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Report: Bahia choose not to renew Adu’s contract

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Freddy Adu Bahia (Bahia)

By FRANCO PANIZO

Freddy Adu’s time in Brazil is reportedly set to come to a close, leaving the midfielder to ponder where he will head next.

Adu will not have his contract renewed by Bahia at the end of the season and will become a free agent, according to a report out of Brazil. The 24-year-old’s current deal is set to expire in December, but Bahia have already made the decision to not bring him back, citing Adu’s “technical deficiency.”

Bahia director of football Anderson Barros stated in the report that Adu is dedicated to his craft, got along with his teammates, and had no problems off the field. But Barros added that Adu was not rated as highly as other Bahia players, which is why he struggled to see the field for the Brazilian club.

Adu joined Bahia after leaving the Philadelphia Union in April, but has been used seldomly since. The creative midfielder, with 17 U.S. Men’s National Team caps to his name, played a combined 155 minutes in seven appearances across all competitions for Bahia.

Once his contract expires, Adu will be free to sign with any team interested in acquiring him. His next club will mark his 10th different stop since turning pro at the tender age of 14 back in 2004, when he signed with MLS and D.C. United.

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What do you make of this development? Surprised that Adu could not break into Bahia’s lineup? Where should Adu head to next?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  2. It’s such a shame that someone with the talent level of Adu has virtually run out of all options because of what resides between his ears….Any Pub leagues, aka the way Jay Demerit made his start? Doubtful………..Time for Freddy Adu to find another line of work.

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  5. “Bahia choose not to renew Adu’s contract”
    Wha? *faints

    Wherever he ends up, I’d be shocked if he plays more than 8 games. Action?

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  7. kind of surprising seeing the lack of feedback on the director’s comments that it was simply ‘technical deficiency’–not his lack of work ethic–that got him released, since that’s what people are convinced his ‘issue’ is.

    what’s not surprising is how many birthers are on the internet.

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  8. He tracks back at least as well as Clint Dempsey, who does not at all. Freddy Adu is more talented than Dempsey too. Klinsmann needs to call Adu for the World Cup in place of Dempsey.

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  9. If I were him, I’d consider a return to Turkey. He had his best professional season there and helped get a team promoted to the first division. Folks may have a good/unjaded opinion of him there. After that? MLS I think IS an option…Philly didn’t necessarily want to get rid of him…they wanted to pressure him to take pay cut. Adu should consider signing a one or two year low paying contract for an MLS team that needs midfield help.

    I still remember him showing some real flashes of brilliance in the Gold Cup run under Bradley and hope he can right his ship.

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  10. I feel bummed for him. Last time I watched him play for the senior team it was in the Gold Cup against Mexico and Bob Bradley was the coach. That game gave me hope for him, because I thought he looked like the best player on the field. He also played well for the u23s, it’s disappointing that it has come to this.

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  15. If he’s realistic about his wages, there’s a chance that he might generate some interest. He’s talented enough to at least be a role player in MLS or Liga MX, so if a team is looking for an attacking mid they could probably do worse than Freddy Adu at somewhere around $100K/year. The question then becomes whether Freddy would be willing to take that. Would hope so, because bouncing between 10 teams in 10 years doesn’t exactly give you a whole lot of leverage…

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    • This. Makes so much sense…he can sign with that “massive” club and take them to the Open Cup, baby! And then the CCL Trophy! And then beat down Barca for the Club World Cup!

      sorry, got carried away…but seriously Adu to the Cosmos would make perfect sense. Cosmos pay big bucks because Adu will put fans in the seats…as much as Adu wants, no salary cap there.

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  17. He does himself a disservice by asking for too much money. He’s still only 24. I routinely see players in mls who are that age who are still in the early stages of being developed. If he didn’t want DP money I would take him over numerous players his age who get regular playing time in mls.

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  20. Hope Freddy has enough humility to just accept a decent contract and play for MLS, NASL or even Liga MX just to revive his career!!

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  22. I don’t see a problem here, as I am not sure how many American players could get consistent playing time at the top of level of Brazil – pretty much everyone could be deemed to be “technically deficient” compared to their Brazilian hypothetical teammates (yes, even LD, Clint, and Benny) – it’s just that that an average USMNT player has plenty more going for him in addition to pretty solid if unspectacular technique. Freddy did just fine, in fact very well, at Rizespor (Turkey 2nd level) and ok at Aris (Greece 1st Level) so that’s where he belongs – a weaker European country at the top level (e.g. Sweden or Austria, or a stronger European country (e.g. Netherlands) at the 2nd level. Alternatively, he could try to make it with a smaller Mexican club like Puebla or Atlante. MLS is just not a good fit: there is an expectation on most clubs that attacking midfielders constantly pressure high, and that’s not his strong suit.

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    • There were rumors he was brought in just to boost the team profile abroad. I mean out of anything, wouldn’t you know the technical abilities of a player before you brought them in? I’m not sure Bahia was ever interest in giving him a fair shot.

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      • If that’s true, that was one demonically clever plan: Here I am now trying to desperately sell off on eBay all the Bahia merchandise I purchased when he signed. And what am I going to do with all the Augsburg stuff I bought on account of their signing Parkhurst? Seriously, good point, how do some of these signings happen when the player doesn’t even make the bench, when all these teams are on such tight budgets.

      • Adu and Kleberson both had 2 years left on their contracts before they were swapped. Both were frozen out of their then current clubs when they basicaly were traded for one another. In order to make the deal, both players agreed to sign new, short term contracts. The Adu/Kleberson swap was an NBA style expiring contract situation for both clubs. Now, both clubs are free of the long contracts and the players will both be free agents. Remember, the Union refused to let Adu enter thebuilding until he took a pay cut……

  25. Its so crazy to think back that he was supposed to be the savior of US soccer. You know whose fault this is— Pele. If only he hadn’t made that commercial with him he probably would be starting for the Cosmos by now.

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  26. Besides Europe, I think ligaMX might be the best fit for him. Many Americans like the life down there and even elevate their game for a bigger contract or team, plus they pay good and Mexicans teams love American players now.
    But MLS should be his home and become the next Donovan, or win some MLS cups or supporter shields or conference titles and heap to Europe.
    MLS teams who will be after adu= timbers, Seattle, fc Dallas, galaxy if they don’t make MLS cup, red bull if pretke wants him, San Jose for new stadium, but he really needs a young coach who will motivate him and understand him. What about dc.

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  28. needs to stay away from the MLS. It’s the league that ruined him in the first place by throwing him out there as a 14 year old.

    Head over to the English Championship or even the SPL.

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    • that would be awful for him. he would get eaten alive in his current state in England or Scotland. Holland seems like the next logical place.

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    • Whatever. He had 5 goals in MLS his first 2 seasons with DC (before an Agudelo swoon), then 8 goals for Philly before they jettisoned him. That’s fairly productive for a midfielder. But I think the comparison is relevant, in DC he was a cog in a Gomez team that was a winner, Philly they wanted him to run the show and as productive as he was, he is not a serious #10, and way overpriced for what he adds and subtracts. He needs to be a niche player with accompanying niche salary.

      If he went to a hoofball league like sub-EPL England divisions or most of Scotland, he’d be eaten alive. He’d spend games being shoved around watching the ball fly over and over and over his low elevation head. Pass.

      He needs to go somewhere they play technical, on the ground, give you space, and don’t have a Bundesliga work ethic or penchant for clattering people like Brazil.

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      • *shakes head*

        14 year olds don’t belong playing in leagues alongside 20 and 30 year olds. They belong in a professional training environment. It doesn’t matter how many goals he scored when i was 15 and 16 yrs old.

      • Completely agree! He had bad advice when he was a kid. Maybe..he was also looking to take care of his mom and his brother as well (which would not have happened in an academy). I remember first hearing about him in 2000/2001 when my kid brother’s friends played in the national youth champions. There was talk that he was the best youth player any one had ever seen (and he was playing up a few years — he was the youngest kid at the entire tournament and he was 12)

  31. I would love to see him land in Portland or a mediocre team in the Netherlands. If he can find a place to play an attacking role with little defensive responsibility and no need for freakish athleticism, I still think he can do well. He had some magical Gold Cup games a couple years ago.

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  32. LA Galaxy could use a playmaking midfielder. Despite any perceived “technical deficiencies” on Bahia’s part, I see Adu as a creative, MLS-caliber player, who, with the right teammates, can still do big things.

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  35. i think his lack of willingness to track back and defend so he isn’t a liability on the pitch is part of the problem. He has great attacking instincts and could thrive on a very good team in a smaller division where emphasis on his shortcomings are not as costly due to the quality of players around him. Feel kinda bad for this kid to be honest.

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    • Maybe go play in Vietnam or Holland like Nguyen did. Someplace technical and quick but either indifferent to defense or not so filled with physical players he can just be tossed around, and where maybe his speed isn’t an issue.

      I think he’s serviceable here as a role or bench player but then the salary has to come down to the role. His whole general problem is eyes bigger than his stomach. Until he accepts a salary that lets him be treated like any other player, and a role that doesn’t expect more than he can provide, he’s gonna be a big ol mess moving from city to city every couple years.

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    • RBNY attendance could be better but I wouldn’t call it pitiful. I’d reserve that label for clubs like Chivas and DC “worst team in MLS history” United.

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      • To be fair, DCU and NYRB have approximately the same number of unsold seats in relation to their respective stadiums’ current capacity (keep in mind that RFK is a decaying dump and its seating capacity is currently limited to about 19.5K seats).

      • Biggest problem with Red Bull arena is that there are too many VIP seats. It makes half the stadium look empty when they comp so many seats and no one bothers to show up.

      • Another big problem is the awful parking situation. Either arrive an hour early or forget it, you’re not getting in before kickoff.

      • Thank you. Attendance last night was 22K on a Wednesday evening with little time to sell tickets (or even know the opponent). Big weekend games get 23-25K.

        Attendance at RBNY is not the problem with MLS.

      • …read the article Anthony, he is not having is contract picked up which means he is a free agent. No buying necessary. And to be totally honest, Adu RIGHT now is low risk high reward. We all know he will go to the highest bidder, but how high will that club go? With his track record it can’t be very high, couple that with the fact he is free agent, if there was a time to buy Freddy Adu “stock” you would hope now is it.

      • Being a free agent doesn’t make a difference, Liga MX has a foreign player limit and most teams wouldn’t waste a spot for a guy like Freddy considering that teams in Mexico don’t have a margin of error when it comes to signing non-mexican players.

      • Similar situation to when DeMarcus Beasley left Rangers in Scotland. Had nowhere to go. Puebla took a chance on him and look at him today.

      • 1. Yes it does make a difference, it makes a very big difference.
        2. You stated yourself, “most teams wouldn’t waste a spot…” So even you acknowledge there are teams that may be willing to take a chance on him.

      • only Tijuana and Puebla, and only Tijuana would have a foreign spot avaible IF Arriola gets his mexican citizenship

  42. 0 idea what happens next for him . . . . seems like the outsized ego and illusion of grandeur are what really holds him back at the end of the day, in a ‘he cant get out of his own way’ type of thing.

    There have been flashes, he had a few good spurts with the Union . . . there is a place in MLS for his attributes, but when combined w/ his sense of self it wont work. He doesnt understand he isnt on the level he considers himself on.

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    • based on the comments from the coach, i would say ego is not the problem…not anymore. sounds like the coach just didn’t think he was good enough.

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      • Entirely possible. In Brazil he’s playing against a bunch of guys who pretty much grew up playing street ball and futsal, and super-technical C-mids are a dime a dozen there…do I find it entirely reasonable that a top-flight Brazilian team would have 3-4 C-mids better than Freddy? Sure.

        Adu’s best chance of making it is to swallow his pride and come back to MLS in the $200K range…he’s an American, meaning, he does not need an International slot – and at that price tag he’d have no shortage of suitors…and if he decides to hunker down and work, I think he can still have himself a nice MLS career and start and play regularly – and if he does that, he’s legitimately back in the USMNT picture. He needs to be in the CAM spot, or as the withdrawn striker in a 4-5-1 (where I’d personally prefer him), but put him in the right system with a real strong holding mid who can clean up behind him, and I think he’d be plenty productive.

  43. no surprise..Fredy, swallow your pride….come to Houston, we will revive your career… just don’t be a doosh like EJ after its revived…

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    • Heck no. I may complain about the sheer levels of our system’s conservatism and negative play, but it spoils you for players who do bring their lunchpails. I don’t want him here nor do I think he’d mesh with Kinnear…..loaf around, hit a home run ball, loaf around, repeat. Not good enough of a central player and we’re set for wings. We really don’t need middies….we need strikers. Cummings’ heroics underline what we’ve been missing most of the season, which alters how much teams can sit on top of Bruin.

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  44. There would be teams in MLS willing to try him again if he didnt want DP money, but I am sure he does. He’ll probably end up back up in some lower division of Europe football

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    • His financial demands are what have really limited his opportunities. He needs to find a team that will play him, and not focus in the salary.

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    • why in the world would he demand DP money?!? based on his resume I would say he should demand a $150,000/year at most deal in MLS there are plenty of guys who get paid less and have more quality on the CV.

      PR only goes so far, no one is making Chad 85 a DP deal either! Freddy needs to sign a modest deal that makes him an attractive option to keep on a team.

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  45. I wonder if Caleb Porter would bring him in, he did have a pretty sick free kick w/ the U-23s. I would only look at him for depth, maybe a trial.

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    • Listening to Timbers fans comments whenever a well-known player becomes a free agent (“Wonder what Porter could do with ‘im?” “Merritt will have him in green in no time!” “Perfect fit for the Timbers!” e.g.) usually gets pretty tedious, but…

      …your argument actually makes sense. Having played pretty well with the U23s, he might be motivated to step it up for a coach that he feels has confidence in him.

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    • Total head scratcher? Adu does not and would not fit with the Timbers! Porter demands accountability on and off the field. His pressing, chasing, and possession system requires a better athlete than Adu has developed into. Would he take Valeri spot? Might want to get in line behind Alhassan

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  46. Way to go US Soccer we got that one right for sure!!!!!!!!

    I wish Graber would ban him for life from MLS just to make a point. Hope I never have to hear Freddy speak again.

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    • The real question is whether you’re a 13 year old, as your username suggests, or just an unfunny, immature jerk? As four your opinion, it gets thrown out the window the instant someone see your username. I hope I never have to see it again.

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      • Thank you to the username police! The tastefully named, dignified fischy has spoken. Change your name, Turd, if you would like to have fischy provide an appropriate response to your internet opinion! Did you hear that? Fischy has spoken! Fischy who cannot spell the word “for” would like you to grow up!

      • I think the point is Fischy is just tired of the silly comments that follow any time Freddy Adu’s name is mentioned. Hoping he is banned from MLS to make a point? Really? Even if you dislike a player showing negativity and wishing him more misfortune after he’s cut from a team, while trying to succeed, a player if, with a little bit of luck, had taken/chosen the right path could be providing service to the National Team most of us on here are so passionate about, is immature and heartless.

      • Bizzy and Fischy you have to realize who you are dealing with. These idiots wouldn’t know talent if it Bitch smacked them in the face (which I’d pay to do) You see they believe in Garfan and Marfan, and Jack Mac..they believe they are the future they believe they have technical skills and are actually GOOD. This article is HORRIBLE…. Bahia’s Director had NOTHING negative to say about Adu, that he was a hard worker, that he was professional, that says something…he has grown up.

        http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/11/07/freddy-adu-to-be-released-from-brazilian-club-bahia-due-to-technical-deficiencies/

      • Thanks for translating. His comment looked to be a bunch of whining about his username, and really, still does, but I’ll take your word on his intent.

      • Much respect to Fischy because I know he’s been on this site for a while. He’s right in jumping on you youngsters. Just obnoxious, rude statements I can almost feel your annoying tone shredding through my ear hole. Go die and come back when your mind matures and you have something meaningful to say

      • “…Go die and come back when your mind matures and you have something meaningful to say…”

        yeah..real mature a.s.s.h.o.l.e.

  49. not surprised. but to hear it is a result of “technical deficiency” is pretty damning for Adu. that’s basically the only thing he had going for him. hopefully 8th time’s a charm..

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    • To my eye, Freddy’s game hasn’t changed much or developed at all. I won’t bother being the 1,000,000th dude to rehash all the reasons why/how.

      The truth is… the technical ability that so distinguished him on a U.S. soccer field at 14 look rather pedestrian on a Brazilian field at 24 and the deficits that in the other case were overshadowed, become readily apparent.

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      • I could add that it is not only his game that hasn’t developed much since 14, his body hasn’t either. Harsh… but so goes the cruel competitive game of multi-million dollar sports.

      • That it is. Personally, I think its discrimination. I’ve considered filing a lawsuit myself against MLS for discriminating against me on account of my lacking speed and skills.

        Anyway, hopefully Adu can find a situation that is right for him. He can play, if on a team that doesn’t mind him only playing attack phase. That’s probably not even at MLS level but I think I saw a couple people throw out the Cosmos suggestion. That could be a possibility.

    • Iknow I’m in the minority here, but I find all this very difficult to believe. The guy is technically proficient. We know that. We’ve seen that. We’ve all seen him come into games for the senior U.S. team and dominate with his skill. Ives, i think it was, posted a clip last year of all his passes that should have been assists but Philly players blew the finishes. We know he has an excellent touch, great vision and is good with the ball at his feet. I find it weird that suddenly he’s not technical. Maybe there’s a translation issue or maybe the manager is being disingenuous for some reason. Maybe he is saying that, for a small player who doesn’t play defense and isn’t terribly fast, his technical skill is not impressive enough to make up for his lack of tools or maybe that he’s not technical enough to play a true number ten role at a high level? That may be true. The guy is a good technical player, though.

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      • Most of the complaints about him are more tactical than technical…he simply never learned the basics of how to play on a team. He is useless when it comes to his defensive responsibilities, and simply isn’t fast enough to be an offense-only poacher.

      • I don’t think you can correctly say he dominated for the senior national team. Sure he did have moments of brilliance that were wonderful, but his games were also full of examples of making poor decisions, being unable to compete physically and making his share of misplayed touches.

      • You and I are saying the same thing. I said that I’ve seen him come into games and dominate. That doesn’t mean he dominated consistently, but for stretches he could take over and impose his will on the game with his technical ability.

      • This happens all the time in sports. Think of some NBA game where a bench guy goes off for 30 and hits a billion 3’s in one game. One good performance doesn’t outweigh what happens in training every day or mask the innumerable poor performances in one’s career. He is a poor to mediocre player despite playing a few good games here and there.

      • I’m with you. Just watch Adu with the u-23s during Olympic qualifying – best player on the field. Better than corona, better than diskarud (both of whom I’m a fan of). You’re telling me on a team bereft of attacking playmakers with vision USMNT couldn’t use Freddy Adu (or Benny feilheiber, but that’s a different story)?

      • So you want a guy who can’t even play on a no name Brazilian team to play for the National team? I take some of whatever you were ingesting.

      • what does one necessarily have to do with the other?

        if a player consistently performs well for one team (like the usmnt), why does it matter how he plays for another (like bahia)?

      • I’m actually not saying that he should be on the US squad at all. He hasn’t played in a year, he must be way out of form, and, as others here have said, I don’t know if he has the tactical awareness, size, speed, tackling, and defensive ability to play on this team. I was just saying that, technically he’s a good player, from what I’ve seen and don’t understand how a manager could call him technically deficient.

      • Every team Freddy has played for in the last 10 years has basically said the same thing,…

        “technical deficiency”

        Especially Benfica who commented: These are things he should have mastered when he was U12.

        Let Freddy take one of those $36K MLS positions and succeed for once and then maybe I will change my mind. (Ain’t gonna happen)

    • I think it’s keeping the ball in tight spaces close to him like glue. To play the position he plays you need that at the highest level. But we all know he can he his passes and shots

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    • No doubt he was over-hyped, but I feel for him. It’s not like he was responsible for that at age 14. Who among us wouldn’t have some of that go to our heads? He has skills, but he was never as good as the hype machine said he was.

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      • I think we underrate adult characteristics like height, size, and speed, as well as intangibles like effort level, willingness to defend, aptitude for defense, and soccer IQ. Cam Weaver and Dom Oduro have jobs here and he doesn’t? He ain’t 6’4″ or fast as lightning. He’s somewhat skillful but a surprising amount of senior players share that trait. He no longer stands out, and he doesn’t play hard and get stuck in. Nor is he as productive as Valderrama to permit being a one trick pony with low work rate.

        I don’t think he was overhyped in an absolute sense. He is a pretty good youth level player. It just did not translate to senior greatness. However, I think if his salary ever came down to his actual talent level….$100-200K, he’d be a decent MLS role player on a strong team where he was a cog and not the goals or assists engine. But if he wants several hundred thousand to be a semi productive showpony, he can spend a career bouncing around the world trying to fool the next destination into paying his salary.

      • He’s better then that. He’s a capable ten he just needs someone who doesn’t need him to track back and defend

      • Well, since tracking back and defending are part of the game, he can’t play. The number of players excused from defending are a handful in the world and have names like Messi, Ronaldo, and Zlatan, and Adu is nowhere near that good.

      • Then he’s not capable. In this day of the game forwards have to be able to contribute on defense just as defenders have to be able to contribute on offense.

      • That simply not true. He doesn’t have to contribute just as well on the defensive end as the offensive end to be a successful player

        And let me rephrase my previous comment.
        He just needs to be put into an advanced role where defense isn’t an emphasized aspect of his game.

    • I hope the best for Adu, I’m a fan, and he’s brought a lot of people to the American game. He’ll make a comeback. And, Thatkid, I agree that the NASL might just fit well. Being next to Szetzela and all could be quite interesting for the Cosmos, and New York Footy in general.

      I think that he could fit well with Orlando FC too. Given the fact that are heading back to MLS and all. If nothing else, his Mickey Mouse manager would fit right in…aargh!

      Bring on the publicity!

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      • It’s true, he’s still young enough to master his craft. He’s no prodigy like he was made out to be. But the kid can play. I’am 100% positive a coach like Savarese can bring the outmost talent in him, and given the fact that he’s a free agent in Dec, the Cosmos should grab him in time for the U.S. Open cup! This would give Adu an added incentive to Show MLS what they missed out on!

      • This sort of thinking is borderline delusional. He’s played like two good games for the senior side and hundreds of poor games for everybody else. Yet somehow it’s always the next coach that will get through to him, the next situation he’ll prove everybody else wrong. It’s not happening! He’s got some skill but he doesn’t have it mentally. There are thousands of others just like that. It’s not the coach or the team, it’s Freddy. Think of all the NBA and NFL draft busts. He’s that, plain a simple. Looked good when he was young and got exposed at the professional level. You have to be elite to hack it in the pros anywhere, and he’s not elite.

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