Freddy Adu to Metrostars?

[Young Drachma]

(From the NY Times)
MetroStars Like Idea of Having Adu
By JACK BELL

Freddy Adu of D.C. United recently acquired his driver's license. The question is where, if anywhere, the 16-year-old Adu wants to go.

Alexi Lalas, the new president and general manager of the MetroStars, has told anyone with a pen and a notebook that he wants players with talent, personality and popular appeal on his team to help revitalize the New York-area franchise. Last week, Lalas acquired two players with pizzazz - Tony Meola and Ryan Suarez - but what better fit could there be than landing Adu?

Perhaps it is pure fancy now, but Adu has had a difficult season in Major League Soccer and turned in mediocre performances at the recent world youth championships in the Netherlands. He missed two penalty kicks and never really appeared engaged.

With D.C. United, Adu, the league's highest-paid player, has averaged 50 minutes over 11 games, including 5 starts, this season. He has one goal with four assists. Coach Peter Nowak lifted him at halftime of Saturday's 1-0 victory over Columbus.

"We haven't thought about a trade for Freddy, but as with all our clients, at the end of the year it's normal to analyze the pros and cons and see if anything needs to be addressed," Richard Motzkin, Adu's agent, said in a telephone interview last week. Motzkin represents many of the top players in M.L.S., coaches and executives, including Lalas. "I'm going to Portugal with Alexi, so now that you mention it, maybe we should talk about it."

Lalas played in a charity match organized by the Portugese star Luis Figo of Real Madrid over the weekend in the Algarve and returned to the United States yesterday, when his team was in Salt Lake City to play Real Salt Lake.

"The MetroStars would love nothing more than to have Freddy Adu," Lalas said in a telephone interview last night. "He would certainly play in New York. It's evident that he loves competition and wants to play, and we are certainly a team that would provide him with time on the field. I would love nothing more than for him to get fed up with D.C. Right now I think the situation is a little like a Bruce Lee movie without a fight. He's got the star power, but there hasn't been the payoff."

Before Adu signed last year, M.L.S. officials realized that putting a young star in the New York area would be a publicity coup. Adu's mother, however, insisted that he play with United so he could live at home. Either that or Adu would go elsewhere.

Asked about the possibility of Adu's leaving United, Arnold Tarzy, one of the family's advisers, said in an e-mail message that "Freddy is happy playing for D.C. United and living with his family."

The MetroStars and D.C. United are run by the Anschutz Entertainment Group. Lalas came to the MetroStars from another A.E.G. team, the San Jose Earthquakes, who are likely to be sold to Club América of Mexico and moved to Houston next season. John Guppy is a former executive with the MetroStars who was recently shipped to Chicago, yet another team run by A.E.G. Could Adu be the next move on A.E.G.'s chessboard?

[terpkristin]

Hmmm I haven't heard much about Meola in years. Sounds a bit....weird...if you ask me.

I mean, the only reason I could see Lalas signing him is because they're old friends...

/tk

[weinstein7]

The Metros needed a back-up goalie, and my guess is Meola was in Jersey anyway, so it was a pretty natural fit.

[condors]

i would be surprised if Adu is isn't playing for Milan, Manutd, Chelsea or Real Madrid's reserve team in a year or 2. If everything goes alright he could be a star in 4 seasons because of what he does do not because what he could do.

[MIJB#19]

Let the kid mature first, please.
At this pace, people are destroying his future. It's happened too often to over-hyped hot prospects all over the world.

The U-20 World Cup perfectly showed that Adu is not ready for the next level, not yet at least. He just turned 16, that's about 10 to 15 years away from the average soccer player's peak.

[Eaglesfan27]

This seems like a good enough place to post this:

Watching DC United and the KC Wizards play today, at the 15 minute mark or so, Freddy Adu just had one of the best dribbles I've ever seen him make in a pro game. Great play to get himself a good scoring opportunity that he just couldn't quite finish.

[Young Drachma]

Well, it certainly is good to see him on TV. But it's an interesting note to think about the whole age thing, because I know we really forget how old this kid is and watching players like and Michelle Wie do their thing in the larger public. It's really interesting, but crazy to think.

[Eaglesfan27]

Freddy just made a sick pass to set his man up in the box. He is showing glimpses.

[bryce]

This is one of the more entertaining 0-0 games (thus far, at the half) I've seen in a long while. And Adu has really put on a show in the 1st half.

Edited for typo.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Well, it certainly is good to see him on TV. But it's an interesting note to think about the whole age thing, because I know we really forget how old this kid is and watching players like and Michelle Wie do their thing in the larger public. It's really interesting, but crazy to think.

Michelle Who?

Sorry, everytime I see that name I can't help it to not think that. To clarify, "wie" is Dutch for "who".