You suck. You suck suck suck suck suck.

(Suggestion: put a comment in the trip-buddies section and on the calendar.)

I'd love to go to WC02, but I'm saving up for 06 in Germany. At least I speak the language. And, as far as I can tell, an FKK experience off the Autobahn in some small Deutsches Dorf would doubtless be a lot less in US$ than a luv-hotel in Tokyo.

Next wed, Espn 2 in USA has switched game being shown, they will show Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich instead of Man U. vs La Coruna which is already decided.
Espn Mexico is not showing re-runs of Liverpool-Leverkusen on tues, so I'll listen to games on radio on internet, not a bad way to eat lunch.

First Pires now Beckham. Owen risky, Ronaldo questionable, Wolf problematic, several Koreans doubtful ... this is fast becoming the cup the stars forgot.

Plus Luis Figo looked like shit vs Bayern. I think he is coming back from injury but has lost a step and half. Completely outplayed by Hargreaves in the middle.
That sure looked like a dirty play on Beckham. Those dirty Argentinians ah thank goodness for the pretty Argentine chicas.

Point about Beckham: when we saw Pires out from France, we didn't say "Omigod now the team has no chance." But when we see Beckham out from England, we do? Seems to me like depth is going to rule the day, at least among the top teams.

Yeah, Figo did look slow. Young kid Hargreaves had no fear, more power to him. Zidane also was marginally played out of the game -- very much two sides that neutralized one anothers' BEST games, but Bayern's WORST game (defensive shell) was weaker than Real's. The right team won, but maybe on the wrong play (Raul DID elbow Linke). Linke and Kovacs were brilliant. I've never seen such stingy near-post defending as Kovacs on the crosses. Amazing.

As a Spurs fan, I mourn the developments in England today. It hurt me, but I actually rooted for Manchester United to beat Arsenal. It was not to be. Ah well, I take consolation that 7th is better than last year's 11th. The big gap is up to 6th, so we needn't be sneezed at.

BG

US national team. (Another subject, another message.)

I'm surprised to see, according to the USSF website, Arena named his whole squad as early as April 23. Here it is:

U.S. WORLD CUP TEAM COACHING STAFF:
Head Coach: Bruce Arena
Assistant Coach: Dave Sarachan
Assistant Coach: Glenn Myernick
Goalkeeper Coach: Milutin Soskic

ROSTER BY POSITION (all-time World Cup roster selections):

Goalkeepers (3): Brad Friedel (1994, 1998, 2002), Kasey Keller (1990, 1998, 2002), Tony Meola (1990, 1994, 2002);

Defenders (8): Jeff Agoos (1998, 2002), Gregg Berhalter (2002), Frankie Hejduk (1998, 2002), Carlos Llamosa (2002), Pablo Mastroeni (2002), Eddie Pope (1998, 2002), David Regis (1998, 2002), Tony Sanneh (2002);

Midfielders (8): Chris Armas (2002), DaMarcus Beasley (2002), Landon Donovan (2002), Cobi Jones (1994, 1998, 2002), Eddie Lewis (2002), John O’Brien (2002), Claudio Reyna (1994, 1998, 2002), Earnie Stewart (1994, 1998, 2002);

Forwards (4): Clint Mathis (2002), Brian McBride (1998, 2002), Joe-Max Moore (1994, 1998, 2002), Josh Wolff (2002).

ALTERNATES (club / caps, goals):
Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (MetroStars / 1 cap), Zach Thornton (Chicago Fire / 8 caps);
Defenders: Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96 / 10 caps), Richard Mulrooney (San Jose Earthquakes / 4 caps), Greg Vanney (FC Bastia / 17 caps);
Midfielders: Brian Maisonneuve (Columbus Crew / 13 caps), Brian West (Columbus Crew / 6 caps), Richie Williams (D.C. United / 20 caps);
Forwards: Jovan Kirovski (Crystal Palace / 54 caps, 7 goals), Ante Razov (Chicago Fire / 22 caps, 6 goals).

I'm disappointed and surprised to see Maisonneuve, Kirovski, Vanney, and Razov miss the cut, and Beasley make it. (I'm also disappointed, but not surprised, to see Donovan make the cut. Sick of that kid. Amazing speed, damned good skills, the brains of a wet stick of driftwood, always makes the wrong choices. But the announcers all seem to have a hard-on for the guy. Like, umm, Ben Olsen last year. Whatever happened to him?)

Gawd our back line sucks.

hey book-guy,

The USA team is actually solid and I think they'll do better than in France '98 (not too hard to do after all).....and the defense is not that bad.......who else would you put back there?

Alexi Lalas and Marcelo Balboa? ;-)

USA Defense sucks... leaves the gk to the cleaner.
I am putting whatever leftover money I have coming back from Rio de Janeiro on France (1 to 4) and Spain (2 to 5) to win their group.

I'm workin' on my picks right now. I'm not sure about the whole Spain package ... and Portugal sure looks a good bet, given the path ahead of them when they do advance out of the group stage. Some teams have an easy path to the final and some (France) don't ... even if they do get there, it'll be through blood sweat and tears.

USA looked pretty good versus Uruguay. Kind of disappointing refereeing -- the whole Latin nation plus Latin ref. thing going on again, IMHO.

I'm very impressed with the intelligence of Barkus de Measley on field structure, defense, etc. Disappointed in his choices in the opponents' penalty box; but he kept on keepin' on and did get it in the goal once, eventually.

I'm not surprised at all to see that it only took Landon Donovan two minutes before he passed the ball directly to an opposing striker who went on immediately to score. Will someone shoot him -- and all the announcers who keep hyping the twerp???

Agoos, as always, was the last man back keeping everything, or at least as much as could possibly be asked of one man, hanging together.

Friedel: brilliant game. To have to choose between him and Keller, any coach's goalkeeping wet-dream. Either is true world-class in my book.

I'm very surprised at how slowly Regis runs. No speed at all. Was he injured slightly?

Speaking of injuries, I hope we don't lose Armas (or Pope). Not that they're so brilliant, but they are indispensable simply because there aren't any decent replacements.

All in all, a good warm-up. The violence level, and the frustration with the referee, will be a good pointer for the door-knobs (Sanneh) who don't get that you can't call the game from your own armchair. And the Uruguayan physicality in defense mimics all three of our first round opponents (especially the Poles!) well.

Special booby-prize pick: Polish defense to collect more red cards than any other team.

Mpenza, Gerard, Dyer, Pires, Beckham, Scholl, Armas, Jancker, Neville, Wörns, Clement, Sergi, Karembeu, Takahara, Pessotto, Etxeberria, Deisler, Tudor, Cisse, Carr, Sa Pinto, Vivas, Medford. And that's just since the beginning of March.

Who's next, Sepp Blatter? The Japanese Emperor himself?

Yeah reading the synopsis of the game by some of the sports writers I kept wondering"Did they see the same game as me"

You're right on saying the refereeing sucked big-time. At this point in time, prior to a world cup, when all of the teams are praying to escape the injury bug, you get a joker like the Guatamalan referee. He "let go" or "didn't see" several tackles that ahould have been yellows and maybe at least two may have been reds. At least for the US, his equally dismal linesmen, helped out the US by calling the offsides (it wasn't).

The US played well considering it was missing its two (IMHO) best midfeilders, Reyna and O'Brian. They definitely change the tenor and character of the US team when present.

One thing that everybody totally missed was the US's conditioning. Arena is a stickler for conditioning. The week prior to Uruguay game was very intense, according to some of the players. If they looked sluggish during the game, or suffered cramps as several players did, most notably sanneh who actually had to leave the game. it was because of the conditioning regime the players were going through. Looking at the last 10 minutes of the game showed that the effort that Uruguay made to try and crack the US defense and get the tying goal, led them to run out of gas the last several minutes of the game. The US bent but didn't break, a good sign. Alot of Northern and Eastern European TEams totally wilted in the Heat of the summertime in the US 94 WC. Korea is even worse.(having been there in summer before). Most of the Euro leagues are played in the cold of winter. Playing at the height of summer could be advantage to the US, if it conditioned right.

I expect an easy game (in effort not opponent quality) against Jamaica, which is a more fluid opponent (like portugal) and some gloves to come off against Holland. I like the US chances against the Dutch, now that Van Nistlrooy is not comming.

All in all a very good week of soccer coming up!!.

OG

WOW

This thread has been dormant for a while.

GALAXY

between the World Series, College and Pro Football, Pre-Season Hocket and Pro Basketball, the fact that the Galaxy are going for a unique double has escaped practically all the media.

The Galaxy have to play the Revolution in their home stadium, for the MLS CUP and then turn-around and play the Columbus Crew for the US Open Cup on THEIR home field, the following week.

I think the Galaxy will win both, they are that good, especially because of Carlos Ruiz.

EURO

The Qualifying for the Euro Cup has begun.
The minnows have come out to bite some big fish.
Wales over Italy, England squeezing out a tie against Slovania.???

I think its a big plot.

In order for UEFA to justify all their qualifying spots for the next WC, they must show that the minnows are truly competitive. They do not want a two-tiered playoff structure like Concacaf, where the minnows are killed off in prequalifying tournaments. They want to keep the status quo and pad out those 15 or so "groups" with a lot of minnows.
Hence you see mediocre play by some of the bigger nations that allow some of the "minnows" to get some glory.

I always think that if Guatamala or Costa Rico were put into the UEFA mix they would make it to atleast the quarters.

Like the US fans chanted at the favored Portugese, as they left the field in defeat at the World Cup..."OVERATED"

OG

I think in general there's more international parity in world football than in a long time (perhaps than ever before). The minnows look better than they did relative to traditional powers, partly because of the chance for players to play abroad, partly because of the international exchanges among national-team coaching staff and (very important!) among academy youth coaching staff.

I still think the minnows of Latin America are weaker than the traditional powers of Europe, but I'd love to see the chance for legitimate competition among those sets (and other similar pairings). In other words, I'm an enthusiastic advocate of inter-continental and trans-association qualifying for just about anything. It's the only way to "truly" allow the best to get to the best competitions. Slovenia and China at WC02, and Holland and El Salvador at home, fer Chrissakes ...

Anyway, bully for the Galaxy. They deserved that game but almost got outbullied -- that left fullback who clotheslined Coby Jones should have been red-carded about six times, but the ref was DETERMINED to see whether or not the boxing match would develop into a soccer game. Reminded me of the great sense of injustice I experienced in my college playing days, in which "that's not football, that's not even common-sensical" violence dominated the field. It didn't matter how skilled you were, someone was bound to try to break your leg presuming that such violence would prove his "worthiness to dominate territory" or some such. Hated it. Shoot that ref. Seems in American footie, many players can't distinguish between physical force and strength applied toward an end that unfortunately sometimes gets slightly out of bounds and commits a foul (Edgar Davids), as opposed to idiotically hacking for no reason at all with no need in a situation in which a safer deliberate foul would have served just as well (that left fullback).

In other words, no ability to distinguish between EFFECTIVE FORCE and GRATUITOUS VIOLENCE. Typical ...

Well, anyway, I didn't enjoy the game but I'm glad the "right" team won. Maybe next year we'll see some soccer.

Yeah, It was a pretty messy game, but as one European press pundit put it, " a typical championship match" meaning, many Euro games that mean a lot are "fought" the same way.

The difference was Carlos Ruiz. Both teams played a tough defensive game, but the Galaxy had a healthier and more creative striker.

I liked the exhibition between DC United and Totenham Hotspur a few days ago where the cellar dwelling DC United BEAT Totenham Hotspur1-0 . Sure it was a charity match, Hotspur had celbrity players like Klinnsman and Gascoigne, but also played Keane,Poyet, Sheringham and Keller. DC United was handicaped with Agoos,... and still won!!. According to the English press DC had the run of play on Hotspur who now are in third place in the Premeirship.

I would give my eyetooth to see the Galaxy play some team like Manchester United or Arsenal. I am still upset over cancellation of the World Club championships a two years ago, which, had it gone off would have paired the Galaxy with Real Madrid.

I can still hope.

OG

I saw the Tottenham / DC game, and I have to say it was quaint. Like in many testimonials, there were periods in which no tackles were made. But Spurs did try to score, whenever they got into their opponents' box, and Klinsmann Gascoigne Waddle Shearingham is quite the line-up. There was a degree of pride in the Americans' defending. Waddle looked old, but the rest of the "old boys" were playing up to par, at least when they were on or near the ball. Needless to say, nobody ran much through midfield.

So, the eventual "result" was actually representative of the level of play, and that was no doubt a bit of a surprise for Spurs. I didn't know who to root for, beings as I always like to see American soccer do well and grow in status and stature, but I've also always been a die-hard Spurs supporter. Glad I got it on tape, anyway ...

Both Monterrey teams make the playoffs and America out? Pretty exciting in this area of the Republica.

I guess the America manager got the boot too. No matter what your record is during the season, if your America, you must make the playoffs/finals. Much speculation on who'll be the next sportive, my vote is with Aguillera.

OG

Babysitting Cuauthemoc Blanco couldn't have been a lot of fun. I can't STAND that little bitch!

YAY MONTERREY!!! Dump DeNigris and win a championship... Whodathunk it?

I watched both games. There is something to be said for the home-and-home series. BUT I do think that championship futbol games should be played with ONE game, winner take all, and at a neutral site. Like many of the Euro Cups (FA, Champions,UEFA) which are played in one game, it enhances the exitement.

Ending a championship game in a 0-0 tie is ridiculous.

Kudos to Passarella, the Rayodos coach who lead Argentina to the 1978 World Cup, Both he and the Rayados (last chanmpioship was in 1986) were way overdue. (Even though it was "only" the Clausura)

Ya gotta love Mexican futbol: 2 dead, 300 arrested, they make Raiders fans look like cricket fans.

I personally was rooting my ass off for the Monarchos.
I was promised a freebie from a certain chica in Nogales if her hometown futbol team won. Alas it was not to be.!!

Maybe I can get a runner-up freebie.


OG

I'm also a little pissed off over the television coverage of the Confederations Cup. Although no English language TV, there was going to be live coverage on Galavision. At 9:30 in the morning for the US-Turkey match I had already made plan to take off work and head to Nogie.

Now it seems that only the Brazil-US match will be live, the rest, tape delayed. I hate tape-delay. I could never keep myself from checking out the scores on the internet. The whole Turkey-US and US-Cameroon matches will be anti-climactic now. As I will now know the scores beforehand.

OG

Here is the Conf Cup first round schedule:
http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?chid=4&schid=368&secid=3135&cid=226874
West is same time as East coast.
Team with deep bench wins tournament as games are played on 2 days rest in first round.

Beckham agreeing to go to Real Madrid? Don't they have enough overpriced underachievers (when it counts, anyway) already? I doubt they ever had problems putting butts in the seats, so apparently they think this somehow makes their 'team' better. Please tell me I'm wrong, as I admit that I don't do DICK about soccer.

Real Madrid has a superstar complex. It started way way back in the early 50's when they had Di Stephano, Puskas and Kopa. They have won 10 UEFA champions league. They got Beckam because Barcelona their archenemy wanted him. Now he can ride the bench half the games and collect 10M a year, not bad of a gig.

Damn...Boca Juniors won in Sao Paulo to beat Santos in Copa Libertodares second leg final. Game was played at sold out Morumbi stadium even though Santos is pretty far away. Cheap shot vs samba, bad guys won.

Bomboa must have been jumping...wish I were there

Brasil, of course, is technically superior to the United States, but they will not be fielding the type of squad you would see in a WC qualifier...The U.S. WANTS to win-- unlike Brasil, who at times displays a certain disinterest...

The U.S. is playing at a high level right now, displaying a rapid, vertical, and physical type of game elsewhere unseen on this side of the Atlantic...Donovan and McBride are extremely dangerous around the goal-- Donovan, in particular, can be unstoppable ( 4(!) goals vs. Cuba)...

Too, we have Keller manning the goal-- unbeaten in 22 home matches...Of course, considering the opponent is Brasil and that the site is Miami, tomorrow night's match could very well be one of those notorious "away" home games for the U.S....

All told, I officially predict the U.S. will win, thus setting up a showdown with Mexico-- who, I presume-- will be able to defeat Costa Rica...And wow, nothing would be finer than to kick Mexico's butt in Estadio Azteca...

YoungBrig

Porker
All I know is Beckham's live televised physical exam was truly riveting from start to finish !! I couldn't take my eyes off the screen !! Surely that alone is worth the huge transfer fee ,right ??

Well, beating up on amatuer teams like Martinique and Cuba is one thing, beating Brazil is another. The Brazilian team is essentially an under 23 team tuning up for the Olympics next year. As such they are all motivated to do well, not only to make the Olympic team, but to make the Brazilain team for other important matches. A majority of them still play in the Brazilian leagues, which pay didly squat compared to European teams.
The motivation here is monetary, as it is an occasion to be seen by pro scouts from Europe. So I could safely say that the Brazilain players are more than a little motivated.

The US team is actually far better than the one that was sent to the Confederation Cup last month. Reyna, Keller, and McBride make a huge difference. In addition, a fire has been lit under Langdon Donovan's butt, as he has gotten over the lackadasical play he had been tagged with in the last month.

Should be a good game. If the US picks it up at least two notches. I would be surprised, but not too much, if the US pulls off a win. They need a little luck on their side though.

Mexico will beat Costa Rica. They have been finally given a scoring laxative, and let go against a really pathetic looking Jamaica. I look for the "flowing" to continue.

OG

Major, major bummer...The U.S. gives up a tying goal in the motherfetching 90th minute and then loses on a penalty kick in overtime...Fetching A...

YoungBrig

The typical late goal give-up broke my heart. Dammit, back to the drawing board -- kids without soccer sense, great athleticism but absolutely no tactical self-awareness. Same story, 99th verse.

The US just plain could not hold the ball without better skill players. This led to "a lot" of running and chasing which led to their running out of gas 10 minutes too early.

With a Reyna, an O' brien or even the players of yesteryear, a Ramos, Preki and Cobi Jones, they US is vastly improved in this area Without these type of skill positions the US fall short of its rivals.

I look on the positive side in that the US is quite possibly only short one or two position players to make the team capable of challeging the brazils, italys and germanys for a full 90 minutes at a WC level of play.

Bruce Arena believes that the younger players will improve and adjust with more exposure to tight, hardfought games like the one against brazil.

I thought for as young and inexperienced as he was in US national team play Cory Gibbs did OK, but he doesn't quite replace Eddie Pope. So did a lot of the "new" players.

The back line was quite new (as in playing together) and it showed in the second half, when brazil controled the run of play.

I was greatly encouraged by the US performance though and I knew they would need more luck to beat Brazil

Although the goal was to defend the Gold Cup, a much more long term and important goal is to build a US team that will take on the full strngth Brazils in the World Cup, and do this with , quite possibly, over a 50 percent turnover from the previous successful US World Cup effort. The game against brazil served up a lot of answers (and a few questions) for Bruce Arena.

WC Qualifying starts in a few short months, and the US has to evaluate and select a lot of new up and comers and vets for qualifying play and hopefully for the WC.

Wednesday was the first real step.


OG

The U17 WC in Finland is shown on Mexican tv
http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?cid=77477
For those wanting to see Adu play. Competition starts today.
The more interesting WC is for U20 later this year. USA has a decent team for both competitions.

I can't tell whether Adu is any good or not -- the kids he's playing against tune in and out (as would be the case for most adolescent males anyway). I just remember all the annoying hype about Convey and Olsen years back when they were "supposed" to be the next great hope, so I'm skeptical. Good touch, big deal, I had great touch.

For the first time, I have to agree with you book_guy. I was not overly impressed by Adu but US team did impress me.

Didn't mean to say I was NOT impressed. He's good enuf, especially at that age. I'm just not sure he's going to be god. Remember Michael Owen at 16?

I've been following U-17's for quite while now, and was lucky enough to see Adu last month in Minnesota. The guy is the real deal!!!. He is easily the best offensive player on the US U-17 team and probably one of the best at the U17 WC.

If you saw his first goal, when he slipped through 5 Korean defenders and got around the GK to score, you had to be impressed!!. Adu does not look like a 14 year old, He is about 5'9 and still growing. He already is heavier than DaMarcus Beasly.! His 12 year old brother "Fro" is even taller 5' 10"and is "almost" just as gifted. No wonder there were people who didn't believe he was a 14 y.o. According to Adu, he didn't have (by his standards) a good game against Korea. He was taken out hard by defenders so much that he continuously complained to the referee and got carded for dissent.

The hype for Adu in Europe is much,much bigger than it is here (and I think its too much here). Acording to a friend I have in Finland, they are playing the Adu goal over and over on ad nauseum., on Finish TV, and It was on all the European Football Hi-lite TV shows yesterday and today.

If he has an average showing in the next two games, he'll just be marked as another youth with "still untapped" potential. If he does show off his talents and has some good or great games, then the hype you see now will be minute compared to whats in store, because now all the European press and pundits will have been exposed.

If you don't thinks the Euro press can overhype this then just go to google and type in "tim howard" and you'll get approximatly 35,000 hits, with 80-90 percent having to do with the new Man U american goalkeeper. Then type in "George Bush jr." and you'll get only 18,000 hits.

At least in Europe (and probably in the US), and at least this week, he 's now more popular than the president of the US.

I'm getting up at 5:00 am tommorrow to watch the US-Sierra Leone game on Galavision (ah memories of those early morning WC 2002 games). As good a Freddy Adu is, he is also backed by a very talented US team, so I expect the US team to win at least one of the two remaining group games and go on to the knock-out phase.. and who knows.!!

OG

What if Adu is simply an early bloomer? The moves he was making that I saw on TV were impressive enough for an under-17 kid, very amazing for a 14 year old ... but just normal for an adult. Maybe he simply got there sooner, and has nowhere else to go.

I don't know. I don't mean to diss him. I'm just trying to cut back on the hype. And, because he's growing up in the USA, he won't be getting the type of tactical sense of the game he could have gotten through some kind of full European immersion. He'll be another dribbler like Beasley or Donovan -- both young, great athletes, amazingly speedy, but still prone to dumb Americanisms on the field: passing to a teammate who is surrounded by three defenders, for example; or, to the contrary, dribbling when there is an obvious open teammate to pass to; or defending the opponent in the least threatening location; or taking over a space that isn't useful to dominate; or ...

Who cares about ball control? Ball control is a dime a dozen. Reyna is the ONLY American ever to develop tactical sense for all locations on the field, ever in the history of our game. What we lack is COACHING ...

Adu has been living in the DC area since he moved here in 97. He seems legit but there is one little question that has been mentioned - is he really 14 or did they put down a false birthdate on the immigration paperwork when his parents won a visa through the lottery system?

He probably is legit and should be awesome by the time he turns pro but kind of like that Dominican kid Danny Almonte or whoever, he seems pretty damned advanced for his age.

Cacatony
Adu is a legit 14 year old, he is big for his age but looks a lot smaller than his teammates and competition. He is listed at 5'9 (1,77) on fifa web site. He is super fast. He is showing superior skills but he needs better competition to improve. Maybe he should go to Spain or England.

Sierra Leone got the short end of the stick but that referee sure let them play. Adu showed me a lot as he was getting hammered. Looks like Portugal or Cameroun in the 1/4 finals. USA has a lot of cards but i think they get reset after first round. Adu misses next match, got ridiculous card. Big disapppointment is the kid from LA Galaxy, plays like he does not belong. Best American is the kid with Polish name but Adu is exciting for sure.

Unbelievable teen sensation is Ronaldo who plays for Man Utd, Ferguson knows what he is doing obviously. Tim Howard can become the best goalie in the world, he needs to improve on aerial balls and get more experience. Man Utd at Newcastle next weekend, big test for Howard...Shearer, Dyer, Solano can put the ball in the net.

Espn is reporting Ferguson is trying to bring Adu to Manchester. He can still play in next U17 in 2 years then play in junior WC then turn pro.

I doubt that Freddy Adu will sign with Man U right away, He doesn't need to. New European rules implemented this last year designed to protect young players forbid contracts and play before the age of 17 . Adu would have to play on the Youth Team, which is probably OK, but isn't going to increase his performance or experience. After all the US U-17's defeated the Man U and Blackburn Youth teams, which , by the way, included many players older than 17. It would not be a step up by any means.

The best bet would for Adu to play in the MLS for 2-3 years and then sign a Euro contract for even bigger bucks. The MLS does not have rules for contracting players younger than 17. Eddie Gaven and Memo Gonzales belong to the MLS and have improved greatly training and competing with their club teams. In fact several scouts have said on websites that that this would be better for Adu than moving to Europe.

The person who will have the last say in this is Mrs. Adu, after all, Freddy is still not an adult and connot sign a contract without her approval, and she has already made it clear that she would prefer her sons not move away so soon. She recently rejected the request that Fro Adu, Freddy younger brother, go to the U-17 Bradenton Camp in Florida full time.

I think that Freddy Adu will sign for the MLS and be assigned to D.C. United, or Manchester U will sign Adu and loan him to the MLS like the Langdon Donovan deal, until he is old enough to play Euro soccer.

Already Freddy Adu has agreed to paly for the US in the U-20 World Cup later this year, and has indicated his desire to play in the Olympicss in 2004, and most likely he will get his feet wet in the WC qualifiers the next two years. I believe ,should he stay free of injuries gets good guidance, and improve his already awesome skills, he will win a place on the US 2006 WC team when he is 17 years old.

By the time he laces up his shoes to play in his first game for a European team, he will most likely have played in 3 World Cups and an Olympics.

That heady stuff, and a lot of thing can happen, but almost all the coaches and scouts who have watched him say his skills are way farther along than most 18-20 year olds. And there is a lot of comparison to Pele, who was also a child prodigy.

I do hope he will sign with the MLS, as I would truely enjoy watching him.

OG

I think it'd be good for MLS but I disagree, there is no way in hell he can start for the Juniors played in Nov and there is no way he can play in the Olympics at 15. I do see him make the WC squad at 17. He would be a great substitute coming off the bench.
At the juniors WC, European and Brasil teams send players playing regular first division or reserve team. Adu would be eaten alive. Damn Bobby Convey will play for the USA and was just signed by Tottenham. Watch Ronaldo and Kaka play, if Adu can reach their level that would be awesome for US soccer. Ferguson would have to let Ronaldo go if he gets called up for any junior or olympics tournament games but he has already been called up for the senior team. He makes Portugal all of a sudden a threat for Euro 2004. Barcelona has a very good right winger from Portugal too.

ManUtd has a Yankee flavor, from their web site:

Fergie lines up more USA swoops
Manchester United are set to make their third American signing of the summer. But it is the kid who the Yanks believe will one day deck the World Cup out in Stars and Stripes that is Sir Alex Ferguson's long-term target. United, having already brought keeper Tim Howard and 17-year-old prospect Jonathan Spector to Old Trafford, have now offered teenage striker Kenny Cooper Jnr a million-dollar-a-year deal to give up his college education. Cooper, 18, is preparing to begin his studies at top American college SMU next month. But Ferguson (left) has stepped in to tempt the Texan with a three-year contract after putting the 6ft 3in striker through his paces in a closed-doors training session during the club's recent tour of the States. And, as exclusively revealed by the Sunday Mirror last month, Ferguson has also targeted schoolboy sensation Freddy Adu - the 14-year-old Ghana-born midfielder who has already excelled against seasoned Major League Soccer pros in friendly games.
Simon Mullock, Sunday Mirror

Maybe we get to see Kenny Cooper in the U20? Tough group with Germany, Paraguay and again South Korea.

Jonathan Spector starts on D for the U17. He looked like the most polished defender out there but they are all big and strong.
Who would have thought? maybe Yanks helping Man U win the European Cup one day.

It is not unusual for starting players on the U-17's to play in the U-20's providing they have the skills and the physical ability to play at that level.

Freddy Adu is about 5'9" and around a 150 lbs. That is about the same size as Langdon Donovan and Bobby Convey, and bigger than Demarcus Beasley. Size is not the issue. His playing ability is equal and/or greater than the aforementioned players. What is the issue is the ability to play against players larger, more mature than he is. Several of the defenders on the Sierra Leone team were 6'0 and over, and EVERYBODY is older than freddy. But the U-17's WC is showing what he can expect and weather he can handle it. As Adu's style is speed and agility, and his physical stature means that bigger defenders will knock him off the ball, and failing that, foul him. And he was fouled consistently and HARD.

There is no question that if Freddy can handle the U-17, he can handle the U-20, not as a starter, but as a late sub, he would be ideal.

Since the Olympic soccer started fielding u-23's there have been dozens of players under 20. Freddy would be unique as he would be under 16.

LeBron James will start in the NBA this year as an 18 yo, He has been preeceeded by many other 18 yo like Germain O'Neal and of course Kobe Bryant. They consistently play with players who are physically stronger anf older, but because of their advanced skill sets they quickly adapted.
I expect Freddy Adu will too.


OG

It seems that Man U may have to stand in line.

From the Washington Post.

" The international competition to sign Adu is in full swing with Motzkin [Freddy Adu's agent] meeting with teams from around the world from his hotel in Helsinki. Motzkin has met repeatedly with officials from MLS this week and is also weighing interest from clubs in the Netherlands, England, Spain and Italy.

Scouts from all those countries have been tracking Adu during this tournament, in which he has scored four goals, and sources said it is becoming increasingly likely that Adu will sign his first soccer contract shortly after the tournament concludes.

Teams from around Europe are speaking with officials from FIFA, soccer's world governing body, about ways to get Adu abroad before his 18th birthday, circumventing legislation to restrict such player transfers. Several teams believe they could get around such measures and Adu's representatives hope to have the list of finalists for Adu's services pared down to five or six by tournament's end."

...Seems like they also feel that Freddy Adu is the real deal too.

OG

Could this 14 year-old phenom Freddy Adu be what soccer needs in the United States?
I'm not into soccer at all and never even heard of this kid until today when he got mentioned on ESPN about 100 times. I'm looking forward to seeing him play, so he got my interest. Hopefully he will do for soccer(in the USA) what Gretzky did for hockey and Woods did for golf.

US soccer probably needs at least a few more "stars" to really catch the attention of the US media. The fact that Adu is the first "great" talent to emerge on US soil and stay and play here will be a boon for the MLS.

Freddy Adu came within 48 hours of signing with Man U. When the CEO of Man U, who had been wooing Freddy, took up a similair position with Chelsea, the trip to England to sign Adu was postponed. That allowed the MLS to make one last effort, and were successful. The MLS main selling point was that he could play 1st team professional soccer immediatly in the MLS, rather than waiting until he was 18, which under the new FIFA rules, would apply to him if he were to play in Europe.

I think this is good news for American soccer, and good for Adu. There will be much less pressure and hype on him in the US. It will allow him to develop his talents as a skilled footballer and as a person.

I have seen him play personally, and he is the real deal. He'll be fun to watch.

OG