Freddy Adu was 14 when he was first pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. He soon had his own bobblehead, pop star squeeze and LeBron James’ notoriety, but the wonderkid’s American dream turned into a nightmare. FFT explains how...
Words Chris Evans
F reddy Adu felt a tap on his shoulder. Spinning around, the 14-year-old was greeted by a familiar face grinning back at him. “What is this... what is happening?” a confused Adu asked no one in particular. “Why is Pele here?”
It might sound like a football-mad teenager’s fever dream, but this was Adu’s real life. O Rei was there to meet him.
Adu might be best known for the virtual version of himself that existed on Football Manager during the Noughties, but his story began before he was hoovering up Ballons d’Or on people’s hard drives.
In March 2004, the naturalised American shot to prominence in the United States after standing out at youth level, and became the youngest US athlete for more than a century to turn professional when he signed a deal with DC United aged 14. He not only went straight into the first team, he also became the star attraction at the club, and in Major League Soccer as a whole.
If that wasn’t enough expectation to pile on to adolescent shoulders, American media dubbed Adu ‘the next Pele’ – so naturally the Brazilian legend was drafted in to meet his heir and star opposite him in a skills challenge for a television advert promoting soft drink ‘Sierra Mist’. Adu won the fictional contest.
The teenager was US football’s bright new hope, destined to take the world by storm and lift his country’s reputation on the global stage. Yet fast-forward nearly two decades and the story is winding down in a decidedly different manner, the training sessions with Manchester United and Olympic royalty replaced by unhappy spells in Brazil, Serbia and most recently the Scandinavian lower leagues. Adu’s is now a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of too much, too young...
FREDDYMANIA
Born in Tema, Ghana, back in 1989, Fredua Koranteng Adu’s first football experience was playing barefoot on uneven land littered with rocks and glass, jostling with older, physical children. A tough environment, yes, but one that taught him balance and close control.
The Adus weren’t poor but had ambitions for a better life. They entered the 1997 Green Card Lottery and, incredibly, won permanent visas to remain in the USA. Settling in the Washington DC area, eight-year-old Adu’s football talent didn’t shine immediately, but after featuring for a school friend’s team he was spotted and joined Potomac Cougars,
