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My Freddy Adu story

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  1. All i can say is finally, if bb does not keep adu in the lineup he should be fired. Freddy has the ability in my mind to be one of the top five players in the world, his technical ability is second to none, and he can pass with the best of them. Im sure he will either play at benefica next year or he will be sold to a top team this summer, just hopefully not to a premier team, because he is not a premiership type player, atleast not yet.

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  2. Good article, and what ever happened to John O’Brian anyways, I know he was hurt in the last world cup, but he just disappeared…?

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  3. Danny- wouldnt surprise me if it happened….

    benfica went through 3 coaches last season?? the current coach probably doesnt want some teen prospect to be a huge factor until proven… they’ll go out and pick up a decent sized name or even a portugese league name to fill in…. loan adu out and let him get 1st team experience… then bring him back up…

    i think 1st team exp. with a lesser side may highlight his attributes… similar to Adu playing the midfield for the US against Spain….

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  4. Hey Ives…Any truth to the rumor that Benfica are going to loan out Freddy Adu?

    I’m a big time Benfica fan and I know lots of other Benfica fans really want to see this kid in the starting line-up…And he will be a perfect replacement for the retired Rui Costa as well…

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  5. Hey Ives,

    Great piece, couldn’t agree more about how Adu has looked lately. What I do worry about is the general impatience we all tend to get around these guys who show they could be the first “big thing” in US Soccer. I think Adu is a great player with a great future, but if 6 months from now he goes through a 3-4 month slump, we can’t start writing him off. Remember how Beasley was a big thing, then he was a has-been, and now he’s back? These guys are too young to get impatient with, and I hope there isn’t any blowback against Adu if he goes through a less-than steller phase in the future.

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  6. Ives, nice line: “the job of piano carrier to Adu’s piano player …”! Is that original?

    Adu looked very good, the key was that he was able to handle the ball in tight spaces under pressure and break out of it and play the ball forward.

    Until the US has players that can do that, they are going to continue to be pressured throughout the midfield and defense. In that sense, Adu is a very bright light for us.

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  7. I think Jake is right and that Adu’s biggest hurdle is actually Dempsey. BB has been trying to push Landon to the right flank for awhile now and seems to be committed to playing two defensively minded mids behind a withdrawn forward/AM. If Beaz is back, I have a hard time thinking he will not be penciled in on the left wing. So, the question is whether a) Adu can claim that spot and force himself into the line-up and b) Jozy can do the same–forcing Clint to sit.

    I think that could happen–but not during the early stages of qualifying. BB is going for results early on and I think we will see a good bit of a traditional 4/4/2 for awhile.

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  8. Ives,

    Is this intended to be a comedy piece?

    Because it reads like Big Bob may have to pull Lil’ Bob off the field to play Freddy.

    That’s funny.

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  9. Great piece Ives!

    In addition to agreeing that Adu shown, I think Bradley may have found the right formation to take on teams of the highest calibre. As another poster mentioned, Adu’s position on the field made him able to relieve pressure on the def. mids, and his talent and vision allowed him to take opportunities to open the defense.

    Can you imagine Beasley and Donovan as the supporting wingers? Once we get a goalscorer, the formation will be complete. We’re not going to out-play our opponents anytime soon, but the high pressure we applied to Spain and the speed of our attacking players means we may be able to pull out rather unexpected victories.

    Even though we lost, I think we saw the future of US soccer, and it was pretty damn bright!

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  10. I liked the article and liked Adu’s performance…a lot. Has anybody thought about the fact the US now has a midfield to be reckoned with? Dempsey and Beasley are fixtures in Euro leagues, Adu is 19 and will have an increasing role in Portugal or elsewhere. Bradley is 20 and is improving all the time and should be playing top league ball this year or next. Donovan seems to be getting better, tougher, and hungrier. That’s five. If Bradley can evolve into that ball winner…we have to play a 4-5-1. Can Jozy carry the water alone up front?

    I think I may just love this team.

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  11. Ives,

    Any sense of the reaction from the spanish press? Like CD posted above the crowd seemed pleased. I was wondering if the Spanish media noticed the same thing we noticed.

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  12. Adu makes the US team look like a team that is danagerous rather than one that sometimes threatens to be dangerous. He is the player we’ve waited for for a generation. Once we have some steady strikers look out!

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  13. Good job Ives. That’s what I was saying even after he got subbed out because of injury during halftime.

    Nail meet Hammer! Boom!

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  14. I really hope Freddy gets some more playing time, both for club and country. I think Benfica has really helped his development. Say what you want about the Portuguese league, but there aren’t many better players to learn that role from than Rui Costa.

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  15. Keep in mind when watching Mr Adu play he celebrated his 19th birthday less than a week ago. Of course he has some weaknesses in his game.

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  16. Against Spain Freddy was the best player on the pitch for the US without question. In the first half as a US fan he made the game watchable. I have no doubts by SA 10′ (or wherever the WC will be held) he will be a key component if given the opportunity.

    Ives did you notice the reaction of the Spanish crowd after some of the skills that Freddy Adu exhibited?

    I also felt that Bradley should have been pulled from the game vs Spain until I got a look at the roster that the US had. There really weren’t any options available.

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  17. Freddy should be playing on the national team regardless of his perceived weaknesses. His skills are unique to a US team and system that draws far too much from the English way. Playing him all the time at this level, even if he plays lousy for a year straight, will enable him to develop into they type of player that the US needs.

    This is a no-brainer. For Bradley or anyone else to worry about his defensive capabilities is narrow minded, with an eye towards the short-term only.

    Sure, he should be forced to compete for his spot. But the offense should be built around him due to his unique skills.

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  18. Well said Ives, I agree with everything you have said in that article. Hopefully Freddy can play on Sunday, but maybe they’ll want to give him a break after Wednesday and before the qualifiers the next weekend, especially if was a little hurt.

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  19. Ives, great article. I have a question: do you think Bradley’s hesitancy in playing Adu has anything to do with Donovan? I have seen some interviews with Donovan in which he sounded pretty snarky when talking about Freddy. Are you aware of any bad blood? Perhaps some resentment? I know Freddy hasn’t always been a good professional, but given his play over the past year I think he deserves to be on the field with the USMNT.

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  20. I’m an idiot…I forgot to put the d-mid line in…it should be:

    Timmy

    Dolo/Frankie – 2x Gooch/Boca/DeMerit – Pearce/Spector

    2x MB/Pablo/Edu/Benny/Clark

    Deuce/LD – Freddy – Beaz/Lewis

    Jozy/EJ/Cooper/Deuce

    I realize I’m basically relegating either Donovan or Dempsey to the bench, but given our needs, that might be a bullet we have to bite.

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  21. Finally, the time has come. Adu has matured and shown he can contribute from the get-go. Thankfully, now many media members are writing about it. Everyone wanted to see first-hand proof. And now they got it.

    Now Adu can show that he can be more effective for the team when the clock hits 0:01 than 65:00.

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  22. Great piece Ives. I usually find some kind of beef to disagree with, but not on this one.

    Freddy needs to be in the center of the park, especially with the 2 d-mids BB likes to play (and with good reason – our back four isn’t steady enough when we’re not holding possession against minnows to go any other route, especially when we have the pace with Landycakes and Run-DMB to counter like mofo’s).

    Right now, I think the best lineup we put on the field is that 4-2-3-1, with competition fueling development on all four levels. Adu is the only field player I see (maybe Boca, too) who should have a deathgrip on the top XI.

    Timmy

    Dolo/Frankie – 2x Gooch/Boca/DeMerit – Pearce/Spector

    Deuce/LD – Freddy – Beaz/Lewis

    Jozy/EJ/Cooper/Wolff/Ching/my little sister (couldn’t be much worse, right?)

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  23. Adu makes everyone else around him better. I don’t understand this idea of defensive prowess, Adu’s ability to take pressure off the defense is more important than his actual defense, did you see how much more dangerous Spain looked in the second half

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  24. adu is one of the few american players who actually “post up” with their backs to goal. Messi is a master at doing this and i believe its a major weapon in the box.

    for the time being Bradley must play Mastroeni behind Adu. He’s purest D-mid we have right now.

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  25. That was a well written story ives even as a player for DC united i realised Adu was not a striker but a forward/midfield maestro , the kid has the best vision of any national team player and his ability to hold the ball and create chances is wat will give us the edge over the likes of mexico honduras and canada.

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