12/22/24
April 17, 2004
Adu does: Coming on early in the second half, Freddy Adu takes advantage of sloppy defending on the part of the MetroStars and gets his left foot onto a cross from fellow rookie/Rutgers grad Joshua Gros to go net. Not a thing of beauty or majesty, and United still lost 3-2, but is this one we'll look back on in 20 yearsand say, "I saw his first?"
posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 05:18 PM - 15 comments
Amazing. I mean he hasn't looked great yet, but still, he's 14! Could you imagine a 14 year old in the NFL? or the NBA?
posted by corpse at 06:08 PM on April 17, 2004
he looked even younger when Pope was on him. looked like he had a good 4-5 inches on him.
posted by goddam at 06:11 PM on April 17, 2004
He's only 5'7", meaning i can look him in the eye. until next year when he sprouts up 3-4 inches. Goddam, I am a bit jealous but glad you enjoyed the afternoon.
posted by billsaysthis at 07:14 PM on April 17, 2004
He's on my Fantasy Team! Good boy, Adu!
posted by StarFucker at 03:03 AM on April 18, 2004
"to go net"...you mean he went fishing?
posted by Fat Buddha at 04:06 AM on April 18, 2004
FB, are you attempting to poke fun at my sad American attempt to use British sports slang? Bad on you!
posted by billsaysthis at 01:20 PM on April 18, 2004
Sorry old chap, it was early and I was hungover.
posted by Fat Buddha at 04:47 PM on April 18, 2004
Allow me to be the last to say it's "Much Adu about nothing."
posted by mr_crash_davis at 07:22 PM on April 18, 2004
Could you imagine a 14 year old in the NFL? or the NBA? The answer's probably no, in the same way "Could you see a 14 year old in the English Premiership? is no. However you could imagine seeing a 14 year old in the english basketball league, for instance. MLS is not the football equivilent of the NFL, NBA or MLB, and the football world is littered with "new peles" who failed to match up to their early potential.... Hope this one's different, but they very rarely are....
posted by Brettski at 03:37 AM on April 19, 2004
I worry that too much hype and expectation is going to suffocate his career before it even starts. Remember how immature you were (I certainly was) at 14, still interested in playing around, just finding out about girls, going through major changes. This kid is going to do it in the glare of the world’s media and with football fans singing his name when he scores and cursing him when he screws up (both of which he will do). The world of football, and sport in general, is littered with people who never reached their potential or who couldn’t handle too much too soon (Diego Maradona is a prime example ). Freddie is going to need strong people round him, to keep his feet on the ground, to keep him focussed and to show him at the age of 14 that there is more to life than football. The nearest comparison we have at the moment in England is Wayne Rooney. He’s 18 at the moment but was playing in the first team at 16 and made his debut for England at the same age. He’s been very much protected by his team manager who is pretty down to earth and has tried to stop the success going to his head (stories in the press imply that this might not have been totally successful unfortunately). However, there is a huge difference between a 14 year old and a 16 year old and it certainly helped that even at 16 Rooney was built like the proverbial brick outhouse even on his debut.
posted by Pete at 05:30 AM on April 19, 2004
Call me an old cynic, but I still don't believe he's 14.
posted by squealy at 07:31 AM on April 19, 2004
agreed, squealy.
posted by garfield at 09:49 AM on April 19, 2004
Call me an old cynic, but I still don't believe he's 14. Cynic! Seriously, I agree this could be too much too soon (American baseball fans will surely remember the Rangers' David Clyde) but from the interviews and play I've seen--I actually think I've seen every minute he's been on the field the first three games--he comes across as well able to handle this. Alternatively, I can't rule out his parents having subtracted a year or two when filling out their immigration forms. Beckham and Owen made their EPL debuts as 16 year olds, right Brettski?
posted by billsaysthis at 05:21 PM on April 19, 2004
I think Giggs and Owen were 17 when they made their debuts, though of course I could be wrong. Beckham was quite a bit older I think - 22 or 23 even. Even so, breaking into the Man Utd midfield at that age was quite an achievement.
posted by salmacis at 05:23 AM on April 20, 2004
just got back from the game (my first one since the inaugural season). pretty decent crowd of 31,400. got a decent seat for buying my ticket at the gate. (first row of the mezzanine, right at midfield) so yeah, i'll be saying "i saw his first". although it kind of sucks that it was against my fantasy league keeper and they keep putting him in for alecko. but it was good game nonetheless. if the nets hang on today will be a wash for me, what with the yanks and devils losing and the metros and (hopefully) nets winning.