Freddy Adu -CONCAF Gold Cup

[drewski]

Caught the end of the USA vs Panama game and was pleased to see
Freddy make a nice long pass which help set up that clinched the game
vs. Panama. I hope he is able to find a groove. So much has been expected from this young man. I wish him well. He is only 22.

[firerescuefin]

Win this and we're in the Confed Cup....big advantage leading up to the next World Cup. Go Freddy.

[FlashUNC]

I think Freddy's still got a bright future on the team, despite his struggles the last few years.

I mean, he's only 22. Will he be Pele? No, but could definitely see him contributing on a decent U.S World Cup squad for the next couple go-rounds.

[Charles M]

The ufortunate side is that he could have been Pele...

When you let a kid be a kid and be incredibly Dominant, you let their confidence and creativity in the sport grow by leaps and bounds...

When you push em in to international play as a mid-teen ager, they develope and grow, but they do so in a much more limited and conservative fashion as they struggle to do the basics...


He's good....

He could have been a lot more I think (just a guess)... If they would have let him have a youth.

[goonster]

He could have been a lot more I think (just a guess)... If they would have let him have a youth.
I disagree strongly.

From a soccer standpoint, Freddy was handled with kid gloves at every level. If anything, his early development was less structured and rigorous than if he had been in the youth academy of Ajax, Barca, ManU, et al. It did not seem to hurt the development of Lio Messi that he was whisked out of the country at age 14. Top soccer pros live in a pampered bubble of perpetual youth.

What did not help, probably, was the massive, early promotional exposure and unrealistic expectations from a nation hungry for a messiah in a sport they don't understand.

Freddy has played in the top-tier of several European leagues, and he continues his country at full international level. Not a disappointment to me.

[Charles M]

I get that footballers get to be perpetual kids and live a shielded life...

My point wasn't on emotional development but more sporting...


When you keep getting tossed in with older, far higher level players, you're struggling and pressured just to play the game and do the basics well... You develope for sure, but you don't develop the creative knack and the confidence. The pressure holds "expansion" in check...



Messi and Adu had dramatically differen environments growing up (sporting wise). That said, thousands of guys were brought up in Messi's environment that will never play for money, much less be arguably the best player on the planet... Tough trying to draw a line between anyone and Messi...

[drewski]

I get that footballers get to be perpetual kids and live a shielded life...

My point wasn't on emotional development but more sporting...


When you keep getting tossed in with older, far higher level players, you're struggling and pressured just to play the game and do the basics well... You develope for sure, but you don't develop the creative knack and the confidence. The pressure holds "expansion" in check...



Messi and Adu had dramatically differen environments growing up (sporting wise). That said, thousands of guys were brought up in Messi's environment that will never play for money, much less be arguably the best player on the planet... Tough trying to draw a line between anyone and Messi...


Adu had the added pressure of having so experience far more culture shock
than Messi. Going from Argentina to Spain is not as big of a stretch as
Adu going from Ghana to US to Europe etc. Spain and Argentina share
the same language for the most part. Almost everyone in Argentina has
some bloodline that can be traced back to Spain or Italy.

[drewski]

b

[wc1934]

He should have been handled with kid gloves - kid was only 14 when he was proclaimed a superstar and was to change the face of US soccer -was on 60 minutes etc.
He gave a nice interview at the end of last night's game - humble and appreciative of the chance to play on the national team -

[Idris Icabod]

When you keep getting tossed in with older, far higher level players, you're struggling and pressured just to play the game and do the basics well... You develope for sure, but you don't develop the creative knack and the confidence. The pressure holds "expansion" in check..

It didn't do the Man Utd youngsters any harm (Neville bros., Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Lee Sharpe just off the top of my head) to be thrown in to the premier league at a very young age.

I don't follow US soccer as I am a Brit but there are a lot of young kids that make the first team very young, especially in the lower leagues.

[Charles M]

I think the immersion there and in greater Europe allows for that. The depth of knowledge, tallent and development is what it is re football in that part of the world.


And It aint what it aint in the US.




Our Soccer is the NBA. We have private accademies that are darn near Basketball camps and even the lesser programs are extremely polished and well schooled...

Guys like Lebron James are not unheard of...

Yet I dont think we'll see a teenager from wales or Tuscany or the Basque signed to an NBA team... The guys that have come over from Europe and done well were brought along way more slowly simply because they had catching up, and catching on to do...

[JMerring]

freddy's good but aint no way in hell the us of a will be producing the next pele. i have more chance of winning the masters and then following it up with the maillot jaune.

[FlashUNC]

I think the immersion there and in greater Europe allows for that. The depth of knowledge, tallent and development is what it is re football in that part of the world.


And It aint what it aint in the US.




Our Soccer is the NBA. We have private accademies that are darn near Basketball camps and even the lesser programs are extremely polished and well schooled...

Guys like Lebron James are not unheard of...

Yet I dont think we'll see a teenager from wales or Tuscany or the Basque signed to an NBA team... The guys that have come over from Europe and done well were brought along way more slowly simply because they had catching up, and catching on to do...


Disagree on this point. International players have dramatically changed the complexion of the NBA, with a lot of players making an impact from nearly the start of things. If anything, NBA teams are now increasingly drafting foreign players with the intent of keeping them overseas for a year or two to get more seasoning, rather than bringing them stateside to developmental leagues like the NBDL.

Ricky Rubio would have been his 19th and 20th birthdays playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves, if he didn't have such an onerous buyout from his Spanish club team.

[djg]

I disagree strongly.

From a soccer standpoint, Freddy was handled with kid gloves at every level. If anything, his early development was less structured and rigorous than if he had been in the youth academy of Ajax, Barca, ManU, et al. It did not seem to hurt the development of Lio Messi that he was whisked out of the country at age 14. Top soccer pros live in a pampered bubble of perpetual youth.

What did not help, probably, was the massive, early promotional exposure and unrealistic expectations from a nation hungry for a messiah in a sport they don't understand.

Freddy has played in the top-tier of several European leagues, and he continues his country at full international level. Not a disappointment to me.

Agreed. And Messi was tiny when he came to Spain (and provided with a Doc and growth hormones, in addition to coaching, housing for his family, etc.) And maybe we can appreciate Freddy's talent while recognizing that Messi was (and is) better -- quicker, faster, better on the ball . . .

It's a bit hard to know what woulda or coulda been, had things been different, but plainly, some serious talent has developed into seriously abled, developed, world-class talent via the programs you mentioned. And, on the flip side, and with apologies to improvements in the depth or distribution of US coaching expertise, that we really don't have a technology for optimizing the development of the best of our teenage talent. I sorta doubt that anybody does, but I'm pretty sure we don't. Freddy is doing fine.

Plus, nobody need worry about US development. After all, had it not been for the penalty, we likely would have had a draw with Uzbekistan in the U-17 cup. :crap:

[djg]

And I finally watched the semi against Panama -- so a props update for a lovely ball that helped lead to the goal that would lead to the final (the perfect cross from Donovan didn't hurt, and Clint had a well timed run too). Freddy played well in his minutes I thought -- one mistake in the back, but otherwise nice to see.