Freddy Adu

Fredua Koranteng "Freddy" Adu (born June 2, 1989) is an American soccer player. He currently plays for S.L. Benfica in Portugal. Adu was born in Tema, Ghana, before emigrating to the United States at the age of eight and becoming a citizen in 2003. He plays for the United States national team.

He became one of the youngest athletes to sign a professional contract in the United States at the age of 14, after he was selected by D.C. United in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. On April 3, 2004, he became the youngest player to appear in a Major League Soccer game when he came on as a substitute in a game versus the San Jose Earthquakes. Two weeks later, on April 17, he became the youngest scorer in MLS history, scoring a goal in a 3-2 loss to the New York MetroStars.

Adu grew up in the port city of Tema, where he played football against men three times his age. When he was eight, his mother won the Green Card Lottery, and his family moved to Rockville, Maryland, where he attended Wayside Elementary School. 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. At the age of twelve, Adu helped the Heights School's varsity soccer team win the Maryland state championship in the fall of 2001 in a sudden death penalty kick finish that saw him injured in the last two minutes of play. Adu had skipped two grades, jumping from 7th to 9th, thus qualifying for varsity at such a young age. Later, the Heights School lost in the National Championship to the Brookings Bobcats, 3-1.

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, he led the tournament in scoring, and he was named MVP. 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 ten 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 fourteen years of age.

Professional Career

Signing with the MLS

At the age of fourteen, 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 D.C. United as the number one overall pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. He won the MLS Cup title with them later that same year. In order to allow Adu to play close to home, MLS assigned him to D.C. United on November 18, 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, and Santino Quaranta in 2001-both aged 16 and the youngest player in the MLS at the times of being drafted.


D.C. United

On April 3, 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 15 year old Joe Nuxhall, who played Major League Baseball in Cincinnati in 1944). On April 17, at the age of fourteen, 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 D.C. United in an earlier, preseason tournament, the Carolina Challenge Cup 2004, on March 20 against USL club 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 four playoff games by D.C. United, assisting in one goal during that time.

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 after he complained about his playing time in the media. 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 D.C. United's two penalty shootouts-scoring on both attempts. He was 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.


Manchester United Trial

After initially stating that he was not interested in bringing Adu to Old Trafford, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in February 2006 it was reported that Adu was set for a two-week loan, with the possibility of signing with the club during the next transfer window. Without a work permit, Adu was unable to play in a competitive game, and only trained with several players from the Manchester United academy during his two weeks. Ferguson thought highly of him prior to his trial, stating that the club had previously attempted to get Adu prior to his signing with D.C. United.


Real Salt Lake

On December 11, 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. Adu made his debut for Real Salt Lake on April 7, 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-2 tie with FC Dallas. He scored his first goal for the club on May 20, 2007, converting a penalty kick in the 68th minute of a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Adu went on to score his second goal with Salt Lake from another penalty in a 1-1 tie in an exhibition 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 US $2 million.


Benfica

On July 28, 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. On Monday, July 30, Benfica issued an official statement announcing that Adu had been transferred to their club. The following day, the signing was completed and he trained with the team in Lisbon.

On August 14, 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 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.


AS Monaco

In July 2008, Adu joined French club AS Monaco on a season-long loan, with an option to join the Ligue 1 club permanently at the end of the loan. So far in the season he has been used mostly as a substitute. In May 2009, it was reported that Adu would be returning to SL Benfica at the end of the 2008-09 season, as Monaco have declined purchasing the young forward outright.

Adu dated American singer JoJo from May 2005 until September 2006. 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. Adu is also sponsored by Nike Total 90. Adu's younger brother, Fro Adu, currently plays soccer for George Mason University.

Adu's favorite team as a child was Tottenham Hotspur, and he has expressed a desire to join the club in the future.