We’ve all had players who, on Championship Manager games (or similar) of years gone by have been the player we’ve bragged about. A player signed as a youth product who goes on to become world-class. Some of these, such as Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez go on to become world-class stars and household names in the real world; not just the virtual. But then there is the vast amount of those who don’t. The ultimate, for me, remains Freddy Adu. Or perhaps that should be Freddy Ad-who?
If memory serves, it was Championship Manager 203/04 (correct me if I’m wrong – I usually am) when I first signed Adu as a 14-year-old from DC United for a modest fee of around £2.5m. After spending a bit of time in with the U18s or reserves, maybe a couple of loan spells, he’d become a mainstay in the first team for years to come.
Sadly for Freddy, real life has not played out like it did on ‘Champ Man’.
He had barely reached double figures when it was believed that Inter Milan had made an offer for him – suggested to be around $250,000 – which was turned down by Adu’s mother, who wanted him to continue his education (both academic and footballing) in the States.
At the age of 14, with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea sniffing around, Adu became the number one pick in the MLS draft, signing for DC United – he would make his debut later that season, and score his first goal, again both at the age of just 14. During his time with DC, he made it into the MLS All Stars XI on two occasions, and went on to make his full USA debut aged 16. Not long after, he began a two-week trial with Manchester United, though nothing came of it.
That time at DC, between the ages of 14 and 17, ultimately seems to have been the best of Adu’s career. In the past four years, he has played for seven different clubs in five different countries. Most of these were on loan, from Portuguese outfit Benfica, for whom he joined for around £2 million in 2007 but only made 20 appearances.
Last month, Adu headed back to the USA to join Philadelphia Union. At the age of 22, his career has come full circle. His chance of making the huge impact once expected of him now more than likely squandered – though there is still more than enough time for him to improve and begin to realise his potential.
Photo courtesy of lreed76.
