Freddie Adu's MLS Failure: A Good Sign
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by Notthatgood4
When Freddy Adu entered Major League Soccer at the age of 14, he was tabbed as not only the future of American soccer but the future of soccer period. Now four years later, Adu has moved onto Portuguese power Benfica, having done virtually nothing in MLS.
While most fans feel disappointed by Adu's inability to dominate the league, the reality is that this shows how legitimate the competition is in Major League Soccer.
And it's not as if the kid can't play. His outstanding showing at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup and the attention he received from an assortment of top European clubs attests to this.
Adu was nothing more than an average MLS player, but he still was deemed to be worthy of the $2 million transfer fee Benfica paid. If just an average player is worth $2 million, just imagine how much all the players in Major League Soccer are worth combined.
Adu was never allowed to fully play the position that he wow'd people in before he signed with MLS. Had DC United used Freddy as an offesive midfielder, I think we would have seen him show more of the flash and flair we saw in the U20 World Cup. Unfortunately for Adu, he joined a club that already had an All Star Offensive Midfielder on its roster, Christian Gomez. having that spot filled, he was forced out to the left side of the field, where he never truly got into the rythem of things. Add that the fact that MLS is a very physical league, a player of his size and finess will always have problems.
If Benfica mold Adu into an offensive midfielder, I believe we will see the Adu we all thought we were getting three and a half years ago.