Soccer phenom Freddy Adu is making a name for himself around the world. And he might even make America notice.
By PETE YOUNG
Published September 21, 2003
The words "American soccer" and "global superstar" never have met.
Freddy Adu has them rocketing on a collision course.
In fact, Adu's legend is tracing a such a steep pitch, he could accomplish something more unlikely: becoming a household name in historically soccer-blase America.
How come? Adu is hailed as the ultimate blend of talent and charisma.
At the Under-17 World Championships last month in Finland, Adu was the most anticipated player. He responded with three goals in the opening game.
Footage of scrimmages between the under-17 national team and top-level American professional squads shows the dashing Adu divvying all-star defenders like a Cuisinart.
Top European clubs are engaged in a bidding war to secure Adu's services. His offensive forays - a breathtaking convergence of speed, skill, creativity and fearlessness - induce old-school soccer folks, some who still stubbornly dismiss American soccer as an oxymoron, to babble like they've just spotted a UFO.
Veteran coach Ray Hudson spouted the Adu sound bite du jour:
"A blind man on a galloping horse can see his talent."
Adu is America's first undisputed soccer prodigy/icon-in-waiting. Or you can just call him Freddy, a la Tiger or Ichiro or LeBron. The surname already has been rendered redundant in soccer circles.
Not bad for a 14-year-old.
* * *
The scene: Summer, at the new $130-million Home Depot Center soccer complex in Carson, Calif.
Major League Soccer's L.A. Galaxy is working out on a field adjacent to Adu's U-17 squad, which is preparing for the world championships (where Adu's derring-do would bump his burgeoning reputation up another notch).
The Galaxy wrapped things up, and word spread like middle school gossip: There's the U-17 team over there, with Freddy Adu, the 5-foot-8, 145-pound wunderkind.
"The players started coming over and they were all asking me, "Which one's Freddy? Which one's Freddy?"' ESPN soccer commentator Rob Stone said. "They just stood there and watched. It was a quiet acceptance: They were watching something special."
First the world, then the Galaxy. Add L.A. to the legions of believers.
"Freddy's without a doubt the most talented kid we've ever seen at that age," U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena said.
Arena's words carry clout. American soccer has gained worldwide respect due in large part to a distinguished crop of young stars coached by Arena. The 2002 World Cup quarterfinal result, the best U.S. showing, was sparked by rising world-class talents such as Landon Donovan, now 21, and DaMarcus Beasley, also 21.
Yet as good as Donovan, Beasley, et al. have become, Adu seems destined for another echelon.
"(Donovan and Beasley) were awfully special (on the U-17 team)," D.C. United assistant coach John Trask said. "But I don't think they had the total package that Freddy has. And Freddy is (two or three years) younger than all of the guys he is playing against."
Adu has trained with D.C., the three-time MLS champion, a few times this year and for one week last year.
"We've brought in several (elite young players) to train. It seems to take them a couple of days to adjust to the speed of play," Trask said. "Freddy adjusted in about four minutes."
Naturally left-footed, Adu is effectively ambidextrous. He has the awareness and tactical comprehension of a quintessential attacking midfielder, making him a dual threat as playmaker and finisher.
Best of all for marketers such as Nike, which signed Adu to a $1-million contract when he was 13, his talent is wrapped in panache.
"Without question, enthusiasm and charisma are the strongest things he has," said Trevor Moawad, associate director of mental conditioning at IMG Academies, where Adu lives year-round. "But obviously a lot of these things are still green and growing."
Moawad is most impressed by Adu's intelligence. He is in an accelerated academic program and expects to graduate from high school next year.
"He's very bright and very articulate," said Moawad, who arranges for stars such as Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson to counsel Adu. "He's someone who, when he takes the SAT, I think he'll get over a 1,200.
"The thing with Freddy is, if you make a point to him one time, that's all you need to do. He gets it the first time, every time."
Adu is popular on the U-17 team, and his presence has inspired seasoned pros, such as those on the D.C. roster.
"He's got a bit of Jordan-esque in him, or whatever you want to call it," Trask said. "He lights up a room, and it's infectious.
"We've got a pretty veteran team, and when he walked in the locker room, the guys starting chanting, "Freddy, Freddy.' He's a guy who plays with a smile on his face, and hopefully he keeps that as he moves on."
The big moments have brought out the best in Adu. He was a marked man in the second game of the U-17 world championships against Sierra Leone - he repeatedly was undercut by defenders - after netting three goals against South Korea in the opener.
Then Adu struck like a mongoose. With the scored tied at 1 in the 89th minute, he cut loose on a freewheeling run, duped the goalkeeper and buried the winner.
"It's more than just his talent level; there's something else about him. That's what they said about Pele," Trask said. "There might have been a few players at (Pele's skill) level, but he had that something else. Freddy has that."
* * *
In 1997, Adu moved to Potomac, Md., from Ghana with his family. Mother Emelia Adu, father Maxwell (who now lives nearby in the Washington area) and sons Freddy and Fro (12 and also a soccer player) won a green-card lottery to come to America.
Freddy's talent was identified quickly by the U.S. Soccer Federation while he played for local teams in Maryland, and he moved to Bradenton to join the U-17 residency program in January of last year. It has kept him away from his family most of the time, but his mother still is a key figure in his life.
During the past couple of years the Adu phenomenon has picked up steam. He wouldn't be the first 14-year-old tagged the next Maradona, however, to instead become the next Joe Club Pro.
"The only concern I have about him is the hype everyone is putting on him," Stone said. "The U.S. soccer community is dying for a savior, and they've pinned their hopes on him."
In two years he has gone from obscurity to scrutiny while going through puberty. Though little can be done about the hype, many are trying to manage it. Adu's representatives and U.S. Soccer have had him in lockdown since his return from the world championships. Repeated attempts to interview Adu in Bradenton were denied.
"He's a little Faberge egg, and everyone's trying to protect him," said Hudson, the coach of D.C. United.
Those who have been around him think he has the emotional stability to cope with the outlandish expectations.
"I give his mom a lot of credit," Trask said of Emelia Adu, who works as a cashier at a Home Depot. "For everything that's being said about him, he's a very grounded young man."
"I think he can handle it," Stone said. "I think he's mature enough and has been through enough socially and emotionally, with coming from another country in the first place. And U.S. Soccer is going out of their way to make sure too much isn't put on him."
From here, it is a matter of Adu's continued commitment, his physical development - another growth spurt would help - and luck, in avoiding injuries, etc., to fulfill his exalted potential.
"He's getting a lot stronger and doing a lot of work on his speed," Moawad said. "He's working on a lot of things. The next time people see Freddy play they're going to be in for even more of a treat."
* * *
When will people see Freddy play? When can the general public witness the wizardry?
He could play for the Olympic team next summer. He also could join an MLS club next season.
Some think he will be on the U.S. World Cup team in 2006, just after he turns 17, though others think that is unrealistic. Players that young in the World Cup are exceedingly rare. The notable exception is Pele, who was 17 when he scored six goals in leading Brazil to the title in 1956.
Most believe Adu will sign with a top European club soon and be loaned to MLS. Last month the Washington Post reported that Adu's agent, Richard Motzkin, expected to reach a deal with a major club in England, Holland, Italy or Spain this fall.
Rumors lastr week had him signing with Chelsea of the English Premier League and being loaned to MLS, where he likely would be allocated to the team closest to his Maryland home, the United.
Whatever happens, the world is watching and the expectations are unprecedented.
"A lot of people have been hyped up to be great but just disappeared," Adu said last spring. "I promised myself I wouldn't be one of them."
- Information from other news organizations was used in the report.
MEET FREDDY ADU
AGE/BIRTHDATE: 14; June 2, 1989.
HEIGHT: 5 feet 8.
WEIGHT: 145 pounds.
POSITION: Midfield/forward.
BIOGRAPHY: Born in Ghana, on the southern coast of West Africa, Adu came to America in 1997 after his family won a green-card lottery. His mother, Emelia, and his younger brother, Fro, live in Potomac, Md., his father, Maxwell, lives in the Washington area. Since early in 2002, Adu has been attending school at IMG Academies in Bradenton, where he trains with the Under-17 national team. He is in an accelerated academic program and is scheduled to graduate from high school in 2004 at about the time of his 15th birthday.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: In 2001, he led his Maryland club team to a national youth championship at age 12; in 2002, he had 22 goals and 11 assists in 35 games for the U-17 team against college, professional and national teams; in February, he scored both goals for the U-17s in a 2-1 scrimmage win over the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer; obtained U.S. citizenship in February; in March, he scored two goals in three qualifying matches in Guatemala to help USA advance to the U-17 World Championships; in August, he scored four goals in a little more than three games to help USA to the quarterfinals of the world championships in Finland; he signed a $1-million, multiyear contract with Nike this year.
FREDDY FAVORITES: (from the Aug. 18 Soccer America)
- Player: French midfielder Zinedine Zidane.
- Musical artist: Eminem, 50 Cent, Nas, Jay-Z.
- Movie: Lord of the Rings.
- TV show: Simpsons.
- Food: Jollof Rice (a West African stew usually with rice, tomatoes, peppers, spices and meat. Adu prefers chicken, lamb or beef).
- Dessert: vanilla ice cream.
- Other sports: golf, basketball, pingpong.
- Hobbies: going to the mall, being around friends and family.
