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.
For us a party, for player a dream, all for one thing, all to bring back the glory of God of War, All for ARIS!!!
Welcome adu, waiting for u altidore!!! 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbJZ8T0tsrI&feature=video_response
Hey Robert ARIS is the ancient God of War…
not MARS the planet, even if MARS is also called ARIS in Greek!
My friend I am an ARIS FAN!
There are many games of ARIS on rojadirecta.com
Join arisfc.gr to see when are the dates of the games and be tuned!
I hope Freddy has a lot of success with my team cause we really want to win the Greek cup and finish to the 2nd position so we can qualify for Champions League!!!
Ector Raul Cuper gave the team great confidence and before 1 hour we won 0-3 atromitos in athens!!!
Also, Davis and Strawberry were playing in their home town. I’d imagine that there were many distractions related to that that don’t apply to the Adu/Johnson scenario.
Guys Adu has a great opportunity to show what he really deserves. Aris is one of the greatest teams in Greece and the Greek Superleague is quite competitive as most of the teams that participate are good. It can’t be compared to mls (Gr Superleague is much better, trust me). He will like it here as Aris has amazing fans which embrace all the players. Next year Aris will probably play in Eurocup so he will be able to show his talent to European teams. He surely did the best choice.
How much can he really be making over there ? The total population of the country is barely bigger than my state.
I would think MLS should be able to match it relatively (assuming that Adu would rather live here ).
Maybe noone in MLS was interested ?
Okay. Not a one-to-one comparison with Adu and EJ, but I follow you now. Davis and Strawberry did suck in L.A. for those two seasons, but to be fair they were both hurt. That and Darryl had some minor drug, alcohol, tax, domestic and legal troubles during that time. That Simpson’s episode with the softball game and Homer is heckling “Daaaarrryllll” is classic. Anyway, back to soccer. I hope you are wrong on Adu and EJ because we need all the options we can get.
Talk about a miraculous way to get americans to follow the greek league.
Easy there, M. Tweeting often isn’t in itself a sign of low class. I’m 43 and have posted to twitter exactly once. My 20 year old cousin tweets literally every 5 minutes. It’s what you do when you’re that age in 2010. As for content, yeah, Adu’s clumsy. But I shudder to think the kind of stupid things I would have tweeted at age 20 if I’d had the opportunity. Do you really want to be spending what time you have in life getting so outraged about a kid who plays a game, neither of which is remotely within your control?
VAMOS ARIS…….WELCOME IN CITY OF GOD….
Greece is a dope place to party. Here’s to hoping Freddy doesn’t indulge. (clinks glass with SBI Mafia friend.)
Haha on the URL it says adu to sign 15 year deal with aris. Wouldn’t that be crazy?!
Ives do you know how I can check the twitters and stuff? Like when is he going to play next (freddy adu) thx!
You guys…. have you checked out the translated version of Ives’ link to the story? Excerpt:
Fred was consequently will continue his career in Thessaloniki wearing the shirt of Mars.
Freddy was born on third base, but thinks he hit a triple!
That is such a lame comment about his age. Like they are able to scout kids at 10 years old.
I was an early believer in Freddy and my faith remains untainted, notwithstanding the challenges he’s faced.
Freddy would absolutely excel if a team was built around him, but that’s not going to happen in Europe for any 20 year old, let alone a kid from the US.
So, I hope that he can earn time on the pitch for Aris and learn how to be a role player for a few years. Once he masters that, his stock will rise and he eventually will be the player we’ve all hoped he can become (even if you’ve lost faith, you can’t deny retaining hope, as a fan of US soccer, that Freddy will become great).
On the Tweeting, the issues isn’t the volume or the time, its the subject matter. I completely agree that he should not be tweeting about business – that means no talk of transfers, no talk of team matters, no talk of his dicussions with the manager re: playing time, etc. Soccer is a business, and he is an employee. You do not talk about a business unless you are the boss or you are specifically authorized to do so by the boss.
Adu has been working hard, I read it on his twitter.
I just wonder how the Greek league is better than MLS? There is also something very wrong here. All these coaches and teams can’t all be wrong. Either he isn’t that talented, has poor work ethic, is too small, or has an attitude problem? I don’t know but for some reason, it’s been much the same story everywhere he’s been.
As many have said … Sometimes a young player will look like the next Pele but then he stops developing while others catch up and pass him. I’m thinking this may be the case with Freddy. I just hope he isn’t blowing through the money he’s making cause it may have to last a long time. I also don’t understand how he can sign anything unless he’s a free agent. Aren’t his rights owned?
I really dont care where the kid lands as long as he plays. He can always move up once he proves he can actually play.
At least with Rogers most of his info is about his training-and that is always good news.
I’ve always thought that Adu was lonely. It might sound a little funny, but I think that’s why he’s posting on twitter all the time. Imagine being a kid whose never stayed in the same place for any period of time. He’s probably met a lot of people who’ve taken advantage of him and I think he’s a little lost and lonely. He’s a kid.
Great news! I’m loving this move for Adu. EJ on the other hand is just an average futbolero who I think doesn’t have what it takes to play in the best leagues in the world.
Keep the tweets coming Adu, I love the updates. I wish Rodman or Pippen would have had this technology back in the Bulls era, it would have made my day. 🙂
If you can’t even make the bench, much less crack the starting line-up of the last place team in Portugal, even after the new coach came in (meaning, it wasn’t just one coach not liking him), your future is not very promising, I don’t care where you go.
I have to confess it puzzles me. Always thought he’d make it. But I’ve lost faith in him.
hey, so he’s accusing Mrs. Adu of committing serious federal felonies (hello ten years in a Federal Penitentiary and deportation, how you doing?) Mrs. Adu won the green card lottery when Freddy was 8. if USSF was this good, you think we’d have better teams, no?
youth talent doesn’t always grow up into adult ability. there are a thousand and one factors that come into play. take something like Major League Baseball, the most technically scouted sport in the world. in the 44 years of the amateur draft, not one single number one pick has been elected to the Hall of Fame. that’s going to change eventually as some great ones retire, people like Ken Griffey, Jr. have a shot at Cooperstown, for instance, and A-Rod is a lock. but for now, fewer than half the number one picks, the ultimate lock, have been an all-star, and only four have been rookies of the year. it’s a gamble.
as for the tweeting. well guess what, people? a quarter million people follow him and every time he says anything it gets reported on blogs like this. so obviously SOMEONE cares. for the record, yes, I tweet, at least once a day. and no, I don’t follow his page.
not that amazing, that’s the whole point of a wiki, several million people edit wikis every week, surely this person is either a follower of Adu or Aris, and got there first.
Playing the race card??? I was talking about 2 baseball players and two soccer players. The point is, playing together will be much worse for them then seperated. Egos, money and bad attitudes will only help them fail together.
At last.
We’ve been waiting for someone or something to light a fire under Freddy.
And by the looks of this video, Aris has plenty of fire to spare….
So USSF was able to pay off INS and the US Consulate in Ghana to get him to win a visa lottery to allow Adu and his family to immigrate legally to the US? Lying about his age would not help their chances in gaining that visa, what motivation would his mother have had to lie?
Conspiracy theorists are more often than not a bunch of crazies.
Ives,
I have to give you credit. I believe it was you who predicted Adu’s eventual path when he signed with Benfica.
I believe you said he would float around Europe. Seems your prediction has come true.
wiki is always quick to update their pages, its really amazing that they catch something like adu’s transfer or an MLS rookie signing with in a few hours of it happening.
Agreed. Plus, a better option is to hope he plays well in SA and improve his stock even more if he indeed does move.
Much more advantageous to go through a pre-season with a new club as opposed to jumping in mid-season.
If he wants to tweet what he has for breakfast every morning, I couldn’t care less. The problem is, if he continues to tweet about team business, (i.e. potential loan agreements), team management will not be impressed. All I’m saying is, be a professional, keep team business in house. If I was out tweeting about potential decisions on the part of my employer, I would be out of a job pretty quick…
The problem is the disconnect. Freddy, Jozy, Rogers et al see Twitter as entertainment and talking to friends/fans. The problem is everyone over25 considers it news worthy
Good luck in Greece. Adu and EJ shoulda combined for a goal v Spain in 08.. hopefully they’ll find the combination at Aris.
Aris’ star the last two seasons has been Sergio Koke, a spanish striker. While we criticize Freddy for struggling to find time at Benfica, Monaco, and Belenenses, you might want to note that before tearing it up at Aris, Koke struggled to find time at Malaga and Olympique Marseilles. Not saying that Freddy and Eddie are going to do it–but Koke looked no more promising than them before they arrived in Salonika.
This could actually work out, IF Fred and Ed work hard in practice and break into the lineup
What the are you two talking about…
“M”:
He’s older than 14 Really, what proof do you have? As if USSF is actively recruiting young Africans to make up to flaws in our system. Yes, there are tons of African kids being imported to the US, like Adu and Renken, and ummmm, uhhhhh. two kids, your right, what a plan… If you want to make up some African importation conspiracy, maybe you should be on a site that talks about the French National team…
“Illmatic”:
Demetrius Walker??? What are you talking about, Adu was NEVER a prospect b/c he was bigger and faster than anyone, it was always his skills that elevated him in the eyes of scouts.
Everyone needs to calm down. I know we live in the age of instant information and gratification, but sometimes you just need to calm down and wait…
Adu was dominant in the U20 World Cup in 2007, he’s only 20 now. When he’s 23-25 and still hasn’t made significant progression, okay, then call him a bust and rip on his career, but until then, just relax…
The fact that he’s not playing right is ZERO indication of his commitment, work ethic, or maturity. Sometimes players just take a while to grow, especially players who are not physically dominant like Adu… People here need to start dealing w/ facts they know, and not make wild accusations and theories into things they know nothing about
My concern isn’t that his tweeting takes away from his productivity on the field. Rather, his tweets of information that should be prviy to the player and manager, (potential loan arrangements as one example) will not endear him to any team management.
Be a professional Freddy, keep it in house. Having said that, I hope he knocks ’em dead.
” It takes everyone here longer to post a comment on this websit from work than it does to tweet. Im sure posting on this website does not make you less productive. ”
WANNA BET?
This video is from the last game of Aris against the champion Olympiakos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvMFAKCdXbI&feature=related
Yes. You’re overlooking the obvious. They’re black. Why else would they be the comparison?
Nothing — unless it means he’s not being serious. being a professional athlete requires an enormous effort — time spent maintaining fitness, and time spent honing your craft. Actually, my bigger complaint with Adu is that his posts suggest he spends a great deal of time watching TV, movies and video games. If I thought he spend 2x that time in training — which he should — then I wouldn’t be put out when I see him play and he’s neither sharp nor fit.
I should also point out that you are a self-righteous pr*ck who posts every hour on the internet attacking various someones who are far more accomplished and talented than you.
i hope he stays at Borussia for the time being. he’s in the situation that all young americans going abroad need to put themselves in which is a competitive league getting solid minutes and coaching. i’d much rather have him play and develop on a Bundesliga minnow (though they are doing pretty well this year) than sitting or getting limited action on a European big fish
Your last point was a great point.
As a fan of us soccer, i want this kid to succeed. He has some of the best vision and touch in the us pool. I think its time to ditch the 2 holding mid field formation and start developing a true attacking midfield. Im not saying that adu is that player but he, fielhaber and torres are getting close to it.
That said, people who are busting this kids chops for using twitter are just out of control. Unless this cat has his phone on the field and twittering while he is training then lay off. It takes everyone here longer to post a comment on this websit from work than it does to tweet. Im sure posting on this website does not make you less productive.
gotta be honest M but this post along with the Brian McBride follow up has some racial undertones to it. “fixing the problem” according to you relies on bringing in Europeans and “patching the problem,” again according to you, relies on bringing in Africans?? you gotta take it easy dude you’re toeing a very very fine line
this is an amazing video too to see the passion of our team.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebBAQLf8nDU&feature=related
They are coming in a great team.One of the greatest in Greek history.
Holden should stay in MLS….. the dude is so marketable here…. Blond haired all american(even though he is scottish, shush dont tell anyone). He has been on Good Morning America, he alone with donovan would be the face of the league……
Strawberry never lived up to his potential because of drugs for Davis it was injury and illness. The problem with Adu and EJ is that we overrated there actual potential.
Okay, I’ll bite. I’m not following you. It can’t be a career comparison as Davis and Strawberry had far more accomplished careers than these two so far. I know Davis and Straw were childhood friends and both overcame cancer, but I don’t recall Adu and EJ falling into these categories, either. I am missing the connection here.
Greece has done wonders for the development of the USMNT pool – anyone remember the Philipakos hype?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Philipakos