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Report: Adu to sign 1.5 year deal with Aris FC

FreddyAduSpain (ISIphotos.com)

Freddy Adu's quest for first-team playing time is taking him to Greece, where reports have linked him to a transfer move to Aris FC.

According to the Greek website Gazzetta, Adu will be signing a 1.5 year contract with Aris that will run through the 2010/2011 season. No word on whether the deal involves an actual transfer fee or if Benfica released him from his contract.

What do you think of this development? Think Greece is a good place for Adu to resurrect his career? Hoping Adu and Eddie Johnson can help each other find the form that so many U.S. fans have been waiting for?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Ives has summed it up in a previous commenting section. Basically the things Freddy tweets and the things we see on the field aren’t matching up. It sounds totally delusional, and there’s a sinking feeling that all the time spent tweeting is isolating him from the reality of his situation. People don’t want to hear tweets about how great he’s doing in practice, they want to see him on the field playing in games. If he was playing better– or at all– people probably wouldn’t mind the tweeting, but since his career is going precisely nowhere, it seems like an unnecessary indulgence.

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  2. Best move all day! EJ & Adu will have their chance to shine before 2010 and if they don’t they will have no one to blame but themselves.

    I am hoping they tear it up…both such great potential.

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  3. I’m not too up on Twitter, but as I understand the gripes, it’s that Freddy’s and Jozy’s use of twitter sometimes reflects immaturity, lack of judgment, etc. Jozy has already gotten in trouble at Hull for “tweeting” internal matters. Similarly, it seems foolish for Freddy to “tweet” regarding his transfer options. He and his agent should negotiate privately, behind closed doors, and speak up when there is something to speak up about. Also, Adu, like Jozy, appears to use Twitter as a means to communicate with his fans. At this point, Freddy should dispel the notion that he has “fans” given how little he has achieved in the last few years and focus on earning fans. Then he can make real news, rather than tweeting the news. All in all, I think the criticims regarding Freddy’s use of Twitter have to an extent taken on a life of their own, but I also think there may be something to the criticim.

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  4. Wow the two biggest US dissapointments on the same team. If these guys link up and start kicking some ass finally, what could be a better story than that before a World Cup?

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  5. does anyone else think that Michael Bradley might move this January to a bigger club he has been doing very well in both club and country so it might be only a matter of time before a bigger team buys him

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  6. Trials are usually granted by teams, not requested by players. So essentially (to me at least) it looks like Stu is not “in demand” as previously reported.

    If he was a hot commodity, he’d be offered an outright contract by somebody. But there just seems to be this stigma with Americans that they need a trial first. Hopefully Deuce, Bradley, Howard, LD, etc. can prove that our guys are not as big of a risk as Europe apparently thinks.

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  7. No kidding:

    Lisbon, Portugal

    Monte Carlo, Monaco

    Thessalonki, Greece

    He’s definitly getting to see some of the more beautiful coastal cities in Europe.

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  8. From what I’ve read, the manager of Aris Salonica, Hector Cuper, likes to play a very Latin style, which suits Adu well.

    Also, the big hole in the midfield there is left mid, which is where I assume he will play. It’s not his ideal position, but he’s not in a ideal situation in general anyway – so he can’t be picky at this point.

    Eddie Johnson is there, so Adu will have a friendly face to assist with the assimilation and because he is there for more than one season, the team will have more of a vested interest in making this situation work.

    I like this move. He needs to play more than anything. Now he will be in a respectable league (hopefully) getting minutes and will be starting fresh in northern Greece.

    For those who don’t know, this club is based in Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece,which is a very beautiful and temperate city on the coast.

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  9. For those saying Adu needs to lay off the twitter… SHUT UP! The kid can do what he wants. I doubt the 10 seconds he takes to update his twitter account twice a day is really detracting from his work load. You guys need to get off your high horses and quit ASSUMING he isn’t training hard. You don’t know what the hell he’s doing so just shut up.

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  10. Do you believe the government faked the moon landing too?

    Even if he is 3 years older than he claims, he’s still only 23. He’s got a few years to get things figured out and have a promising career, maybe not with the Yanks but at least for himself. At this point, he won’t come close to breaking into an increasingly crowded midfield or forward pool with the Nats, but who knows, maybe the Argentine former Inter Coach can work some magic with him. I say give him the benefit of the doubt, but right now he’s no more valuable to American soccer than someone like Mike Grella.

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  11. I should also point out Adu is an egotistical jackass who has to post on Twitter ever 5 minutes to make himself feel better. Can you imagine a player like Brian McBride posting on Twitter everyday? He has too much class to do that.

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  12. For those of you ragging on the Greek Super League, it is only two spots behind the Portuguese Liga in the UEFA league coefficient rankings. In fact, considering Belenenses is last in the league, I’d say he is going to a better team.

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  13. His problem is that he has had the same size and quickness since he was 13. But, that does not mean he is older than listed what happened to Adu is somewhat common in sports. In basketball Demetris Walker at 14 was the highest ranked player in his class. At 6’3 he was a lot bigger and more athletic than all his counterparts Sports Illustrated even did a story on him at 14. But he never got any bigger or more athletic to the point now that he is a 6’3 backup combo guard at USC. Because a player develops physically quicker than everyone else doesn’t mean they will continue too. That is one of the pitfalls of putting so much hype on a player so young.

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  14. Well it’s good news. He won’t be in the limelight of the western soccer world but will have enough competition to keep him on his toes. If he doesn’t succeed here then he’s gotta go to Scandinavia, if he fails there, come home to DC :).

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  15. Speaking of American transfer rumors, let’s talk about a player that’s currently more worthy of our attention: Stuart Holden. Is there any word on what will happen with Stuart Holden’s Burnley trial now that Owen Coyle has (allegedly) agreed to terms with Bolton? If Holden is already there on trial, then this must be quite a conondrum for him, i.e. Dom Kinnear convinces Coyle to bring him in (I’m assuming the trial was mostly a formality to allow Holden to assess whether he likes it/will play, etc.), and then Coyle bails. I wonder if he’s back to square one. One might assume Blackburn is now out of the picture. So is he left with just MLS? I know there are differing opinions, but I think that’s a real shame . . .

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  16. Adu now needs to keep his mouth (Twittering) shut and get to work on earning playing time.A solid three month playing spree can earn him a spot for the friendly. After that, who knows; it’s far too early to write him off.

    Be good for him to get away from the international spotlight and back to basics. Greece – the land of the rebirthed American playing career? Johnson, I’m talking to you too…

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  17. He’s a complete fraud. He looked dominant when he was 14 because he was actually 17 years old when playing against 14 year olds.

    It’s a systemic fraud perpetuated by the US Soccer Federation. Instead of actually getting to the root of problem and finding a solution, which is better player development by importing European coaches and knowledge, they want patch the problem by importing African immigrants who spent their first 10 years playing in the streets of Africa. The next overhyped African kid is Koroma.

    If you’re chronically obese and get sick all the time, you can take a pill to patch up the symptoms temporarily. But if you really want a solution to a systemic problem, you eat health everyday and workout on a regular basis.

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  18. This is his last European stop (for a while). If he succeeds and works hard, he can make himself into a hot commodity in a few years, as he will be around 22 or 23. If he does not, it’s back to the MLS for him. It’s as simple as that.

    I hope he makes the best of the situation he is given as it seems like he can work himself into some playing time here, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

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  19. Aris’ wikipedia page already has him on the roster (he popped up there 2 days ago too and disappeared) wearing #29 and playing forward.

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  20. it would be incredible to have him in ARIS!

    just hope he gets back to his old form and that the WC is a big motivation for him!

    Freddy, come to ARIS!
    Greetings from Salonica!

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  21. Hopefully we can hear of his exploits on the field now as opposed to his Twitter feed, (cool it with the tweets Freddy).

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  22. It’s for sure a great deal for these players. As far as I am concerned F.C. Aris has one of the most qualified teams in Greece and the hottest stadium & fans. It will be for sure a great experience for them.

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  23. This is a good move. Aris looks about right for him. Club with history, not top of division 1 but competative, fair number of international players.

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  24. Hopefully having Eddie Johnson there will help. EJ seemed to have figured out in his time at Cardiff/Fulham that you have to keep your head down and work your tail off. Hopefully that attitude will rub off on Adu.

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  25. This will finally be the stop where Adu will begin to prosper and make good on his talent.How good will he become is the question!Im hoping very good and a great addition to the Stars n Stripes whether it be 2010 or 2014!Forza Adu!!

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  26. Wow, that’s fast – rumor to signing.

    Now will Freddie be humble, play his role on the team,
    and learn from the past few years. Then he will get the PT, and a chance to hone his skills and grow.
    Good Luck Freddie, I hope that you make it.

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  27. I think at this point, a lot of people are saying “Who Cares”. The kid is still young, but he has shown no progress since he was 15. Other than some impressive showings at the under 17 a few years back, it’s been much Adu about nothing.

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  28. it appears that someone has talked some sense into in. Now put your crackberry down and go kick some balls and run some drills.

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  29. I’ll say it again with any potential USA teamer: it’s all about the playing time. He just needs minutes and games at this point.

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