Earlier this week, occasional Sports Illustrated columnist Grant Wahl posted a fascinating article discussing the
life and times of American striker Freddy Adu. If youre a fan of Freddy, then its certainly worth reading. But if youre a Freddy Adu detractor, then youll probably be equally interested. Grant Wahl, aside from being a proper journalist, appears to be a big supporter of the USMNT. As such, it also appears that Mr. Wahl has spent a fair amount of time pondering the fate of Freddy Adu. Why has his young career been so rocky? What does the future hold? Will he ever find success, both on the club level and on the international stage?
Wahls thesis, it seems, is that Freddy has always been something of a cursed figure. Possessed of enough raw ability to make people think he was the genuine product, but only for a brief period until it became evident that he was lacking in a number of ways:
Things really went downhill when Benfica loaned Adu to Monaco of the French league for 200809. Jérôme de Bontin, a French-American member of the U.S. Soccer Federations board of trustees, had taken over as president at Monaco, and he wanted to add Americans to the team. Maybe the highlight of his stay was the first day of practice, says De Bontin. Freddy scored three beautiful goals. Everybody in the academy was excited about him, not to mention the fact that he was a riot in the locker room. But Monacos coach, a Brazilian named Ricardo, started Adu only once that season. Says De Bontin, Everybody had the same analysis. He had incredible talent, yet he was lacking standard tactical knowledge that most players his age had. It was tied to the fact that he became professional at 14 and in some ways stopped learning at 15.
For me, its that last bit of the excerpt that is most striking. People often like to throw out the fact that Adu went pro when he was 14, as if that somehow means hes destined for great things. In reality, Freddy Adu seems to have been the test case for The American Soccer Superstar. Think about it. Prior to Adu signing for DC United, had any American soccer player created such a legitimate amount of media attention? We all heard 14 year old and signs professional contract, and immediately began making analogies to LeBron James and Company. Wahl himself was guilty of such a crime. From his
2003 article discussing the signing:
Freddy Adu, the 14-year-old American soccer prodigy, has signed a four-year contract with MLS (plus two option years), culminating a fevered three-month-long pursuit that involved such global giants as Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona.
The deal is a major coup for MLS. An electrifying goal-scorer with remarkable speed, vision and ball skills, Adu has the potential to be the first American male soccer icon, a crossover star who could significantly raise the profile of the eighth-year league.
Not one person in the world soccer industry, from all the naysayers in this country to every major soccer team in Europe, thought that we would sign Freddy, said MLS commissioner Don Garber. This says strongly that we are serious about the business of growing the sport of soccer in this country.
American sports are only as popular as their marquee names. Its sad, but true. How much more exciting were the Minnesota Vikings when they signed 108 year old Bret Favre? The NHL looked to be going the way of the Dodo before Ovechkin and Crosby made people realize hockey could be fun. Hell, even the build-up and will they, wont they moments of Pacquiao/Mayweather was enough to get people excited about boxing for the first time in a long time. And yet, American soccer has never had a figure like that. So, when 14-year-old Freddy Adu came along, fans of the game put far more emphasis on him than was necessary. So, he did advertisements with Pele and scored a somewhat lucky goal, and then he went on Letterman. And now were all surprised that he stopped developing?
Let me pause for a moment, to reflect on the career of one Sebastian Telfair. Bassy, as some know him, was billed as the Next Michael Jordan. A book was written about his high school career (Ian OConnors The Jump: Sebastian Telfair and the High-Stakes Business of High School Ball) and full-length documentary was made about his decision to go pro over playing college ball for Louisville (Through the Fire). He was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers at the age of 18 and has since played for a total of five franchises in six years. Not exactly the next Basketball Jesus. Why isnt that a bigger deal? Because its a
fairly common story. Ask Jonathan Bender (drafted out of high school by Toronto), Kwame Brown (drafted out of high school by Washington), and Darius Miles (drafted out of high school by
shudder
The LA CLippers).
But Freddy, for soccer, was the first. So when it didnt all go the way we thought it would, many fans were totally flummoxed. This youngster couldnt be a bust, because we couldnt afford to let him be one. Eventually, we saw a failed superstar rather than reality: a young teenager (now 20) who was still trying to develop his game. There will be countless other potential American soccer superstars in the near future, and Adu should serve as the cautionary tale that hype and youth dont always translate into success.