14-year-old Adu to play in MLS
American soccer might have produced its first modern superstar. At least that is how Freddy Adu is being received.
Adu, who signed a $1 million endorsement deal with Nike just after his 14th birthday June 2, yesterday agreed to a contract with Major League Soccer.
Adu's signing will be officially announced at a press conference this morning at Madison Square Garden in New York. The league is expected to assign Adu to D.C. United, which would acquire his rights from the Dallas Burn, who have the first choice in the Jan. 16 MLS draft.
MLS, which controls all contracts centrally through its New York office, outmaneuvered several top-level European clubs for Adu by acceding to his request to perform close to his Potomac, Md., home and pledging funds for his education through its Project-40 program. Adu will join D.C. United following his graduation from high school in May, and could become the youngest athlete to play professionally in a team sport since Fred Chapman, who was 14 years, 7 months, and 29 days when he pitched in baseball's American Association in 1887.
Adu moved to the United States from Ghana in 1997 after his mother, Emelia, was issued a visa through a lottery. He is following a different route than many other players from West Africa, who are shopped to European clubs by agents, often with years shaved off their true ages and forged passports. Adu's listed birthdate could be the date of his baptism, a common procedure in many countries. But there does not appear to have been any deliberate attempt to exaggerate his age.
Four years after he came to America, Adu was offered a contract to train with the junior team of FC Internazionale Milano in Italy, a deal worth about $125,000 for five years. But Adu refused the offer, then went into the residency program of the US national team in Bradenton, Fla., where he trained with the Under-17 team.
During the FIFA Under-17 World Championships in Finland last summer, Adu made a sensational start in a 6-1 victory over South Korea, attracting interest from English clubs Chelsea and Manchester United. Adu appeared on the verge of joining Manchester United, which is focusing on the US for marketing and player development, adding former MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard as a starter this season. But management changes at Chelsea and Manchester United led to the cancellation of an Adu visit to England in August.
Adu's salary has not been announced, but it is believed to be far less than the league maximum of $250,000 annually. But he will have the option of renegotiating with European clubs, and could depart before the six-year contract expires.
Most of the world's top clubs bring in prospects at a very young age, initiating them into the team's system of play. Internazionale, for example, has 17 age-group teams, involving more than 350 players, but few of them are expected to progress to the first team. Only recently have such clubs started to recruit young talent from outside Europe.
But because of the enormous amount of soccer players in the world, projecting which ones will be successful at the senior level is very difficult. Adu is athletic and skillful, and has performed well in practice sessions with D.C. United pros. But he is 5 feet 8 inches, 140 pounds, and there are questions about his ability to survive in game situations, when the action can become rough. Pro players usually do not defend with full force against young amateurs, so it is even more difficult to predict how Adu will fare.
Adu could join D.C. United training camp on at least a part-time basis in February. His coach will likely be Ray Hudson, who observed Adu several times training with the team last season.
"I have no doubt he would fit into any MLS team in any MLS game on any given Saturday," Hudson said in July. "He would fit in like hand in glove and not let you down."
MLS set up a Project-40 program, allowing young prospects to join teams while deferring their studies, and several have earned starting places, including United's Santino Quaranta, who was the youngest player in the league's eight-year history when he made his debut at 16 years, 7 months, 25 days in 2001.
