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Freddy Adu’s struggle for minutes continues

 Freddy Adu 1 (AFP)

By SULAIMAN FOLARIN

Can anyone explain why American sensation Freddy Adu is not getting more playing time with mid table AS Monaco in the French Ligue 1?

This is one question that bothers and still perplexes this writer. Yes Adu did not dazzle in MLS when he played for DC United or Real Salt Lake, but amongst young talents in Canada at the FIFA U-20, especially against Brazil, he dominated that game which paraded Pato and Jo.

That’s in the past and even after I interviewed the diminutive star after his transfer to Benfica, it looked like some hope was on the horizon with the move to Portugal. But after riding the bench with Benfica, a loan to Monaco looked pleasant for Adu in the form of experience and with fellow Africans in the league, he has to succeed, right?

Wrong.

Last year, when Adu was in Commerce City, CO to represent USA against Guatemala in the 2010 World Cup qualifier, I spoke with him about the Monaco situation and you could tell he did not really know what to say. This was before the game.

After his impressive performance and free kick in the U.S. team's win vs. Guatemala, Adu was more optimistic, pointing out that the Monaco president and coach watched the game and he expects some more playing time when he returns to Europe.

That was in November.

His last game for Monaco was on December 21 against Girondis Bordeaux. Since then, Adu has not been on the bench for Monaco, currently placed 14th on the league table, and has yet to play a league or cup game in 2009.

Though players like Jurgen Klinsmann, Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet along with George Weah have don their colors, Monaco is a shadow of its self, so why can’t Adu crack the team?

Loan deals are done most times for players to get experience and playing time. Manchester United sent Tim Howard to Everton and the Toffees eventually signed the American numero uno. Arsenal sent Mexican international Carlos Vela, then their U-17 purchase, to Spain for some time. Vela is back, but riding the bench due to the experience in front of him. Landon Donovan is getting some time with Bayern Munich, and rightfully so. The same can be said for his LA Galaxy teammate David Beckham.

For Adu, the story is totally different and the lingering question is why? Is it about the teams he plays for, or is it about the player? Adu has been with four clubs in the past three years, a pattern that makes you wonder just what should be the realistic expectations be for him.

Everyone thought Adu's performance a couple of weeks ago against Juventus, which earned praises from Claudio Ranieri would get him back into the team, but that is yet to be seen. The reality is if Adu gets no playing time in Monaco, it will start to affect his game, his confidence and most importantly the opportunity to prove that he is that quality player America needs.

Maybe a transfer to Belgium with Anderlecht or Club Brugge could help his game; get some years under his belt there, but those teams cannot afford his lucrative salary. What about the Dutch league with PSV Eindhoven where DaMarcus Beasley was a success? Maybe even Ajax, a club known in the 90’s to produce quality young talent like Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, and de Boer brothers?

What do you think, share your thoughts on Adu's situation below.

Comments

  1. Freddy is really about 24-26 yo. They lied about his age to give him an advantage. Just look at his stats. He has not grown at all since he was supposedly 14. Just my take.

    Oh, and he isn’t physically strong enough, and too easy to knock off the ball. Therefore, no playing time.

    while he does have skills, he is not a good soccer player.

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  2. Doesn’t Freddy give interviews? The question IS NOT so much why Freddy isn’t playing, but rather WHY DOESN’T ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING?? Our (very good) soccer reporters have really really stunk in this regard.

    Also, I believe that after 4 or 5 coaches who have not played him, it can only be Freddy’s fault. He must be playing around in practice as usual.

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  3. You know where Adu will get an abundance of playing time? MLS. Other than that he will be fighting for time. I think he pushed it and left for Europe too soon. And now he is seeing the effects of it by riding the pine everywhere he goes.

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  4. When does Bradley call in the members for his camp before the Mexico game??? I thought it was today or yesterday… I’m ready for some REAL U.S SOCCER NEWS. Something to get excited about.

    Quick Poll:
    Do you think Adu will get called in for the game vs Mexico, even just to watch from the bench?

    My vote? NO
    He is not on the “A” team IMO right now. Torres deserves the spot.

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  5. I like Freddy. I want Freddy to do well. This is the kind of stuff that happens when you overhype a middle schooler and call them “the next (insert name of famous footballing legend here).” The expectation to reality quotient is just way off.

    The MLS wanted Freddy Adu to become the next best thing to grow the MLS. They didn’t really care about Freddy and what would be best for his development. One could argue Freddy was only thinking $$$, and NOT his development, when the MLS talked to him and his folks.

    If we asked Freddy now whether he would like the $$$ or more development as a young player in a top European youth academy, I wonder what he would say?

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  6. Do we have tapes of Monaco practice like we did of Bayern when Donovan was on “trial”? If we did, we may know the answer. Practice is where coaches decide who to play, and if he isn’t performing on the practice pitch, then he isn’t going to get a single minute.
    His efforts in practice have been an issue for him admittedly, because he said in the last interview I read that he was learning to give 100% every practice to get some playing time.
    Maybe because of lack of PT he has given up in practice and is asking for a transfer…Sounds like a vicious cycle.
    However, he is still young, what is he, 20? Donovan took some time to get where he is now in Europe. Bring Adu back to MLS and let him get some playing time and his feet back underneath him. Then lets talk about going back across the pond when he turns 26 or so.

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  7. It is beyond odd, i have seen some Monaco matches this year and they are awful. Freddy is definatly better than the majority of talent they have on their books. It has to be off the field related IMO. Whether its an issue between the club managment or something else.

    Botom line is He needs to dump his agent and get with someone that will get him into a good situation because he needs matches. At his age he doesnt needc to be a fulltime starter but he should at least be a first squad player and getting minutes on a regular basis.

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  8. MLS needs to be more protective of their players, as to how it pertains to the National team. What I mean is MLS should loan out players instead of transfering them right away. How many of the U.S.A. national team members are going to have to ride the pine before things change.

    PLEASE MLS, do not transfer Sasha to Celtic, loan him out and see if he gets any playing time firt. That way if he does well, the supporters for Celtic will put enough pressure on the manager to keep him in the squad if he is transfered. Loaning benifits the player also, as it allows them to see if it is the right move or fit for them as well…I guess the only big draw back would be player salary considerations.

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  9. Could it be because there are no “age” restrictions in the French League? You said he seems to dominate in the youth competitions, maybe that could be the reason?

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  10. Pato didn’t get much time with Milan in his first year. Jo is sucking it up at Man City.

    Young players struggle, its a fact of life. Jeremy Menez who left Monaco to Roma also isn’t getting lots of playing time.

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  11. well, he is 26 years old now, right? He’s probably not going to get better. It was easy for him to dominate kids when he was posing as a teen 🙂

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  12. Ricardo didn’t want him.(he said this to the Lisbon press) If you’ve seen them play, he doesn’t really fit their style. They play like a mid table Coca Cola Championship team. The American chairman brought him in, obviously without consulting Ricardo, and here we are. Freddy isn’t even getting token end of game minutes any more because he conceded a corner against Bordeaux that led to a goal. They have a lot more problems than him, but Ricardo clearly doesn’t want anything to do with Freddy.

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  13. I also believe Freddie is on loan to Monaco from Benfica. Unless Monaco really believes that Freddie can help them win, they have zero reason to play him. They don’t really care to develop a player who isn’t their own. Personally, I would either like to see Freddie play in Belgium or Denmark where Americans seem to fit in well.

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  14. Monaco’s problem seems to be conceding goals, not scoring them. Only 4 clubs in Ligue 1 have allowed more. It may be that Freddy can’t get a place because they need someone who works harder on the defensive end.

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  15. If what a lot of these commenters say is correct, looks like he either needs a coaching change or a change in clubs. Obviously he needs to play and, at least from what we see in various USA performances, obviously he’s good enough to be a major contributor somewhere.

    And whoever made a comment about Donovan struggling to start in Bayern is crazy……who expects Donovan to start regularly over Toni and Klose (much less after a month with Bayern)?

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  16. He needs to find a team with a manager (who plans to stay for a while) that wants him in a league where defenders won’t just push him off the ball (his lack of size could be an issue for managers). The French ligue seemed to make sense but maybe the Dutch league would be a better place. Beasely and his slight frame did well there. Maybe Earnie Stewart at NAC Breda would take him under his wing though I doubt they could afford Freddy.

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  17. “If you can’t take over games in the MLS, you don’t deserve a starting spot in Europe. Landon Donovan did take over games, and he struggling to crack the starting lineup for Bayern. Adu is overrated and his lack of playing time does not surprise me in the least. Posted by: dolan”

    What a Stupid thing to say, let me think, Toja never took over games, Mcbride never Took over games, BECKHAM never took over games, Jozy never took over games….
    BLanco and GBS have taken over games, but you wont see them in europe any time soon

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  18. I’m through even asking these questions anymore.

    Whether there are all of these broad machinations working against him or not, if he were turning heads SOMEONE would be forcing Ricardo’s hand on the issue.

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  19. i … uh .. . .well. .. he . . . ummmm . . .

    I really don’t know! The kid can play. What the crap is his agent doing in all of this?

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  20. I didn’t like him in Real Salt Lake. Everybody said he was the best thing in US soccer but I just didn’t see it. He wanted out so bad to go foreign and we thankfully let him go. I just haven’t seen any sort of consistent skill. But that is just me, I think he is over rated. If he could get some playing time and develop a little more, I think it would do him good. Just don’t send him back to RSL!

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  21. Isn’t there some rumors that the coach really didn’t want him. I believe I read that the President of the club wanted Adu to make the club more popular with Americans. I think they just launched an english language web-site as part on those plans. Adu may have mistakenly made himself a pawn in a power struggle at the club. Ricardo may be using any excuse he can to keep from using Adu in the team, sort of a you can force the player on me but you can’t make me play him situation. I think players sometimes just get screwed if they were never really a part of the coach’s plans to begin with.

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  22. I think Adu would have been better served joining a slightly smaller program than Benfica or Monaco in the hopes of more playing time. I’m sure at his young age he’s still learning, but there’s no substitute for game time. Even stayin in France at a team where he will get minutes owuld be good, else off to Belgium, Holland or even Spain for some experience. It’s been to be at a smaller club playing that rotting away during these key formative years.

    Still, I don’t think he’ even close to a bust/wash out, WAY to young for that.

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  23. the bottom line about adu and benfica and monaco is that he isnt better than the people in front of him…not saying that hes way worse…or that he cant play…but hes not good enough to be an unquestioned bench choice much less starting 11 for benfica or monaco based on the other players they have in the second striker/winger positions

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  24. Even if Freddy still has an attitude problem, that can’t be the only reason — his lack of minutes is more than that. Monaco is sucking it up, especially the attacking players ahead of Adu. Adu is as good as those players, and most likely, more electrifying and capable of a Wow-factor performance.

    I think it’s obvious Ricardo thinks signing Freddy was forced on him by Jerome de Bontin.

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  25. Lorenzo, perhaps if you paid more attention to the article, and spent less time being smarmy, you’d realize Ives had nothing to do with this. As for the post itself, I’m still not all that worried about Adu. For whatever reasons, American players simply take longer to develop. I never put much stock in Adu being ready for WC2010 anyway. Once the kid gets into his early 20’s and matures a bit more, I think he’ll be fine.

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  26. If you can’t take over games in the MLS, you don’t deserve a starting spot in Europe. Landon Donovan did take over games, and he struggling to crack the starting lineup for Bayern. Adu is overrated and his lack of playing time does not surprise me in the least.

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  27. At this point I would think he would be lacking for PT at Ajax and Eindhoven. He needs to play EVERY minute in a smaller league. Belgium, Austria, or a lower level English/Spanish side. Maybe he needs to move back to the MLS to a side that will actually play him. Just get him on the field.

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  28. I’d be willing to blame Freddy if not for the fact that he’s been given absolutely no shot to play, nada. No league starts.

    At Benfica, he was at least one of the most subbed players until the final coaching change, and he scored goals, he looked promising.

    2 non-league (friendly and cup match) starts, in which he was clearly one of the top players on the field in both.

    Compound that with the fact that Ricardo has been absolutely inept in every regard, has led the team to almost utter failure, and has already been fired from two other Ligue 1 jobs.

    I really think Ricardo resents having Freddy forced onto him,and is holding a grudge. It’s not as if Freddy can’t get into the team because the players “ahead” of him are performing well, and Park came into the team and was handed immediate starts, despite producing next to nothing.

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  29. it’s not his attitude, unless he’s just paying lip service to the media. recall some of his comments in recent interviews “every training session is like the world cup to me”. if he returns to benfica w/o significant playing time during the loan, its no telling what they may do: loan him out again, sell him outright, or give him a chance to fight for a spot. he’s still young, but freddy needs to find some playing time somewhere- even if it means a paycut at this point.

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  30. He needs to go somewhere and fast. He has the skill to put up 20 goals in some mid-level European league. Then the Monaco will realize why they are now just a “shadow of their former selves.”

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  31. Perhaps Adu does not put forth 100% effort in training while the coach feels he should. Many coaches will sit a player until they “shape up” to prove a point, even if the inclusion of the player would improve the teams chances.

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  32. Another article (I forget which) made some comment like “If he is not the worst practice player in the history of the game, then this doesn’t make sense.’

    In the past I was willing to lay the blame on Adu’s attitude. But I’m beginning to wonder what more is going on. Yes, he has some shortcomings, but so do a lot of guys starting on lots of teams. Can he e that much of a tweener that no team anywhere can find a position for him?

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  33. Don’t forget about Wesley Sneijder, Klaas Huntelaar and Ryan Babel at Ajax. They’ve always been one of the best breeders of young talent

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  34. Maybe it has more to do with Adu than the teams? He was notoriously known as a diva when he was at MLS. Could it be that he is still acting up in Europe?

    WHatever the case he needs to move QUICK before his “developmental” years are over ans clubs no longer view him as aplayer for the future.

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