Most people today have never heard of Freddy Adu. However, in the early 2000s, he was one of the most talked about names in the world of soccer. He was a child prodigy and many thought him the future of American soccer for years to come. People talked about him in such high regard that he was even compared to legends of the game such as Pele. Adu was born and raised in Ghana. In 1997, at the age of eight, his family moved to Rockville, Maryland after his family won the Green Card Lottery. In the coming years, Adu was scouted by professional teams and brought into the US Olympic Development program. He was in the United States youth set up, which brings together the best players from around the country. By being part of the youth set up, he was able to play against other youth national teams. During this time he showcased his skills against the best players from other countries.1
At the age of fourteen, Adu was the first draft pick in the MLS Draft. The pick originally belonged to Dallas but was given to D.C. United, and this brought Adu closer to home. Soon after joining, Adu became the youngest player to appear in a MLS game as well as become the youngest player to score. His first goal came in a game against the Metro Stars now known as the New York Red Bulls.2
Adu continued to get minutes and gain experience while playing for D.C. United. In 2006 he was traded to Real Salt Lake in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he made eleven appearances and scored one goal. During this time, he played in the Under Twenty World Cup and was getting more attention from other professional teams. The World Cup is the most important competition in soccer. Because he played so well during this competition, he was bought by Benfica, a Portuguese team in the first division.3
From this point forward Adu’s football rollercoaster began. Adu moved from country to country in search of a team he could build his name at. Adu made eleven appearances and scored one goal that following season with his new club Benfica. The manager was not convinced by his performance, and the following season he was sent on a season loan to AS Monaco in the French first division. Monaco used him sparingly throughout the season and decided not to make his move permanent to the French team. Adu returned to Benfica next season only to be loaned out to Belenenses, another Portuguese first division team. Unfortunately for Adu, he was not playing at the level to compete with first division players. It wasn’t that he was not talented or had the desire to compete. He was just unable to get everything to align for him. During this time Adu was still being picked by the American National team to play friendly and competitive games. However he was not getting regular playing time in Belenenses. Therefore Adu signed for Aris a second division team in Greece and the following year for Turkish team Çaykur Rizespor, both second division teams. Neither of this two teams offered Adu a contract and his contract with Benfica expired. All of these loans were only in a span of four years. After playing for two lower division teams, there was some concern that Adu would not get offered a contract from a first division team again.4
Adu was still young, talented, and hungry, and he possessed all the features to be a great player. In August 2011, he was signed by Philadelphia Union and was reunited with his former D.C. United coach Piotr Nowak. Being signed by his former coach gave Adu a lot of confidence, knowing that people still believed in his ability and were willing to give him a chance. However, he had a lot to prove in the coming season with the Philadelphia Union. Having not played in a top division for the last two years, this was his chance to show everyone that he was still capable of reaching the level that was first expected of him. In his first season, Adu played in eleven games, scored two goals and assisted one. Though these stats are not that impressive he did join the team halfway through the season.5
The 2012 season would be his first full season with the Philadelphia Union. He was able to get a lot of playing time during this season. He started twenty games and played in twenty-four. He scored five goals and got one assist. He was even named by the MLS as the 19th player in the MLS under 24 list.6 Being put on the list was a big deal, especially since that he had not been competing against players that were at this level the past seasons. It looked like Adu was on the come up again. Unfortunately, the following season Piotr Nowak was fired and job was given to John Hackworth. Hackworth was not impressed with the Adu’s output the previous seasons. He decided to not put him in the squad the following season. Seeing that he was not going to get any playing time in Philadelphia, Adu wanted out. Soon after, Adu was sent to Brazilian team Bahia. In return the Philadelphia Union got a Brazilian player by the name of José Kléberson. Adu made the move to Brazil on August 5, 2013 and was released on November 7, 2013. This just summarizes how Adu’s career has gone. Nothing seems to be able to line up for him perfectly to become a superstar in the soccer world.7
Adu continued to train with different clubs around the world in search for a professional contract. However he did not receive any contract offers. He signed with some semi-professional teams but nothing that was worth writing about. Adu is currently playing for the Las Vegas Lights in the USL Championship which is in the second division in the United States. His career turned out to be far less glamorous than what people had expected it to be. People expected him to be in the same category as Messi and Ronaldo. However, it seemed like things never aligned for Adu to have a stable career. For everyone looking at him now it will always be the story of what could have been.8
- Joe Tansey, “What Happened to America’s Pele? The Rise and Fall of Freddy Adu,” Bleacher Report, October 3, 2017. ↵
- “Freddy Adu,” Wikipedia, September 6, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddy_Adu. ↵
- “Freddy Adu.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, September 6, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddy_Adu. ↵
- “The Nine Stages of Freddy Adu’s Career: From Wonderkid to Wanderer,” Planet Football, January 16, 2019. ↵
- “Freddy Adu,” Wikipedia, September 6, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddy_Adu. ↵
- “The Nine Stages of Freddy Adu’s Career: From Wonderkid to Wanderer,” Planet Football, January 16, 2019. https://www.planetfootball.com/quick-reads/nine-stages-freddy-adus-career-wonderkid-wanderer/. ↵
- “The Nine Stages of Freddy Adu’s Career: From Wonderkid to Wanderer,” Planet Football, January 16, 2019. https://www.planetfootball.com/quick-reads/nine-stages-freddy-adus-career-wonderkid-wanderer/. ↵
- “Freddy Adu,” Wikipedia, September 6, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddy_Adu. ↵
21 comments
Francisco Cruzado
Some people just never find their right place, like Freddy Adu, which is regretful, but a cruel reality for many talents or possible talents. In the competitive world, after all, only a few remain, and just a minority is able to resist the immense pressure of being always in the search of recognition. Poets, artists, intellectuals, any field has the same struggles for the same kind of people: those who seek for success.
Andrea Degollado
I had never heard of Freddy Adu, prior to reading this article. I think its a shame how his career played out, for someone that showed so much potential and skill and to simply have things not align perfectly for his is truly sad. I think this article also highlights the difficulties athletes face within their carer. They must take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves because their job is never 100% guaranteed.
Luis Jaen
Adu was projected to be such a star in the soccer world, but he never lived up to the hype. I remember hearing about him and being excited to see him play, but he always ended up doing something wrong. This article was a really interesting read, but it is unfortunate of how his career. Although he did not prove himself, he paved a way for many young super stars to come like Christian Pulisic. Overall, despite his career, Freddy Adu was a positive influence for American Soccer and should be accredited as such.
Shriji Lalji
This happens with many professional athletes. They have massive expectations but no one really knows their capabilities until they get to the professional level. Just look at Lonzo Ball for as an example, the 1st pick of the draft not as good as everyone thought he would be. However often they do get better over time and carve a career out for themselves. I wonder why this was not the case for Adu. Were his habits outside of soccer affecting his play? Was he overconfident and stopped practicing as hard? Or was he just unlucky and things did not pan out?
Carlos Apodaca
Its sad seeing that Adu never reached that level of play that people compared him to, I feel like that really took a toll on him mentally which as he transitioned from team to team it was hard to escape that criticism. I think he was over hyped to an extent by the media to a point that he couldnt live up to that hype. Part of that was due to him being in the first team at a very young age but it still unfortunate that he never got the career he wanted.
Anthony Coronado
I never had heard of this supposed soccer star, it is extremely sad to know that he didn’t have a given star opportunity to show himself for all of these teams as a spot opener. I think jumping around m, between cities looking for opened positions in teams, also hurt his chance as well as not being dedicated to getting into one team, as well as proving to the coach the dependability he has as well, as the talent with just practicing with one team, through a whole season.
Samuel Vega
I had not heard of Freddy Adu. The review is a good lesson in the competitive world of sports. Many youth have the dream of playing professionally in their favorite sport. Very few will make it. Too many times we only hear of the success stories of those who have made it. It is good to be reminded of those who struggled in their sports. Although Freddy did not have the glamour and the money that others thought he would, at least he played a sport that he seemed to love.
Jose Chaman
I had never heard of Freddy Adu before. However, this article does an incredible job summarizing almost his entire career as a soccer player. Most of the players always have that beginning of being recognized from an early age, Adu has had enough opportunities in the World of Sports, however the competitiveness of entering the major leagues was an obstacle that led him to not complete his potential.
Nelly Perez
I never really heard about Adu before. I’m hardly a soccer fan, but after reading this, I got to learn more about different players. He showed off his skills at a young age and that shaped him to the athlete he became. As he played, more people were amazed by the way he played in the games that he joined different teams.
David Castaneda Picon
I had never heard of him, It is incredible yet heartbroken to think that his game was being compared to that of the big legends of soccer but he couldn’t achieve fame when he become a professional player. This case is very common among athletes in any sport, when they are young they dominate in its category but they make the big mistake of jumping to a higher level of competitiveness without being fully prepared, and this often cause frustration in the athlete and his career starts to go downhill as well as happened to Freddy Adu.