Much Adu about nothing?

Ollie Irish

31st, July 2007

20 Comments

85141307.jpgRemember Freddy Adu? The US child star who had most of Europe’s top clubs clamouring for his attention when he was just 14. Well, four years on and he’s just signed for Portuguese side Benfica for a reported fee of around £1m.
That’s probably less than his first sponsorship deal and comes after a failed trial at Man United and lack of interest from Celtic. Does this mean that US soccer no longer has a future or will he come good eventually?
And, what does it say about the MLS if its brightest young talent thinks he can improve more in one of Europe’s lower leagues?

Posted in Transfers & Rumours

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20 Comments

  1. Sartre says:

    Benfica is a good club non?

  2. Marco says:

    It’s not like the Portuguese league is one of the lower leagues in Europe. It’s ranked 6th in UEFA, and it has a history of producing very good players. I think it’s the perfect place and Benfica is a good club for Adu to mature.

  3. madizms says:

    FDreddy will thrive exceptionally well at Benfica. He will most likely establish himself as one of their superstars very soon. Watch and see.

  4. CK says:

    a lower league ? Portuguese League is tranked 6th place , they have good teams and a competitive league . I think ur stupid if u say that portuguese league is a lower league , it may notbe the best but its not a “lower”. a “lower” league is the Norwegian , crotian , serbian , etc , the Portuguese is a very good one and many players around the world would dream about going too Benfica.
    P.S : Do u consider the scotish a better league ?? cause if u do , then ur a ignorant . Going 2 Benfica is much better than going 2 Celtic imo

  5. aja says:

    “Does this mean that US soccer no longer has a future or will he come good eventually?
    “And, what does it say about the MLS if its brightest young talent thinks he can improve more in one of Europe’s lower leagues?”
    to the first question: no, of course it doesn’t mean us soccer no longer has a future, and benfica seems to think he will come good.
    to the second question: young players leave their home countries everyday to play in european leagues. for that matter, young players leave big clubs to play for smaller clubs all the time.

  6. J says:

    Wow, what a clever play on words involving “Adu.” I don’t think I’ve ever read that before.

  7. Jay says:

    Is there anything worth commenting on this post?
    A good topic thrown to the waste basket.

  8. Jim Lepp says:

    A very young and physically still maturing adolescent going to play for a famous Euro squad…I wish him the best and look forward to seeing the product of what top European coaching can develop him into!
    The imbedded cheap shot about US football is another example of Euro insecurity. You will rue the day that the US learns the gam.

  9. Olob says:

    Any good writer would have included his work permit status. It’s clear that he could not get a work permit as he did not start 75% of national team games over the last 2 years. His lack of ability to get a work permit made this his brilliant choice. The departure of Simao makes this a great move. Benifica knew they could not win a bidding war but correctly thought they had a chance due to his work permit status. In the future, less hyperbole and more solid writing please.

  10. jeeef says:

    a good launcher league & team no? lots of notable ex-players and coaches, well attended games. The kids still only 18, atleast he may get a game & its a good spot for the kid to improve his technical play. Not saying he’s destined for greatness home or abroad, but smart team for his growth as a player.

  11. GeorgeWashington says:

    Wow, this is one of the most flawed posts I have ever read, ever.
    “And, what does it say about the MLS if its brightest young talent thinks he can improve more in one of Europe’s lower leagues?”
    Adu didn’t even start for his team in MLS and never did, he is nowhere near one of MLS’ brightest talents, not even close.
    “Does this mean that US soccer no longer has a future or will he come good eventually?”
    As for what it says about the future of US Soccer, he is one player out of dozens of promising young professionals that are coming up through MLS and leagues throughout Europe. As far as I’m cocnerned having an 18 year old on a team that features in the champions league every year is pretty good.
    “lack of interest from Celtic”
    Also to act as though Benfica is at a lower level than Celtic is ridiculous. Benfica is consistently in the Champions League and unlike celtic is consistently good in the champions league. Celtic is the best team in an awful league and has had no impact on Europe in 40 years.
    Honestly, do a bit of research before you post.

  12. devil says:

    I agree totally, the story should have read:
    America’s answer to Pele, Freddy Adu, has clinched a dream move for a massive £1m to European giants, Benfica, where he will play in one of the most competitive leagues in the world.
    Adu leaves the now rejuvenated MLS after three glorious seasons of success. He snubbed a move to Manchester United for Benfica to ensure he lives up to his early promise as one of the game’s brightest future stars.

  13. Matt says:

    Adu was always playing out of position in the MLS. He thrived in the U-20 World Cup this year in the attacking mid role, and thus won him out of crap league and onto a team that will help him mature.

  14. Bezzo says:

    Easy now. Here’s an opinion from someone who isn’t Portuguese or American…
    If Benfica are a bigger and better club than Celtic then why didn’t Celtic want him? Surely if Celtic are so poor they would jump at a player of Adu’s quality?
    I will probably be shot for saying this but – maybe he’s not as good as originally thought (don’t believe the hype), the MLS has been compared to the English Championship by many a pundit. Maybe Benfica isn’t about to win the Champions league this coming season? This lad needs to be playing for one of the big teams in Europe to really prove himself and if he was good enough – he would be!

  15. Jay says:

    Bezzo:
    The fact that Celtic did not want him does not mean much. It could be for a question of style/weight mismatch.
    I am not a defender of Adu or Benfica for that matter, but I think that he needs playing time in a good competitive European league to see if he turns out to be a top player or not.
    I actually, think Benfica is not the best team for him, not because of the lack of competitivity of the portuguese league (it is clearly more competititive than the two teams Scottish league, I would rank it below the german but maybe above the french) but because of the competition he will face in the portuguese squad and the quality of the coaching staff.

  16. Albert Hall says:

    Silly commentary. Considering that he registered a point every three games (69 out of 98 games as a starter) as a 14-17 year old in a physical MLS, I’d say he did pretty well. Hopefully, he’ll be given the chance to create and score those pretty goals we’ve seen him get so far.

  17. Sartre says:

    It’s so funny that so many people got upset by this post. I didn’t even know that so many people even watch MLS or know who Adu is until now.. And how about we do a poll on which league is the best? Let’s see where MLS ranks LOL

  18. Bezzo says:

    Jay
    The point I was trying to make is that the author of this article was merely suggesting that Adu hasn’t lived up to all the hype from when he was 14 (not his fault at all – the media are to blame for this). Back then he was deemed to be a superstar in the making and the fact that he is now playing for Benfica does not a superstar make. Everyone has gone crazy saying that this is the worst post ever but they are missing the point. I don’t care if Benfica are playing in the 6th best league – Adu should be playing in the best if he was as good as he was first portrayed as a youngster. As the author suggested – maybe he would have done better for himself if he’d have played in Europe rather than the MLS? Anyway – he’s in Europe now and I wish him the best of luck – cream always rises to the top as they say so I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him soon.

  19. Jason says:

    It’s a good move for Adu. The creativity and buildup present in the Iberian leagues is more suited to Adu’s style of play than the hard-running, direct play present in the English league (which actually is pretty much what you find in the US due to how many British coaches come over here, although that’s starting to change as we get more Latin coaches).
    As to the question “What does this say about the US league?” well I don’t know. What it does say about the Argentine and Brazilian leagues that their best young players go to Europe?

  20. Izms says:

    Freddy will do great at Benfica. Olay, son of Africa, Olay!!!