FreddyADU
02. 06. 89 D.C.United
UnitedStates
BackinAprilwhenMajorLeague
Soccerbegan itsninthseason,thetalk
wasallaboutFreddyAdu.Herewasa
precociouslytalented 14 -year-oldwho
itseemedwasgoingtotaketheleague
bystorm,wasgoingtodazzleeveryone
withPele-like skillsandsoonandsoon.
Doubterswereswampedbya
tidalwaveofpublicityledbyNike,
whobestowed a million-dollarcontract
onthe boybefore he hadevensigned
asa pro.
Thedoubts were notabout
Adu’s talent;theyconcerned
thehigh-pressure,force-feeding
atmospherethatalmost instantly
sprunguparoundhim.Hewas about
tobecometheyoungestAmerican
professionalathlete in over 100 years.
Ofcourse,TVandthe mass-circulation
magazineswereallinterested.
Woulditbepossiblefor himtolive up
toall theglowingpraise?We know a bit
morenow,andthe answerisa dear “no”.
Duringhisfirstthreemonthsin
MLS,Aduplayed in 14 games(ofwhich
hestarted five)scoredtwo goalsand
registered oneassist,bynomeans
stats of asuperstar.But he hasmore
thanheldhisownastheleague’s
glamourboy.
Heisfeaturedweeklyontelephone
conferencecallswiththemedia,he
getshisown mini-conferenceafter
eachgame,andisremarkablyassured.
Everywherehe hasplayed,the crowds
havepouredin:gamesfeaturinghis
team,D.C.United,average over 9,500,
morethanwouldnormallybeexpected.
Onthe field,suddenlyconfronted
withbigger, faster,moreexperienced
andyes,rougheropponents,Adu has
foundthegoingtough.
Butfewdoubthis talentismaturing
allthetime.Hiswonderfulindividual
goalagainstLosAngelesGalaxy- Adu
skippedpastthreedefendersbefore
firingintothetop cornerfrom 18 yards
- wasspectacularproofofhispromise.
Aduadmits:“Ididn’tthink it would
beeasy. I just have to dealwith it.”
Hisclubcoach,Peter Nowak,adds:
“Freddyisstill a youngkid.A special
player,yes,buthehastolearn.”
Adu’s positionhasnotbeenhelped
byD.C.’spoorstartto theseason.The
goodnewsisthepublicitycircushas
cooledoff without,apparently, any
“Freddy-is-a-flop”backlash.Hopefully,
there will followaperiodinwhich
Aducandevelopunderless
freneticpressure.
PaulGardner