It must have been depressing. Sitting in the corner at his own birthday party, staring into his reflection in a bottle of Budweiser. Slowly picking at the label, trying to peel the condensation soaked paper away from the bottle without tearing it. At least, I have to think that’s what I would’ve been doing. I can’t help but wonder what types of thoughts were circling through Freddy Adu’s brain last Wednesday as he celebrated his 21st birthday. A birthday that he almost certainly had long imagined would be celebrated in South Africa, surrounded by his national squad teammates. ”This was supposed to be my tournament, my chance to show the world what I can do.”
In the fall of 2003, at the age of fourteen, Freddy Adu became the youngest athlete to sign an American professional sports contract in over a century. Along with his MLS contract, a very lucrative deal with Nike had thrust the Ghana-born US citizen into the spotlight. The hype surrounding his signing with Major League Soccer had caused quite a stir. Was it possible that the best young soccer player in the world was actually right here in the shadows of our nation’s capital, and would one day lead the red, white, and blue to international glory on the pitch? Major League Soccer certainly thought so.
Freddy gets a kiss from Pele
Adu was signed to DC United and made his first appearances with them in 2004. The pundits were skeptical. Some feared for the boy’s safety, while others claimed that if he were as good as they claimed that he should be sent to one of the top youth academies overseas. Other players were skeptical as well. Just because a kid is quick and skilled does not mean that he should be competing at the professional level. However the US soccer program had already dubbed him as their white knight, and there would be no turning back.
When I heard about Freddy Adu, and saw the approach that was being taken to groom him for stardom, I laughed. This was going to be a disaster. My logic was simple: If you are grooming somebody to be a dominant athlete, the worst possible thing you can do is make them a role player. Freddy Adu had been taken from playing against high school kids, where he could learn to take over games and dominate competition, to playing against men twice his age, where he would be relegated to coming off the bench and playing on the outside midfield.
Then, a rare thing happened: I turned out to be right. In the seven years since, Adu has had a journeyman career. He has played for six clubs in the last five years, and was not even invited to US National Team camp last month. He is currently plying his trade in Greece, and no more than an afterthought on the American soccer landscape. A disappointing, though not surprising, result of the path that was set for him seven years ago.
All hope is not lost for Freddy. At age 21, he will still have two more chances to perform on the world’s biggest stage. While his current situation can be attributed to decisions that were made for him as a fourteen year old, Freddy still has the opportunity to look inside himself (or, at least into his reflection in a bottle of legally purchased beer) and set his own course for the next decade.
Ben Thompson is a freelance writer based out of Tempe, AZ. He has been known to describe himself as fantastically adequate. You can follow him on Twitter through the World Cup, and beyond.
