***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (2 Viewers)

[Aaron Rudnicki]

That said, though, I've been to games in both Toronto and Chicago, and no offense Chicago fans (not sure if we have many...Christo?), but the atmosphere is completely the opposite. Going to the Fire game, while fun of course, wasn't the kind of thing that'd make a fan out of a hater. But Toronto (and, presumably, Seattle and Portland as well) is the kind of experience that can do that.

Fire games were much better when they played in the city. Suburban stadiums usually suck.It's pretty family friendly these days, but that doesn't interest me at all.

 

[LHUCKS]

Not necessarily. I misspoke earlier. SUM did not hold the tv rights in 2006/2010 like they did in 2002. They only provided assistance to Disney in their bid. Disney took on MLS on their own in the hopes of growing the viewership, which has not happened.As I said, there is no way to predict what will happen in 3 years but ESPN already has proof that broadcasting the World Cup with great ratings has little affect on MLS and that could affect the next contract.MLS and soccer in general could not have a better friend in John Skipper who is the vice president in charge of content. He absolutely loves the sport. It was he himself that stated that they intended to grow the MLS viewership to 1 million. If he is not in charge in 3 years and a less soccer friendly person is in his place, I fear MLS could be stuck on FSC with maybe some time buys on ESPN, which would be crushing to say the least in the business plan.

Dude, serious good posting here. I've learned a lot from you the past couple of hours...thanks.

 

[NewlyRetired]

First leg of Canadian Championship was last night (winner gets a bid into CCL)

Toronto drew 1-1 at Vancouver.

 

[NewlyRetired]

U.S. Soccer

U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley will reveal the USA's 23-man roster for the match against Spain and the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup on May 23 on ussoccer.com.

The rosters are due on May 21 so there is a chance this could be leaked ahead of time.

 

[El Floppo]

U.S. SoccerU.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley will reveal the USA's 23-man roster for the match against Spain and the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup on May 23 on ussoccer.com.The rosters are due on May 21 so there is a chance this could be leaked ahead of time.

 

[NewlyRetired]

UAE club Al Wasl hires Diego Maradona as its coach

This should end well

 

[JMon348]

UAE club Al Wasl hires Diego Maradona as its coach

This should end well

They were showing highlights of his presser the other night on Fox Soccer Tonight. Hilarious.

 

[JMon348]

Some Barca rumors:

Atletico players Forlan (31) and Aguero (22) have been offered to Barcelona, that has postponed all transfer talks until after CL final

Villarreal ask a fee of 35M for forward Giuseppe Rossi (24). They are also willing to accept 20M plus Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic

If Barcelona lose the CL final, president Rosell will the next day meet with Wenger and Cesc's agent Dein to offer 30M + 2 players for Cesc.The 2 players, chosen from 4 and who would be sold with buy-back option, would not be Thiago nor Bojan, who could be included in Rossi deal.If Barcelona win the CL final, there will be no hurry to sign Cesc. Arsenal ask 50M, Barcelona values him at less than 45M

The names I keep hearing for Barca is Cesc, Rossi, and Neymar. First I've heard about Forlan, how would he fit?

 

[Slapdash]

Some Barca rumors:

Atletico players Forlan (31) and Aguero (22) have been offered to Barcelona, that has postponed all transfer talks until after CL final

Villarreal ask a fee of 35M for forward Giuseppe Rossi (24). They are also willing to accept 20M plus Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic

If Barcelona lose the CL final, president Rosell will the next day meet with Wenger and Cesc's agent Dein to offer 30M + 2 players for Cesc.The 2 players, chosen from 4 and who would be sold with buy-back option, would not be Thiago nor Bojan, who could be included in Rossi deal.If Barcelona win the CL final, there will be no hurry to sign Cesc. Arsenal ask 50M, Barcelona values him at less than 45M

The names I keep hearing for Barca is Cesc, Rossi, and Neymar. First I've heard about Forlan, how would he fit?

The squad is not very deep upfront so an addition will be needed, particularly since I expect Bojan to be loaned/sold. I think Forlan would be a great addition an instantly make the team more dangerous on set pieces. I don't know if he could be the target man in the middle the club is really missing.At this point I do not see any reason to go after Cesc for such a high price. Thiago and Dos Santos seem to be progressing nicely and I would rather role my dice with them and the very capable Keita should Xavi or Iniesta have an extended injury absence.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Some Barca rumors:

Atletico players Forlan (31) and Aguero (22) have been offered to Barcelona, that has postponed all transfer talks until after CL final

Villarreal ask a fee of 35M for forward Giuseppe Rossi (24). They are also willing to accept 20M plus Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic

If Barcelona lose the CL final, president Rosell will the next day meet with Wenger and Cesc's agent Dein to offer 30M + 2 players for Cesc.The 2 players, chosen from 4 and who would be sold with buy-back option, would not be Thiago nor Bojan, who could be included in Rossi deal.If Barcelona win the CL final, there will be no hurry to sign Cesc. Arsenal ask 50M, Barcelona values him at less than 45M

The names I keep hearing for Barca is Cesc, Rossi, and Neymar. First I've heard about Forlan, how would he fit?

The squad is not very deep upfront so an addition will be needed, particularly since I expect Bojan to be loaned/sold. I think Forlan would be a great addition an instantly make the team more dangerous on set pieces. I don't know if he could be the target man in the middle the club is really missing.At this point I do not see any reason to go after Cesc for such a high price. Thiago and Dos Santos seem to be progressing nicely and I would rather role my dice with them and the very capable Keita should Xavi or Iniesta have an extended injury absence.

Would Forlan be better than Rossi?Where does Affelay fit into all of this? Not ready to be a starter? He seems really talented.Cesc and Forlan both seem to be a bit undervalued now b/c of injury, IIRC. Is there a chance that they could turn out to be great buys if they're given ample time to heal up?What is Barca's war chest for this summer?Man, it's great to root for a team that has all sorts of money and ####. I'm not used to this with the American teams I follow.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Would Forlan be better than Rossi?

It is a tricky question because of their ages. Forlan is close to exiting his peak as a player and Rossi is close to entering his peak. Both very good players. Most teams would go with the youth but with Barca they may just want Forlan for a year but would be willing to pay him for more and then look at other options next offseason. As you said, having more money than god to spend allows them options 99.99999% of all teams in the world could never dream of.

 

[El Floppo]

Would Forlan be better than Rossi?

It is a tricky question because of their ages. Forlan is close to exiting his peak as a player and Rossi is close to entering his peak. Both very good players. Most teams would go with the youth but with Barca they may just want Forlan for a year but would be willing to pay him for more and then look at other options next offseason. As you said, having more money than god to spend allows them options 99.99999% of all teams in the world could never dream of.

Ahem... #### Rossi.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Would Forlan be better than Rossi?

It is a tricky question because of their ages. Forlan is close to exiting his peak as a player and Rossi is close to entering his peak. Both very good players. Most teams would go with the youth but with Barca they may just want Forlan for a year but would be willing to pay him for more and then look at other options next offseason. As you said, having more money than god to spend allows them options 99.99999% of all teams in the world could never dream of.

Ahem... #### Rossi.

Oh yeah, forgot about that.

 

[Slapdash]

Some Barca rumors:

Atletico players Forlan (31) and Aguero (22) have been offered to Barcelona, that has postponed all transfer talks until after CL final

Villarreal ask a fee of 35M for forward Giuseppe Rossi (24). They are also willing to accept 20M plus Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic

If Barcelona lose the CL final, president Rosell will the next day meet with Wenger and Cesc's agent Dein to offer 30M + 2 players for Cesc.The 2 players, chosen from 4 and who would be sold with buy-back option, would not be Thiago nor Bojan, who could be included in Rossi deal.If Barcelona win the CL final, there will be no hurry to sign Cesc. Arsenal ask 50M, Barcelona values him at less than 45M

The names I keep hearing for Barca is Cesc, Rossi, and Neymar. First I've heard about Forlan, how would he fit?

The squad is not very deep upfront so an addition will be needed, particularly since I expect Bojan to be loaned/sold. I think Forlan would be a great addition an instantly make the team more dangerous on set pieces. I don't know if he could be the target man in the middle the club is really missing.At this point I do not see any reason to go after Cesc for such a high price. Thiago and Dos Santos seem to be progressing nicely and I would rather role my dice with them and the very capable Keita should Xavi or Iniesta have an extended injury absence.

Would Forlan be better than Rossi?Where does Affelay fit into all of this? Not ready to be a starter? He seems really talented.Cesc and Forlan both seem to be a bit undervalued now b/c of injury, IIRC. Is there a chance that they could turn out to be great buys if they're given ample time to heal up?What is Barca's war chest for this summer?Man, it's great to root for a team that has all sorts of money and ####. I'm not used to this with the American teams I follow.

I think Rossi would probably a better fit style wise but I prefer Forlan since I rate him much higher and he should come cheaper given injuries/age. I also do not like the prospect of selling Thiago or Bojan to acquire him. Alexis Sanchez would be an attractive option as well.Affelay has really been a great signing and his ability to play in the midfield and on the wings is another reason I think Cesc would be a wasteful addition. I'm not sure if he will ever be a regular starter unless he develops a nose for the goal, but he has shown excellent progress in just half a season.Too early to tell about the war chest. Selling some dead weight that is on loan like Henrique, Caceras, and Hleb would certainly help, but I would only expect 2 big signings. I hope one of them is a CB. Rosell seems to have a tighter grasp on the wallet than Laporta.

 

[NewlyRetired]

A lot of Big Soccer nerds are ready to burn down the league over this but it's not the worst thing, especially considering the financial realities of the league

===================================

RENTON, Wash. - Seattle Sounders FC announced today that the date for the home match versus the Philadelphia Union has been moved to Saturday, October 8. The game will start at 7:00 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

At the request of Major League Soccer the match was moved from its original July 23 date to accommodate the Union's involvement in the Herbalife World Football Challenge.

All tickets issue for the original date will be honored. To purchase tickets, call 1-877-MLS-GOAL. 

 

[El Floppo]

I'll let you Barca guys tell me, but I assume the Cesc move would be with an eye towards him replacing Xavi eventually? Just looked up Xavi's age- only 31, so still in his prime, but will start hitting the outside edge of that pretty quick.

And as much as I hate Rossi (or pretend to hate, at least), I agree with Slappy that he would slot right into Barca's style without much problem. I just don't think they need yet another little guy with good giddy-up and great skills to be on the field. Drogba, IMO, would be a fantastic fit if he bought into Pep's system- I think he's got the quick control and vision to play with those guys, but gives them a dominant player up top to also win balls and create goals. Or they sign Brian Ching.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Good interview with Davies on FIFA.com

The last piece was interesting as we were just talking about the in stadium crowds and atmosphere in MLS. It appears from a far Davies had no real idea how things were here. I bet players like Dempsey and Howard who left years ago would also be impressed with the improvements.

 

[JMon348]

I'll let you Barca guys tell me, but I assume the Cesc move would be with an eye towards him replacing Xavi eventually? Just looked up Xavi's age- only 31, so still in his prime, but will start hitting the outside edge of that pretty quick. And as much as I hate Rossi (or pretend to hate, at least), I agree with Slappy that he would slot right into Barca's style without much problem. I just don't think they need yet another little guy with good giddy-up and great skills to be on the field. Drogba, IMO, would be a fantastic fit if he bought into Pep's system- I think he's got the quick control and vision to play with those guys, but gives them a dominant player up top to also win balls and create goals. Or they sign Brian Ching.

Eto'o

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

A lot of Big Soccer nerds are ready to burn down the league over this but it's not the worst thing, especially considering the financial realities of the league

===================================

RENTON, Wash. - Seattle Sounders FC announced today that the date for the home match versus the Philadelphia Union has been moved to Saturday, October 8. The game will start at 7:00 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

At the request of Major League Soccer the match was moved from its original July 23 date to accommodate the Union's involvement in the Herbalife World Football Challenge.

All tickets issue for the original date will be honored. To purchase tickets, call 1-877-MLS-GOAL. 

As far I'm concerned, we did the league a solid by postponing our match with RSL last month. We're just paying it forward

 

[NewlyRetired]

A lot of Big Soccer nerds are ready to burn down the league over this but it's not the worst thing, especially considering the financial realities of the league

===================================

RENTON, Wash. - Seattle Sounders FC announced today that the date for the home match versus the Philadelphia Union has been moved to Saturday, October 8. The game will start at 7:00 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

At the request of Major League Soccer the match was moved from its original July 23 date to accommodate the Union's involvement in the Herbalife World Football Challenge.

All tickets issue for the original date will be honored. To purchase tickets, call 1-877-MLS-GOAL.

As far I'm concerned, we did the league a solid by postponing our match with RSL last month. We're just paying it forward

I agree. Any idea what the MLS teams get from these games financially? I can't figure out who the money men are behind these friendlies. Is MLS promoting these are are they simply going to be paid to appear like the Euro teams?

 

[El Floppo]

I'll let you Barca guys tell me, but I assume the Cesc move would be with an eye towards him replacing Xavi eventually? Just looked up Xavi's age- only 31, so still in his prime, but will start hitting the outside edge of that pretty quick. And as much as I hate Rossi (or pretend to hate, at least), I agree with Slappy that he would slot right into Barca's style without much problem. I just don't think they need yet another little guy with good giddy-up and great skills to be on the field. Drogba, IMO, would be a fantastic fit if he bought into Pep's system- I think he's got the quick control and vision to play with those guys, but gives them a dominant player up top to also win balls and create goals. Or they sign Brian Ching.

Eto'o

I knew I was forgetting one of their guys... I don't really get how that didn't work out given his skill-set, but it certainly has for my Inter.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

I'll let you Barca guys tell me, but I assume the Cesc move would be with an eye towards him replacing Xavi eventually? Just looked up Xavi's age- only 31, so still in his prime, but will start hitting the outside edge of that pretty quick. And as much as I hate Rossi (or pretend to hate, at least), I agree with Slappy that he would slot right into Barca's style without much problem. I just don't think they need yet another little guy with good giddy-up and great skills to be on the field. Drogba, IMO, would be a fantastic fit if he bought into Pep's system- I think he's got the quick control and vision to play with those guys, but gives them a dominant player up top to also win balls and create goals. Or they sign Brian Ching.

I think that's the general idea.I heard a crazy rumor that Man City was going to offer Barca 100m for Xavi, which seems nuts. But who knows with that team.

 

[Slapdash]

I'll let you Barca guys tell me, but I assume the Cesc move would be with an eye towards him replacing Xavi eventually? Just looked up Xavi's age- only 31, so still in his prime, but will start hitting the outside edge of that pretty quick. And as much as I hate Rossi (or pretend to hate, at least), I agree with Slappy that he would slot right into Barca's style without much problem. I just don't think they need yet another little guy with good giddy-up and great skills to be on the field. Drogba, IMO, would be a fantastic fit if he bought into Pep's system- I think he's got the quick control and vision to play with those guys, but gives them a dominant player up top to also win balls and create goals. Or they sign Brian Ching.

I think it is part that and part the fact that the team is not really deep right now. Keita is a solid player, but the team really misses something when only one of Xavi/Iniesta is on the pitch. He would also allow Iniesta to play up front on the wings more often like during the WC.I agree completely wrt Rossi and Drogba. Drogba is exactly the type of player that could bring another dimention to the team if, unlike Ibra, he bought in to the system. Selling Eto'o for Ibra was so stupid.

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

A lot of Big Soccer nerds are ready to burn down the league over this but it's not the worst thing, especially considering the financial realities of the league

===================================

RENTON, Wash. - Seattle Sounders FC announced today that the date for the home match versus the Philadelphia Union has been moved to Saturday, October 8. The game will start at 7:00 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

At the request of Major League Soccer the match was moved from its original July 23 date to accommodate the Union's involvement in the Herbalife World Football Challenge.

All tickets issue for the original date will be honored. To purchase tickets, call 1-877-MLS-GOAL. 

As far I'm concerned, we did the league a solid by postponing our match with RSL last month. We're just paying it forward

I agree. Any idea what the MLS teams get from these games financially? I can't figure out who the money men are behind these friendlies. Is MLS promoting these are are they simply going to be paid to appear like the Euro teams?

It's a good question - Apparently it's enough to make it worth postponing league games. And since SUM likely gets a chunk of the gate/appearance fee Seattle's owners (along with the other MLS teams) would indirectly benefit through their share of SUM. On the flip side (100% speculation here) the Euro teams probably make the most from these matches and in the case of this match, the Eagles stand to make their fair share too from rent and concessions.

 

[JMon348]

I'll let you Barca guys tell me, but I assume the Cesc move would be with an eye towards him replacing Xavi eventually? Just looked up Xavi's age- only 31, so still in his prime, but will start hitting the outside edge of that pretty quick. And as much as I hate Rossi (or pretend to hate, at least), I agree with Slappy that he would slot right into Barca's style without much problem. I just don't think they need yet another little guy with good giddy-up and great skills to be on the field. Drogba, IMO, would be a fantastic fit if he bought into Pep's system- I think he's got the quick control and vision to play with those guys, but gives them a dominant player up top to also win balls and create goals. Or they sign Brian Ching.

Eto'o

I knew I was forgetting one of their guys... I don't really get how that didn't work out given his skill-set, but it certainly has for my Inter.

They liked Ibrahimovic more apparently, him and Pep didn't get along, they will probably sell him this year to AC Milan.

 

[Sebowski]

I'll let you Barca guys tell me, but I assume the Cesc move would be with an eye towards him replacing Xavi eventually? Just looked up Xavi's age- only 31, so still in his prime, but will start hitting the outside edge of that pretty quick.

And as much as I hate Rossi (or pretend to hate, at least), I agree with Slappy that he would slot right into Barca's style without much problem. I just don't think they need yet another little guy with good giddy-up and great skills to be on the field. Drogba, IMO, would be a fantastic fit if he bought into Pep's system- I think he's got the quick control and vision to play with those guys, but gives them a dominant player up top to also win balls and create goals. Or they sign Brian Ching.

Eto'o

I knew I was forgetting one of their guys... I don't really get how that didn't work out given his skill-set, but it certainly has for my Inter.

There's nothing not to get. It did work out. It was great. Then they shipped him off anyway. There is no way I see Barca getting Drogba so I'm not going to get my hopes up talking about it.

I agree with most here that Cesc isn't worth the money he is going to take. As an Arsenal fan also, I'm starting to think they should drop their price to get rid if him actually. Just haven't been very impressed with him in awhile.

Depth on D should be priority number one for Barca regardless of the Final outcome. Well, I guess upgrading starters is always better than depth, but the focus of the offseason should be depth on D. Rossi would be great to bump Pedro to the bench. I like Pedro (when he isn't whining), but no denying that Rossi is an upgrade.

And please don't sell Xavi!!!

 

[The Gator]

Would Forlan be better than Rossi?

It is a tricky question because of their ages. Forlan is close to exiting his peak as a player and Rossi is close to entering his peak. Both very good players. Most teams would go with the youth but with Barca they may just want Forlan for a year but would be willing to pay him for more and then look at other options next offseason. As you said, having more money than god to spend allows them options 99.99999% of all teams in the world could never dream of.

Ahem... #### Rossi.

This

 

[The Z Machine]

Forlán has been pretty mediocre this for Atleti. I hope they ship him for a pretty penny and keep Kun. He's the future of the club and to sell both would be a mistake. They would have no chance of seeing Europe then IMO, especially if they also sell De Gea. I certainly don't see all 3 leaving as the fans would riot.

 

[NewlyRetired]

This is some fascinating data for MLS/SUM. There is a site that ranks the top 125 global brands for yearly licensing revenue. The data has been compiled going back to 2001. Here are the year by year MLS numbers. The growth is impressive. The 2007 jump is obvious, but the growth rate from 2008-2010 was unexpected.

2001 $70M

2002 $80M

2003 $100M

2004 $120M

2005 $140M

2006 $145M

2007 $300M

2008 $290M

2009 $310M

2010 $420M

The 2010 number puts them at the #64 slot.

http://staging.nxtbook.com/fx/webkit2/index.php?bp=/nxtbooks/advanstar/license0511&hash=/65

 

[NewlyRetired]

Games on tv this weekend

SATURDAY

Spain, Malaga-Barcelona noon GolTV

Spain, Real Madrid-Almeria 2 p.m. ESPN Deportes

Spain, Hercules-Sporting Gijon 2 p.m. DirecTV (477)

France, PSG-Lille 3 p.m. Fox Soccer Channel

France, Lyon-Caen 3 p.m. Fox Soccer Plus

Spain, Real Sociedad-Getafe 4 p.m. GolTV

Spain, Osasuna-Villarreal 4 p.m. DirecTV (478)

Spain, Espanyol-Sevilla 4 p.m. DirecTV (479)

Colombia, America de Cali-Tolima 6 p.m. GolTV Premiere

MLS, Philadelphia-Chicago 8 p.m. Galavision

Spain, Levante-Zaragoza 8 p.m. GolTV Premiere

MLS, Houston-New York 8:30 p.m. Direct Kick

MLS, Chivas USA-Los Angeles 10 p.m. ESPN2

MLS, Seattle-Kansas City 10 p.m. Direct Kick

MLS, San Jose-New England 10:30 p.m. Direct Kick

MLS, Portland-Columbus 11 p.m. Direct Kick

SUNDAY

England, Manchester United-Blackpool 11 a.m. ESPN2

England, Spurs-Birmingham 11 a.m. FSC

England, Wolves-Blackburn 11 a.m. FSP

England, Stoke-Wigan 1 p.m. FSP

Mexican final, Pumas-Morelia 1 p.m. Telemundo

Italy, Udinese-AC Milan 2:30 p.m. FSC

Italy, Lecce-Lazio 3 p.m. FSP

Brazil, Gremio-Corinthians 3 p.m. GolTV

England, Fulham-Arsenal 5 p.m. FSC

Italy, Juventus-Napoli 5 p.m. FSP

Uruguay, Defensor-Penarol 5 p.m. GolTV Premiere

MLS, Dallas-Real Salt Lake 7 p.m. Direct Kick

MLS, Colorado-Toronto 7 p.m. Direct Kick

WPS, Western New York-Magicjack 7 p.m. FSC

 

[Bonzai]

Ahem... #### Rossi.

Never pass up a chance to pile on this pos.

 

[JMon348]

Which is the game to watch Sunday to follow the regulation battle?

England, Manchester United-Blackpool 11 a.m. ESPN2

or

England, Spurs-Birmingham 11 a.m. FSC

 

[NewlyRetired]

Blatter: FIFA to meet Qatar 2022 whistle blower

Blatter even referred to the "alarming," although still unlikely prospect of a 2022 revote if it was proven that high-level corruption helped Qatar deny the United States victory in a five-nation race.

====================================

Is there a soccer loving god or is he corrupt also? I refuse to get my hopes up though.

 

[NewlyRetired]

LONDON (AP) -- The English Football Association says it will abstain from casting a ballot in the FIFA presidential election in a protest against both Sepp Blatter and Mohamed bin Hammam.

Fresh allegations of corruption are facing both the FIFA executive committee and Qatar over the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The FA board took the decision at Wembley Stadium on Thursday.

FA chairman David Bernstein says "there are a well-reported range of issues both recent and current which, in the view of the FA board, make it difficult to support either candidate.''

The FA is one of the 208 FIFA members that will vote on June 1 in Zurich.

Blatter was elected FIFA president in 1998 and is seeking a fourth four-year term.

 

[The Gator]

Which is the game to watch Sunday to follow the regulation battle?England, Manchester United-Blackpool 11 a.m. ESPN2orEngland, Spurs-Birmingham 11 a.m. FSC

I'll be tuning into the ManU-BPool game since I'm rooting for Blackpool to stay up.

 

[NewlyRetired]

This is a very fair and interesting article on Freddy Adu written by Ives.

====================

Updated May 20, 2011 5:38 AM ET

A bust at 21 years old.

That’s what some would have you believe Freddy Adu is. The one-time soccer prodigy burst onto the scene eight years ago as a can't-miss kid with bags of skill and marketability. He was supposed to rule the soccer world by now, or at least be lifting trophies for some powerhouse European team. He was going to be Lionel Messi before we ever heard the name Messi.

Seven years ago, Freddy Adu was a 14-year-old kid sharing an MTV green room with the Black Eyed Peas (who he was more well-known than at the time) and starring in commercials with Pele. It mattered little that he was expected to not only handle the rigors of stardom, but also the truly difficult challenge of trying to be a professional athlete before his 15th birthday.

"Sometimes I think about it and I do wonder how it all happened," said Adu, who will turn 22 next month. "One day I'm just a regular kid in Bradenton trying to play with the (U-17s), trying to make my way, and then the next day I'm all over the place. I'm on David Letterman. I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere.”

Seven years later, Freddy Adu is nowhere closer to fulfilling those crazy expectations of his early teens, but he's also nowhere closer to having the final chapter written on a career that has seen more ups and downs before his 22nd birthday than most players see in an entire career.

Try to keep up with the moves. After starting out with D.C. United, Adu was traded to Real Salt Lake after three seasons, who then sold Freddy to European powerhouse Benfica (Portugal), which promptly sent him on a string of loans to Belenenses (Portugal), AS Monaco (France) and Aris FC (Greece). Whether Benfica still believed in Adu the prospect is debatable, but he spent the next three years bouncing around Europe before he had even turned 21.

Adu's roller coaster ride of a career has led him to the small Turkish town of Rize, where he joined second-division side Rizespor in January. The move smelled of desperation when he first made it, but what seemed like a questionable shift at the time has worked out well and has him enjoying a bit of a career renaissance.

Rather than going to a more established league and playing as a left winger, Adu took a leap of faith by signing with Rizespor, which let him play as an attacking midfielder. He was determined to get games and do so at his natural position, so he passed on a handful of offers in bigger leagues to play in the Turkish Second Division.

That might seem like rock bottom for Adu, but rock bottom was what he was running from when he moved to Rize.

Adu went into the summer of 2010 feeling great. He was coming off what looked like (by all accounts) a strong run with Aris FC. He figured to be a part of the team's plans in the new season, but Adu realized pretty quickly that what he thought was a great situation had turned ugly.

Adu returned to Aris last June and was promptly told that he would have to take a major pay cut or become an outcast. Adu was still on loan from Benfica, and Aris didn't want to keep paying Adu's considerable salary. But rather than cave to Aris's ultimatum, Adu called the team's bluff.

It was no bluff.

Aris not only dropped Adu from the team's plans, the club wouldn't let Adu train with the team or use the club's facilities. Adu was reduced to working out in a hotel gym to try and stay in shape.'

"Freddy had done pretty well in his first six months with Aris," according to Adu's agent, Richard Motzkin, "and he truly was looking forward to building up on it when he returned to the club in the summer of 2010.

"For reasons known only to Aris, the club decided Freddy was not in their plans and literally did everything possible to break Freddy so he would quit."

"It caught me off guard because I thought everything was fine,” Adu said. “I thought I was working hard and helping the team, then all of a sudden that happened.

"I would have been okay with taking a little bit of a paycut, because I know how things were," Adu said. "It’s just the way everything went out, the whole thing just got out of control."

Adu eventually returned to the United States to regroup and figure out an escape plan from Aris. He weighed several offers, including an unlikely one from Rizespor, a small Turkish second-division club with aspirations to gain promotion.

With the help of Adu's work as an attacking midfielder, Rizespor heads into the Turkish League Promotion playoff semifinals this weekend. Adu has proven to be a goal-scoring threat while also providing quality passes and set pieces. He will play a key role in Rizespor's chances of winning its way into the first division, and he is open to the possibility of staying with Rizespor if the clubs succeeds in gaining promotion.

The most important thing for Adu now is that he is playing regularly for the first time in years. And he's having fun. He doesn't even let things like being labeled a bust bother him, though he admits he used to let criticism affect him.

If his seven topsy-turvy years as a professional have done anything, they have forced Adu to grow up more quickly than most others have by the age of 21. He acknowledges making plenty of mistakes along the way, and looks back on the crazy beginning to his professional career and admits that, in some ways, it overwhelmed him.

"Honestly, as a 14-year old I wasn't ready to handle all that," Adu admits. 'At the time I just thought it was cool, I was happy to be a professional soccer player. If all that happened right now, I'm obviously much more mature and could handle it better. At the time I just let everything happen. It definitely got to my head."

Adu looks to the success of some of the athletes he trained alongside at the IMG Academies in Florida, such as standout golfers Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie, as well as tennis star Maria Sharapova.

"When you look at all of us, we had success early, but the key is not to accept average," Adu said. "For me, at times, I settled for less than my best, and I was okay with it. Those other guys never settled for less. That's why they're where they are right now.

"That’s something I had to figure out the hard way, but hey, I'm lucky that I'm still just 21 years old and I can still put all this together and I still have time on my side to really, really put everything together."

That's the thing that is easy to forget about Adu. While it certainly seems like he has been around a long time, and his career should be coming to a close, he is still just 21, and he is still maturing as a person and as a player. Calling Adu the player a bust is misguided, though calling the myth created around him as a 14-year-old a bust certainly is not.

Adu the player still has a long way to go, but he's making progress, and while he may not be the player so many dreamed of him being when he first stepped on the scene, he could still wind up being a player good enough to shake off any bust label.

Ives Galarcep is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering Major League Soccer and the U.S. national team.

 

[El Floppo]

"When you look at all of us, we had success early, but the key is not to accept average," Adu said. "For me, at times, I settled for less than my best, and I was okay with it. Those other guys never settled for less. That's why they're where they are right now.

"That’s something I had to figure out the hard way, but hey, I'm lucky that I'm still just 21 years old and I can still put all this together and I still have time on my side to really, really put everything together."

I dont' know that I believe that he fully understands that- especially given his complete lack of understanding of why he's not still with Aris- but it's good to hear at least a little lip service in the right direction.

 

[NewlyRetired]

"When you look at all of us, we had success early, but the key is not to accept average," Adu said. "For me, at times, I settled for less than my best, and I was okay with it. Those other guys never settled for less. That's why they're where they are right now.

"That’s something I had to figure out the hard way, but hey, I'm lucky that I'm still just 21 years old and I can still put all this together and I still have time on my side to really, really put everything together."

I dont' know that I believe that he fully understands that- especially given his complete lack of understanding of why he's not still with Aris- but it's good to hear at least a little lip service in the right direction.

There seems to much more to the Aris story. Is it common that a team turns so hard on a player that he is not even allowed to their training site? This seems to go a bit beyond just bad play, it's almost like he was toxic in some way.

 

[LHUCKS]

I for one am rooting for Freddy, he has ball skills that few Americans do.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Rather than going to a more established league and playing as a left winger, Adu took a leap of faith by signing with Rizespor, which let him play as an attacking midfielder.

This is something I can never get. There is nothing in Freddy's skill set that says "winger". He is neither fast nor quick, does not possess defensive ability to track back, and does not particularly cross the ball well. On top of that, sticking him on the touch line limits his one strong gift and that is his vision and passing skills which are maximized in the middle of the pitch. It may be that Freddy can only succeed in a lower division set up where he can play attacking midfielder.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Curious statement from Chivas USA VP on their goals for how they want to populate their team

=======================

Chivas USA pursue SoCal only player policy

For Morales and the club, however, it’s part of a long-term vision. It has been a rough six-year start, but Chivas USA (3-3-3 this season) still intends to be a club with nationwide reach. To get there, it plans to adopt the polarizing policy of its Guadalajara parent -- homegrown players only.

“We will play only with South California players," Morales said. "It will be the real thing -- homegrown players through development rather than hiring stars.

“Sooner or later, 11 of our players will be from Southern California. We will have to invest a lot of money in development, but if we can achieve that the sense of belonging to the people of Southern California will be huge. They will be supporting their neighbor.”

 

[LHUCKS]

it would be really nice to be able to watch some MLS soccer tonight...their scheduling sucks.

 

[The Gator]

Am I the only one having issued getting games to record? They have titles on the Dish guide as MLS, SOCCER and MLS: team1 v. team 2. It seams the third option I listed is mostly new games where as the first two can be reruns. Putting the teams into the title ####s up "recording all" because the next game they air isn't the same two ####### teams. Swear to Heysus that I have no fewer than 6 timers set up to try and record MLS and nothing.ever.records.

I need a beer

 

[Sebowski]

Rather than going to a more established league and playing as a left winger, Adu took a leap of faith by signing with Rizespor, which let him play as an attacking midfielder.

This is something I can never get. There is nothing in Freddy's skill set that says "winger". He is neither fast nor quick, does not possess defensive ability to track back, and does not particularly cross the ball well. On top of that, sticking him on the touch line limits his one strong gift and that is his vision and passing skills which are maximized in the middle of the pitch. It may be that Freddy can only succeed in a lower division set up where he can play attacking midfielder.

I really like the comparison someone in here made a while back comparing Adu to a great college QB who just doesn't have the physical gifts to succeed at the next level.

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

it would be really nice to be able to watch some MLS soccer tonight...their scheduling sucks.

Yeah it's weird that they made such a big deal of launching this Friday night "Soccer Night in America" game on FSC, and unless I'm mistaken, they haven't had a Friday Night game on the schedule since that first one. Killed any possible momentum.

 

[Eephus]

AFC Wimbledon going up to the League

Goalkeeper Seb Brown was the hero as AFC Wimbledon won a dramatic Blue Square Bet Premier play-off final on penalties to seal promotion to the Football League for the first time in their short nine-year history.The success represents a remarkable climb up England's football ladder for the Dons, who were only founded in 2002 as a direct result of Wimbledon FC's relocation to Milton Keynes and subsequent transformation to MK Dons.Just one division will separate those two sides next season, with AFC Wimbledon heading for League Two after an entertaining, albeit hard-fought, goalless encounter in front of 18,195 supporters at Eastlands.Brown saved penalties from Alex Lawless and Jason Walker, leaving Dons skipper Danny Kedwell to fire home the penalty that clinched victory.Luton striker Walker had headed against a post in the 89th minute before Dons counterpart Kaid Mohamed stroked a shot against the woodwork in extra-time.

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

AFC Wimbledon going up to the League

Goalkeeper Seb Brown was the hero as AFC Wimbledon won a dramatic Blue Square Bet Premier play-off final on penalties to seal promotion to the Football League for the first time in their short nine-year history.The success represents a remarkable climb up England's football ladder for the Dons, who were only founded in 2002 as a direct result of Wimbledon FC's relocation to Milton Keynes and subsequent transformation to MK Dons.Just one division will separate those two sides next season, with AFC Wimbledon heading for League Two after an entertaining, albeit hard-fought, goalless encounter in front of 18,195 supporters at Eastlands.Brown saved penalties from Alex Lawless and Jason Walker, leaving Dons skipper Danny Kedwell to fire home the penalty that clinched victory.Luton striker Walker had headed against a post in the 89th minute before Dons counterpart Kaid Mohamed stroked a shot against the woodwork in extra-time.

That's awesome! That they'll only be one level below MK Dons in less than a decade is amazing

 

[Bonzai]

AFC Wimbledon going up to the League

Goalkeeper Seb Brown was the hero as AFC Wimbledon won a dramatic Blue Square Bet Premier play-off final on penalties to seal promotion to the Football League for the first time in their short nine-year history.The success represents a remarkable climb up England's football ladder for the Dons, who were only founded in 2002 as a direct result of Wimbledon FC's relocation to Milton Keynes and subsequent transformation to MK Dons.Just one division will separate those two sides next season, with AFC Wimbledon heading for League Two after an entertaining, albeit hard-fought, goalless encounter in front of 18,195 supporters at Eastlands.Brown saved penalties from Alex Lawless and Jason Walker, leaving Dons skipper Danny Kedwell to fire home the penalty that clinched victory.Luton striker Walker had headed against a post in the 89th minute before Dons counterpart Kaid Mohamed stroked a shot against the woodwork in extra-time.

 

[Christo]

AFC Wimbledon going up to the League

Goalkeeper Seb Brown was the hero as AFC Wimbledon won a dramatic Blue Square Bet Premier play-off final on penalties to seal promotion to the Football League for the first time in their short nine-year history.

The success represents a remarkable climb up England's football ladder for the Dons, who were only founded in 2002 as a direct result of Wimbledon FC's relocation to Milton Keynes and subsequent transformation to MK Dons.

Just one division will separate those two sides next season, with AFC Wimbledon heading for League Two after an entertaining, albeit hard-fought, goalless encounter in front of 18,195 supporters at Eastlands.

Brown saved penalties from Alex Lawless and Jason Walker, leaving Dons skipper Danny Kedwell to fire home the penalty that clinched victory.

Luton striker Walker had headed against a post in the 89th minute before Dons counterpart Kaid Mohamed stroked a shot against the woodwork in extra-time.

Gotta love it. Here we shun pretty much any sort of connection between professional sports and betting. In the UK a bookmaker sponsors a friggin' league.

 

[GoFishTN]

AFC Wimbledon going up to the League

Goalkeeper Seb Brown was the hero as AFC Wimbledon won a dramatic Blue Square Bet Premier play-off final on penalties to seal promotion to the Football League for the first time in their short nine-year history.The success represents a remarkable climb up England's football ladder for the Dons, who were only founded in 2002 as a direct result of Wimbledon FC's relocation to Milton Keynes and subsequent transformation to MK Dons.Just one division will separate those two sides next season, with AFC Wimbledon heading for League Two after an entertaining, albeit hard-fought, goalless encounter in front of 18,195 supporters at Eastlands.Brown saved penalties from Alex Lawless and Jason Walker, leaving Dons skipper Danny Kedwell to fire home the penalty that clinched victory.Luton striker Walker had headed against a post in the 89th minute before Dons counterpart Kaid Mohamed stroked a shot against the woodwork in extra-time.

That's awesome! That they'll only be one level below MK Dons in less than a decade is amazing

I know they didn't really want to play each other in the FA Cup, if it came to it. So, what's going to happen if they end up in the same division?