Major League Soccer

[Hands of Stone]

Jackson has invited the young man to be a guest at his Ranch after seeing him with his shirt off last night on Letterman.

I know, not funny.

hos

 

[the manager]

too good to be true???

as seen at the DC United website...

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT ADU:

Don Garber, MLS Commissioner
"I have seen him once. He's spectacular. He's a great young man and somebody we hope certainly will play in our league at some point ... I've been told by our coaches that he's the best young player they've ever seen anywhere, America or otherwise. So we're pretty excited about that."
- Oneonta Daily Star, June 18, 2003

John Ellinger, U.S. Under-17 National Team Head Coach
"When I asked him, 'Do you realize the things you're doing out there?' he shook his head. All I could think was, 'Good Lord, son'."
- Newsweek, Dec. 2002

Ray Hudson, D.C. United Head Coach
"For the country and for the club and for the League, it would be an absolutely gargantuan coup if MLS were able to take Freddy for the next three or four years."
- USSoccerUK.com, Oct. 23, 2003

Arnold Tarzy, Adu family adviser and former youth soccer coach
"Freddy would be absolutely huge for MLS. The sheer curiosity would put people in the seats. Freddy has the ability to capture the interest of the casual fan in a way not seen since Dr. J captured the interest of the casual fan for basketball 30 years ago."
- SI.com, Aug. 18, 2003

Arnold Tarzy, Adu family adviser and former youth soccer coach
"I manage a team called the Potomac Cougars and we rarely lose. So we come up against this kid in his first game and he is doing unbelievable things. He has all the skills and all the tricks too, and he's eight years old. It was incredible."
- London Times, June 1, 2003

Juan Carlos Michia, U.S. Soccer National Staff Coach, Region III
"I think he is going to be a tremendous player for our system. I think he is going to change soccer in this country because I think ... what Michael Jordan was in basketball, Freddy's going to be in soccer."
- USSoccerPlayers.com, March 25, 2003

Michael Bradley, IMG Soccer Academy player and son of MetroStars coach Bob Bradley
''Every time you think you've seen him do something impossible, he does something else that seems impossible the next day."
- USA Today, March 6, 2003

Peter Mellor, U.S. Under-17 Assistant Coach
"Tactically he is very smart for his age. He seems to have that God-given soccer savvy."
- Hartford Courant, March 2, 2003

Dave Sarachan, Chicago Fire Head Coach
"From a pure physical soccer standpoint, it's rare to see it. I don't think we've ever seen a kid like that at this age, at least I haven't."
- FoxSportsWorld.com, Feb. 21, 2003

Ray Hudson, D.C. United Head Coach
"His movement, quickness, balance and awareness are natural gifts, Wayne Gretzky stuff, If he started in an MLS game tomorrow, he wouldn't be out of place."
- Miami Herald, March 2003

 

[Regs]

Classic TTP post

HOS,



~Regs.

 

[Vinny]

ive played against Adu about 5 times now, hes a ****y fcuk, on the field talking about how hes the man and "you guys think your real players...just watch me" --- hes quick as hell and can dribble very well. but in all the times ive played him he shows nothing but those 2 qualities, hes not the player that will make a game changing pass ... or even a pass for that matter .... and 14?? i doubt it coming from Ghana. Hes just like Kanu from Arsenal, they say that he is what, 28? but he has all these injuries and everything, because hes probably around the same age as Sheringham.

 

[Walks]

What ??!

Vinny,

Just curious to who you were playing with when you played him. Are you 14 as well ??!!

 

[Vinny]

Adu plays on the U20 National Team

Canadas national teams and USA's have friendlies a few times a year

 

[Walks]

Kind of off topic but curious to see how you did against the U.S.

Have they got many players that are over in Europe or ??

 

[Vinny]

we have played 5 ... won one, drew 2 and lost 2 ---- most recently we lost in the last minute.

only 2 or 3 players play in Europe for them, most are involved in the MLS or looking towards University programs.

the team is based out of Florida, they live together in condos, with amazing facilities. but they obviously have millions in funding.

 

[djones]

This is from The MLS website. Good news for Canada soccer...

Past, Present Cover League Address
By Jason Halpin / MLSnet.com Staff

COLUMBUS -- MLS Commissioner Don Garber delivered his State of the League address Friday at the Westin Hotel in Columbus, Ohio, focusing on the strides the league has made in the past 10 years and hinting at changes that may be on the horizon.
There was little in the way of concrete plans for expansion or rules changes in the commissioner's speech, and many of the areas he covered Friday have been touched on in recent comments. The commissioner did, however, say the next stage of the league's evolution could be in the offing, presenting an optimistic outlook on the future.

The first point Garber hit on was the potential to allow teams to retain the MLS rights of players developed through their youth ranks. The purpose, Garber said, would be to help the best young players gravitate toward MLS and provide more of an incentive for teams to develop the next set of MLS stars.

Garber also reiterated a statement he made earlier this summer, suggesting the MLS calendar could be split or shifted to bring it in line with the international soccer calendar. The league may also elect to take a month off in the summer to ease the strain on international players. Any change in the length or format of the MLS schedule, the commissioner noted, might not come about for several years.

"We will spend a great deal of time with our competition committee both this weekend as well as over the next couple of months, along with our board, to discuss these and other player competition initiatives for the 2006 MLS season," Garber said. "At the last MLS board meeting, competition was our primary focus. We're scheduled to meet again next month to discuss some major competition issues, with the goal of having a resolution by the MLS Cup in November."

On the expansion front, Garber did not announce any definite additions to the league, but confirmed the 2007 season is the target for the next round of expansion. His comments indicated that Toronto is at the top of the list of candidates.

"We were in Toronto yesterday to discuss the future of MLS in Canada," he said, adding that Houston, Cleveland, Milwaukee and St. Louis are also on the list. "Our ultimate goal is to be an 18-team league across the United States and Canada at some point in the future."

More international club competitions could also be on the horizon for the league, as Garber said there are discussions underway that could see MLS teams play in the Copa Libertadores, currently the South American club championship.

Garber spent a good portion of his time touting the growth of MLS from its infancy in 1996, when the idea of building soccer-specific stadiums had yet to be hatched and it was nearly impossible to find soccer on TV. Today, Garber said, MLS has a growing investor pool -- another group was added Thursday with the sale of D.C. United -- a handful of soccer-specific stadiums with more on the way and a growing presence on the U.S. sports landscape.

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder and MLS All-Star Landon Donovan, in his remarks after Garber's speech, discussed the progress the league has made.

"From the day I got here until now, the league is 100 times better, competitively," Donovan said. "I would say in every aspect, in every way, we've gotten better."