happened to him. MLS. Have you ever seen DC United develop a world class player?

If anything it all went wrong when he left :p That's teh thing with people in general - talent at a young age doesn't always translate to talent when you get older, the competition change, the conditions change, the motivations change, and of course the body changes

Offline Dinner Mints

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #555 on: May 30, 2014, 03:02:12 PM »
and of course the body changes
The problem might be that his didn't.

Offline frico

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #556 on: May 31, 2014, 10:51:01 AM »
His age may have caught up with him,he so easily could have been 20 when they said 14.It is a fact of life,in Africa,and the sub-continent where,parents give their children's age much younger than they are.
My little brother played football for his Primary school,all 11 year old,there was this Afganistan and South Africa boy...well yuh cudda knock me dong wid a feather when I saw them playing on the team,they looked like 15.If there was any doubt about their age,then seeing them play would leave you in no doubt.

Offline elan

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #557 on: May 31, 2014, 09:07:27 PM »
His age may have caught up with him,he so easily could have been 20 when they said 14.It is a fact of life,in Africa,and the sub-continent where,parents give their children's age much younger than they are.
My little brother played football for his Primary school,all 11 year old,there was this Afganistan and South Africa boy...well yuh cudda knock me dong wid a feather when I saw them playing on the team,they looked like 15.If there was any doubt about their age,then seeing them play would leave you in no doubt.

It's funny how this stereotype is attached to Africans when this is seen in many Spanish speaking countries also.
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Offline frico

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #558 on: June 02, 2014, 10:17:05 AM »
elanI wasn't being stereotypical about Africa,I also pointed out the Sub-Continent,which happens to be India,Pakistan,Bangladesh and the rest.I don't know much about South America,but I sure they are up to the same trick.

Offline Flex

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #559 on: December 22, 2014, 06:35:08 AM »
Paid Their Dues: Freddy Adu cut by FK Jagodina
By RohnJossi


After signing with them in the summer, Freddy Adu has been cut by FK Jagodina, Aca Stojanović reports. Adu failed to make a single appearance for the Serbian SuperLeague side.

If you follow Freddy Adu on Instagram (you should), you know that he has been back in The States for the past few days. Now you know why.

Adu has only played 59 competitive minutes since the end of the 2012 Major League Soccer season, all of those coming with EC Bahia of Brazil. For the second time this year, he will be looking for a new club. How long this search will last, though, is entirely up to him.

Adu, once deemed the future of American soccer, is now a mediocre journeyman in the minds of all but his. In February, the Atlanta Silverbacks publicly courted the former DCU and Union player. He did not reciprocate, opting instead to continue training with Blackpool. Signing with Jagodina was a desperate attempt to prove that he is still a player worthy of the top flight, no matter where that may be.

Adu's ego has always been a problem, but never like this. By moving to Serbia, he seemed to indicate that the NASL is below him. Now, it may be his only chance to show that he can still ball. If Freddy Adu can accept a move to a lower side where he will actually get minutes, he may put himself on the long road back to American soccer relevancy.

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Offline Flex

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #560 on: March 06, 2015, 01:46:47 PM »
Seriously, What the Heck Happened With Freddy Adu?
By NOAH DAVIS


Pretend for a second that by the time you turned 25 years old, you had accomplished the following:

• Played for your country at every youth level and were captain of one of the most successful squads in recent memory.

• Appeared nearly 20 times for your country’s senior national team.

• Made millions of dollars — more money than the vast majority of your countrymen who play your chosen sport.

• Had your relationship with a pop star covered by Ryan Seacrest.

Without a doubt, the general public would consider you, my friend, a success.

Unless, of course, your name happens to be Freddy Adu. Then, you’d be an immense and overwhelming failure, and we’d be debating whether your career had sunk so low that you were moving from the business of footballing to the business of nightclub ownership. Adu is not making any such career pivot, but as the league he famously began his career with as a 14-year-old is set to begin its 20th season tomorrow, he’s currently teamless, adrift in the wide world of international club soccer after an unsuccessful six-month stint with FK Jagodina in the Serbian SuperLiga.

The Turkeys were Adu’s 10th team since being drafted no. 1 by D.C. United in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, and his eighth squad since 2009, a six-year span over which he’s played fewer than 70 games. That’s not good, but it’s hardly the end of the world as some American soccer fans make it out to be. It’s a low point for sure, but there have been some impressive highs and, perhaps, even more to come.

After scoring four goals as a 14-year-old at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, Adu — by then already anointed the “Next Pelé” — tallied 11 goals and 17 assists in MLS between 2004 and 2006. He was 16; that is nuts. Then, at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Adu captained a U.S. group that included Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore. They beat a Brazil team with Marcelo and Willian in the group stage and a Uruguay side led by Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani in the round of 16 before falling to Austria in extra time in the quarterfinals. Adu scored a hat trick against Poland in the group stages and frequently did things like this:

“He was probably better than [Bradley and Altidore],” said then-U-20 coach Thomas Rongen, who also had Adu on earlier U-20 teams along with Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson, and teenage star Bobby Convey. “He was coachable. He was a good kid. He had a great sense of humor. He was driven at that time to succeed in the right ways.”

Following that tournament, Adu, who declined an interview request through his agent, signed with Portugal’s Benfica on a $2 million transfer and began his still-unfinished journey to find a stable home. If you believe the standard Adu narrative, this was the beginning of The Great Unraveling.

“I don’t think he had an understanding to know what it was like in the locker room at the next level with the older guys and to live up to earning that kind of money,” Rongen said. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and players aren’t necessarily very nice when a guy who hasn’t kicked a ball walks in and is earning more than the other guy in the locker room.”

Adu ended up playing just 11 games for the Lisbon power while going on four loan stints between 2008 and 2011. He earned some caps for the U.S. senior team during that period — including nine in 2008 — but struggled for consistent time at any stop.

Each new team followed a predictable pattern: excitement from the American fan base, the slow realization that playing time wasn’t going to magically appear, a handful of articles that he failed again, silence, then the end of the loan and the search for a new club. Adu quickly tumbled down the UEFA league coefficient chart: AS Monaco (France’s Ligue 1), Belenenses (Portugal’s Primeira Liga), Aris (Greece’s second division), then finally Caykur Rizespor (Turkey’s second division).

He wasn’t the same player, either: That trademark (and marketable) megawatt smile was gone. “I think somewhere between [U-17] residency and when he and I parted ways [in Philly], his main priority in life wasn’t solely ‘How can I be the best footballer I can be?’” said John Hackworth, who coached Adu while he was an assistant at the U-17 level, an assistant with the senior team, and again when Adu returned to the Philadelphia Union between 2011 and 2013. Adu visited Hackworth’s house enough during his U-17 years that the coach says his kids fell in love with the budding superstar.

Hackworth remembers a teenager who could dazzle, the creativity and imagination married to his first touch something rare. The coach saw it at the U-17 level, with the Union, and on the senior team, where Adu would turn defenders inside out and then deliver the perfect ball. To me, the sweeping, left-footed pass Adu hit in the 76th minute of a 0-0 tie against Panama in the 2011 Gold Cup semifinals epitomizes what he — and not many others who’ve worn the U.S. shirt — could do:

If the U-20 World Cup in 2007 was the peak of Adu’s career, the 2011 Gold Cup is a close second. He didn’t figure in the first four matches but played an integral role in winning the semifinal, then tore up Mexico in the final — setting up the second goal and nearly scoring on a 25-yard free kick — before the entire U.S. team collapsed under El Tri’s withering pressure. That game marked the end of Bob Bradley’s tenure and also the last time Adu wore the red, white, and blue.

It was clear he still had the physical talent, but, according to Rongen, the mental side didn’t match: “The one area that separates him and a Michael Bradley is that Michael had a mental edge that is still stronger than Freddy’s.”

But he probably never had a chance. As Adu told the BBC a few years ago:

My family was really poor. My mum was working two or three jobs to take care of my brother and me. So if Nike come to you and say they want to give you a million-dollar contract and the MLS wants to make you the highest-paid player at 14, you can’t say no. You just can’t. I said yes to everything that was asked of me and ended up doing a lot of appearances, a lot of promotion, a lot of interviews, and it took away from the football on the field. People saw me more as a marketing tool.

A marketing tool who was also supposed to save soccer in the U.S., who had breathless features written about him at 14, who was “the savior” when he was too young to drive (even though he didn’t want to be), whose two-week training stint at Manchester United was covered even though he had no chance to sign, who was getting kissed by Pelé at every turn. Considering all of that, what did we expect to happen?

Adu played a part in his own downfall, as his hunger for celebrity outweighed his desire on the field, but he was pushed down that path. The American fan base was desperate for a soccer star — causing Adu to be anointed too young — and desperate for someone to blame once things went wrong. He served that dual role perfectly. Google “Freddy Adu lazy” and you’ll find diatribes based, at best, on anecdotal observation and little actual fact. More than a decade later, we’re still ravenous for updates about America’s failed hero, even when there’s nothing to report:

Steven Goff @SoccerInsider - Freddy Adu update: There is none. No one aware of any imminent trial or signing.

Fortunately, if you get started earlier than everyone else, you remain in your potential prime for a long time. At 25, Adu, who is supposedly now in talks with two Swedish teams, has a chance to be an impactful player for someone for a sustained period of time. “He’s still young enough that he could be a good footballer and still have a long and healthy career,” Hackworth said.

Rongen, who burned out on high-level soccer only to refind his love while coaching American Samoa, sees a parallel with where Adu is in his career: “He needs to play, enjoy the game, and smile, which he used to do when he played. I’ll take him tomorrow at the [Tampa Bay] Rowdies [where Rongen is the head coach]. Maybe he’ll look at it like a step down, but if he does well with the right coach, he can flourish and still make a second career on a high level.'”

Adu will always be a strange contradiction, a reservoir of potential only partially tapped, a player who has done more than most but never enough. He might have burned out, but he’s refused to fade away as hard as we’ve refused to let him. Here’s an article about Adu headlined “One Last Chance at Glory?”

It was published on January 4, 2010, six months before he turned 21.


Noah Davis (@noahedavis) is Grantland’s United States men’s national team columnist and deputy editor at American Soccer Now.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #561 on: March 06, 2015, 02:33:08 PM »
Thank you, Noah Davis.

Offline Tallman

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #562 on: March 28, 2015, 02:34:47 PM »
Once dubbed ‘the next Pele,’ Freddy Adu today joined Finnish side Kuopion Palloseura
the42.ie


FREDDY ADU’S NOMADIC career has now taken him to Finland, after the player once dubbed ‘the next Pele’ signed for Veikkausliiga side Kuopion Palloseura.

Adu, 25, was touted as a wonderkid of the world game when he burst onto the scene at 14, becoming the youngest athlete ever to sign a professional contract in the US.

On Saturday, he signed for his 11th club in as many years since turning professional when Finnish top-flight side Kuopion Palloseura announced the American had agreed to join them on a one-year deal.

Since signing professional terms with DC United in 2004, Adu went on to play for Real Salt Lake, Benfica, Monaco, Belenenses, Greek side Aris and Turkish Super Lig club Rizespor.

In 2011, he returned to the US to join Philadelphia Union, before stints at Bahia in Brazil and Serbian side Jagodina, who released him in December.
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Offline asylumseeker

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #563 on: April 22, 2015, 03:29:12 AM »
... at least he's in the Finnish top flight.

Offline Tallman

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Adu set to sign with NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies
« Reply #564 on: July 12, 2015, 12:53:49 PM »
Adu set to sign with NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies
By Ives Galarcep (goal.com)


Sources have confirmed to Goal USA that Freddy Adu is set to sign with NASL side Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Freddy Adu has returned to the United States after another failed stint in Europe, and this time it appears he is ready to stay home for a while as he looks to rebuild his career.

Sources have confirmed to Goal USA that Adu is set to sign with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League after weighing offers from multiple NASL teams. He is expected to complete his signing this weekend.

Adu left Finnish side KuPS after three months and stated on social media that he was pursuing new opportunities. His quest for playing time has brought him back to the U.S., though not MLS, where he has had two previous stints.

Instead, Adu will be moving to the NASL, a growing league that has seen increased investment improve its overall quality, and make it a more attractive option for international players.

Sources close to Adu confirmed he will join the Rowdies and be reunited with coach Thomas Rongen, who coached him with the U.S. Under-20 national team at the 2007 Under-20 World Cup, where Adu starred for the Americans.

Adu returns to the U.S. for the first time since 2012, when he played for the Philadelphia Union. He spent one and a half seasons with the Union, but after a battle with the club over his contract (which the Union wanted him to restructure) the team eventually sold him to Brazilian club Bahia.

After a year with Bahia that saw him receive little playing time amid a series of coaching changes, Adu endured disappointing stints with Serbian side FK Jagodina and KuPS, where he enjoyed a strong four-match start before being sidelined by injuries.

He joins a Rowdies side that has shown considerable improvement under Rongen. The Rowdies finished just one point behind the New York Cosmos in the NASL spring season and are now considered one of the favorites to capture the crown of the fall season, which started last week.

Adu's career has been a roller coaster ride since he first burst onto the scene a decade ago as a child sensation who turned pro at age 14. After starting his career with D.C. United, and Real Salt Lake, Adu eventually made a multimillion-dollar move to Portuguese power Benfica. His initial stint in Europe saw him go on a series of loans that led to time in leagues in France, Portugal, Greece and Turkey before a return to the U.S. national team in 2011 at the CONCACAF Gold Cup helped him land a seven-figure contract with MLS as a signing by the Philadelphia Union.

If Adu finalizes his contract with the Rowdies this weekend, he could make his NASL debut July 18 at home against FC Edmonton.
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Offline asylumseeker

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #565 on: July 12, 2015, 03:21:59 PM »
Rongen and Adu ... if that can't work, not much else will.

Offline grimm01

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #566 on: July 12, 2015, 04:02:48 PM »
Can't believe that Freddy is already 26. Hope this works out for him; he's running out of leagues.

Offline Flex

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #567 on: February 08, 2017, 07:01:07 PM »
Freddy Adu's Portland Timbers trial ends without a contract offer
ESPN


Freddy Adu's trial with the Portland Timbers has ended without an offer of an MLS contract.

Adu, 27, was invited to preseason camp with the Timbers by his former U.S. under-23 coach Caleb Porter, but the former teenage phenom will not be joining the team.

"Freddy is no longer with us," Porter told The Oregonian. "He had two weeks and we were up front and honest with him about where we're at. More than anything, you look at the depth, there's just not going to be a spot."
Adu was the youngest American to sign a professional contract in a major team sport when D.C. United signed him at 14 in 2003, a record he still holds.

He's also still the youngest player to appear for the U.S., having debuted in 2006 at 16 years, 234 days. The last of his 17 U.S. caps came in the 2011 Gold Cup final.

Adu has played for 13 different clubs in less than 14 years as a pro, traveling from world famous clubs like Benfica and Monaco to obscure sides in places like Serbia and Finland.

He hasn't played in MLS since 2013, the last of two and a half seasons with the Philadelphia Union and was most recently a reserve with the second-tier Tampa Bay Rowdies, making just 12 league appearances the past two seasons.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline soccerman

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #568 on: February 08, 2017, 11:00:20 PM »
Sad to see how things turned out for Freddy after so much promise....best he go play with Central, he'll at least get to play in the Champions league.

Offline Dinner Mints

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Re: Freddy Adu Thread
« Reply #569 on: February 09, 2017, 07:50:05 AM »
Sad to see how things turned out for Freddy after so much promise....best he go play with Central, he'll at least get to play in the Champions league.
The way it looking, he eh sure to make Central either.

 

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