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== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==
Adu dated [[American pop]]/R&B singer [[JoJo (singer)| JoJo]] from [[May]] [[2005]] until [[September]] [[2006]].<ref>{{cite news | date=[[2006-06-02]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060102250.html | title=Freddy Adu Celebrates a Sweet 17 | publisher=[[Washington Post]] | author = Argetsinger A, Roberts R | page = C03 | accessdate=2006-11-06}}</ref> A Washington Post article in [[November]] [[2006]] reported that the couple split after one year. JoJo mentioned on [[American Top 40]] with [[Ryan Seacrest]] that she and Adu were still good friends.<ref name="split"> {{cite news | title = Kramer's Tirade, Adding Insult to Inaccuracy. Love,etc. | author = Argetsinger A, Roberts R | publisher = The Washington Post | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/21/AR2006112101886.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns | date = [[2006-11-22]] | accessdate = January 23}}</ref> Adu is also sponsored by [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]] [[Total 90]].
This dirty nigger never did anything, if you know what I mean.
Freddy's younger brother, [[Fro Adu]], currently plays soccer for [[George Mason University]]. <ref>http://gomason.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/adu_fro00.html</ref>


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 19:28, 1 February 2008

Freddy Adu
Personal information
Full name Fredua Koranteng Adu
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Benfica
Number 30
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:53, October 17, 2007 (UTC)

Fredua Koranteng "Freddy" Adu (born 2 June 1989 in Tema, Ghana) is a Ghanaian-American footballer playing as a striker and an attacking midfielder. He currently plays for Portuguese team S.L. Benfica of the Portuguese Liga (BWINLIGA), wearing the number 30.

Childhood

Adu grew up in the port city of Tema, where he played football against men three times his age.[1] When he was eight, his mother won the Green Card Lottery, and he and his family moved to the Washington, D.C. area, and in 2003 he became a U.S. citizen. Soon after arriving in the United States, he was discovered by a local soccer coach and began playing with boys several years older. Adu attended The Heights School, a private school in Potomac, Maryland, for several years. While playing with the U.S. Olympic Development Program in an under-14 tournament against the youth squads of such traditionally strong Italian teams as Lazio of Rome and Turin’s Juventus, Freddy’s team won the competition and he led the tournament in scoring and was named MVP.[2][3] Adu was noticed by Italian football clubs, including Inter Milan, who discussed a six-figure offer for him that was turned down by his mother on the advice of his agents.He was only 10 years old at that time.

At age 12 in January, 2002, Adu joined the IMG Soccer Academy, U.S. Soccer's full-time residency program in Bradenton, Florida. He made his professional debut in Major League Soccer in early 2004, at just 14 years of age, and now plays for the United States Under-20 and men's national teams.

Adu has played for the United States in four international tournaments: the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland, the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates, the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.

Professional career

At the age of 14, Adu became the youngest American athlete in over 100 years to sign a major league pro contract - in any team sport - when he was chosen by DC United as the number one overall pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, and won the MLS Cup title with them that year.

MLS Years

In order to allow Adu to play close to home, MLS assigned him to D.C. United on 18 November 2003, working a deal with the Dallas Burn, who owned the top pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. Dallas was compensated with a player allocation. Having already signed with D.C. United, Adu effectively became the first player selected in that draft, two months before it officially took place. D.C. United had previously signed American youngsters Bobby Convey in 2000, aged 16, and Santino Quaranta in 2001 at 16 years and four months — each at the time the youngest MLS player.

D.C United

On 3 April, Adu came on in United's first game of the 2004 season against the San Jose Earthquakes as a second-half substitute, making him the youngest player to appear in United States professional sports since 1887 (the next youngest was fifteen-year-old Joe Nuxhall, who played Major League Baseball in Cincinnati in 1944). On 17 April, at the age of 14, Adu scored his first professional goal in the 75th minute of a 3-2 away loss against the MetroStars. He became the youngest player in MLS History ever to score a goal (although he had also scored for DC United in an earlier tournament, the Carolina Challenge Cup, on March 20 against the Charleston Battery).

In his first season as a pro, Adu finished the year with five goals and three assists, while playing in all 30 regular season games. Although briefly a starter, Adu was relegated to a substitute when D.C. United acquired central midfielder Christian Gómez mid-season, and it was in this role that he appeared in United's MLS Cup victory. He played in three of DC's four playoff games, coming off the bench each time; he tallied one assist in the postseason.

Adu was criticized from a number of different angles in his first season as a professional. Some soccer commentators have suggested that Adu was too young to be playing professionally and that he needed more time to develop mentally and physically amongst players his own age. In his second season, he was suspended for one game[4] after he complained about his playing time in the media[5]. However, his first two years in MLS were also punctuated by notable accomplishments, including being awarded player of the week and goal of the week multiple times. Continued development, especially of his defensive skills, helped Adu become a starting midfielder during the 2006 season. In addition, Adu had been chosen to take spot kicks during DC United's two penalty shootouts and did not miss[6][7]. He has been selected to the MLS All-Star team twice, once as a commissioner's choice and once as the coach's. He was selected to the MLS 2006 semifinals Best XI by SoccerAmerica magazine. In 2005 he was nominated for FIFPRO Young player of the year.[8]

Real Salt Lake

On 11 December 2006, D.C. United traded Adu and goalkeeper Nick Rimando to Real Salt Lake in exchange for a major allocation, goalkeeper Jay Nolly, and future considerations[9]. Adu made his debut for Real Salt Lake on 7 April, 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas[10]. He scored his first goal for the club on 20 May, 2007, converting a penalty kick in the 68th minute of a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. [11] Adu went on to score his second goal with Salt Lake from another penalty in a 1-1 draw against Boca Juniors. Adu was also captain of the U-20 United States men's national team in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. After the conclusion of that tournament, Benfica of the Portuguese Liga secured Adu's rights from MLS for a transfer fee of $2 million USD.

S.L. Benfica

On 28 July, 2007, Adu opted out of playing for Real in their regular-season match, and later that day, boarded a plane to Portugal to negotiate with Benfica. [12] On Monday, 30 July, Benfica issued an official statement[13] announcing that Adu had been transferred to their club. The following day, the signing was completed and he trained with the team in Lisbon.[14]

On 14 August, 2007, Adu made his debut with Benfica against FC Copenhagen in a UEFA Champions League qualifying match, coming into the game in the 37th minute as a substitute. It was reported[15] that Benfica's coaching staff was impressed with Adu's skills and attitude in training and were planning to increase the young American's exposure during the autumn. On September 26th, Freddy scored his first goal, on a penalty kick, for Benfica in the 92nd minute of a game against Estrela da Amadora in the Portuguese League Cup (Carlsberg Cup). Benfica subsequently won the game on penalty kicks, including another by Adu. Adu went on to make his Portuguese Liga (BWINLIGA) debut as a sub in a match against Sporting Lisbon on September 29, 2007. On October 20 he scored his first goal from open play in a 1-1 cup draw against Vitória de Setubal.

On October 24, 2007, Adu played his first UEFA Champions League game for Benfica against Celtic FC in a 1-0 victory in Lisbon. He became the youngest American to play in the competition when he entered in the 61st minute[16].

On October 28, 2007, Adu, after entering in the 81st minute, scored his first goal (a winning goal) for Benfica in league play in the 87th minute against Marítimo.[17][18] Adu also scored against Vitória de Setubal in his first start in a 2-1 loss in a Carlsberg Cup game.[19]

International career

Adu was called into the United States National Team camp for a friendly match against Canada, by then coach Bruce Arena in January 2006. On 22 January, Adu became the youngest player to debut with the national team, when he replaced an injured Eddie Johnson in the 81st minute of a friendly against Canada at the University of San Diego's stadium in San Diego, California. Within 5 minutes of entering the game, Adu was shown a yellow card for diving in the penalty area.

In January 2007, Adu captained the United States U-20 national team as it qualified for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. He finished the qualifying tournament with 2 goals and an assist, all of which he scored against Panama.

By then playing in the 2007 tournament finals, held from June to July, Adu became only the second player in the world to play in three FIFA U-20 World Cups.[20]

On 3 July, 2007 Adu scored a hat trick in USA's 6-1 victory over Poland in the group stage of the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. This accomplishment made him the first player to ever score a hat trick in both the U-17 and U-20 World Cups[21]. In the following 2-1 victory over Brazil, Adu assisted on both USA goals by Jozy Altidore.[22]

Adu was invited by the general secretary of FIFA to participate in the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw as the North American representative on November 25, 2007, in Durban, South Africa. However, the ceremony conflicted with his Benfica game schedule and he was not able to go to Durban.[23]

Adu made his first start for the USA against South Africa on November 17, 2007.

Titles and awards

With DC United (2004-2006)

Career statistics

Year Club Games*
(+sub) 		Goals Assists
2004 D.C. United 14 (17) 7 3
2005 D.C. United 20 (9) 4 6
2006 D.C. United 29 (3) 3 8
2007 Real Salt Lake 12 (1) 2 2
2007- S.L. Benfica 1 (14) 5 0
Totals 76 (44) 21 19
  • Includes cup games but not friendlies.

Personal life

Adu dated American pop/R&B singer JoJo from May 2005 until September 2006.[24] A Washington Post article in November 2006 reported that the couple split after one year. JoJo mentioned on American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest that she and Adu were still good friends.[25] Adu is also sponsored by Nike Total 90. Freddy's younger brother, Fro Adu, currently plays soccer for George Mason University. [26]

References

  1. ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/news/2003/03/03/freddy/ Who's Next? Freddy Adu At 13, America's soccer prodigy has the world at his feet
  2. ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/news/2003/03/03/freddy/ Who's Next? Freddy Adu At 13, America's soccer prodigy has the world at his feet
  3. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A59390-2001Aug24?language=printer A 12-Year-Old's Amazing Feat. Soccer Prodigy Adu Is Courted By Italy's Famed Inter Milan
  4. ^ "Fire, Adu-less United go scoreless in playoffs opener". usatoday.com. 2005-10-21. Retrieved 2007-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Upset over playing time, Adu hints at leaving United". usatoday.com. 2005-10-18. Retrieved 2007-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Looking back: Unforgettable in every way". mlsnet.com. 2005-05-11. Retrieved 2006-09-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "FC Dallas use shootout to boot out D.C." mlsnet.com. 2005-08-24. Retrieved 2006-09-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "FIFPro Young Player Award nominations announced". fifpro.org. 2005-08-18. Retrieved 2007-05-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Ready for Freddy! Real Salt Lake acquires teen phenom Freddy Adu from D.C. United". mlsnet.com. 2006-12-11. Retrieved 2006-12-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Match Tracker: FC Dallas v. Real Salt Lake". mlsnet.com. 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2007-04-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Match Tracker: Real Salt Lake v. FC Dallas". mlsnet.com. 2007-05-20. Retrieved 2007-05-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ http://www.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20070730&content_id=109014&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
  13. ^ http://web3.cmvm.pt/sdi2004/emitentes/docs/FR14469.pdf
  14. ^ [http://sdmlsproject.com/adulationbenfica.html Adu is going, going,...GONE ! (to Portugal)
  15. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ro-stockreport090407&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
  16. ^ http://www.socceramerica.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=24118
  17. ^ http://soccernet-akamai.espn.go.com/match?id=230726&cc=5901
  18. ^ http://goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=461793
  19. ^ http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=3512
  20. ^ http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/news/newsid=545987.html#pato+adu
  21. ^ http://fifa.com/u20worldcup/news/newsid=544785.html#goal+feast
  22. ^ http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/print.jsp_1409031.html
  23. ^ http://freddyadu.com/athletestyle/wpmu/freddyadunews/2007/11/09/congratulations-freddy/
  24. ^ Argetsinger A, Roberts R (2006-06-02). "Freddy Adu Celebrates a Sweet 17". Washington Post. p. C03. Retrieved 2006-11-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Argetsinger A, Roberts R (2006-11-22). "Kramer's Tirade, Adding Insult to Inaccuracy. Love,etc". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  26. ^ http://gomason.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/adu_fro00.html


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