Mad Brit Diary

Adu being shown a path littered with failure.

The Americans are going crazy over this young forward. He's being called the next Pele, etc. Haven't we all heard that before? But this just might be the real thing. Adu recently signed a six-year pro-contract with Major League Soccer and was allocated to play for D.C. United, the club that turned down former England great Paul Gascoigne, which in retrospect was probably a very good thing. Gaza looked awful playing for Wolves reserves the other night against Everton and was pulled off after 31 minutes with a groin injury.

But back to the kid. It's hard to tell how good Adu is because he has never played in a professional game. He scored some goals playing for the United States which was eliminated in the second round at the under-17 men's world championships in Finland earlier this year, but that was hardly a real test. A Spanish kid called Cesc ran away with the honor of best player in Finland, but Adu got the headlines.

Cesc, 16, is now with the youth team at Arsenal and cleaning Thierry Henry's boots by all accounts. Adu, meanwhile is selling boots for Nike, and pulling in a cool $1 million over four years. There were reports that Manchester United and other big clubs were looking at the youngster who decided to stay in the U.S. to play professionally. Adu, who was born in Ghana but is now a U.S. citizen, will actually play in the D.C. United lineup next season, which sets the mind boggling. I mean, this will be history.

According to the MB's contacts in the USA, D.C. United has already started an advertising campaign using a photo of Adu. That' s a pretty tall order for a 14-year-old. The world will certainly be watching this story as it unfolds and it's bound to create interest in the eight-year-old American league that is desperate to be loved by the distracted masses.

In any other league in the world, a coach would have an option about playing a 14-year-old. Professional clubs in Europe have bulging competitive youth teams, where talented youngsters -- trainees - develop in challenging league play before graduating to the reserve team and then hopefully on to the first team. Not so in America. Adu, who turns 15 on June 2, will play. The United coach will be forced to let loose the youngster onto the turf, by edict of the MLS brass.

D.C. United and the other MLS teams have no youth team for Adu's caliber and no reserve team. The club can barely field enough players for a full scrimmage, so it appears Adu's only option for development will be getting time on the first team. This will be an amazing phenomena -- a 14-year-old playing professional soccer. Adu will be thrown into the frying pan, competing against players twice his age and older. There again, MLS is not the Premier League or La Liga. Adu won't be facing Roy Keane and must hope America's famous leg-breaker, Dema Kovalenko, remains his teammate and doesn't get traded from United. The lad must hope he survives the San Jose Earthquakes cruncher Troy Dayak, who I hear is part robot and might crack a shin or two and set the blood flowing.

At least Adu is young and probably heals quickly. Playing Adu in MLS next season will certainly be pushing the envelope, but there again, Freddy maybe a very special case. He does have outrageous talent and appears from interviews to be down to earth and charming, but playing against seasoned professionals who know all the tricks, is a big jump from competing in the under-17 games.

Soccer is littered with prodigies that came crashing down in flames. There again, many prodigies made the big-time. Diego Maradona played his first full international for Argentina at 16. Pele scored two goals for Brazil at the 1958 World Cup when he was 17. Ronaldo was named to Brazil's World Cup team when he was 16 and then went on to score 35 goals for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven when he was just 17. Wayne Rooney, who comes off the bench for Everton in England's Premier League, is starting for the English national team and scoring goals. But there have been many, many casualties.

Back in 1998 Chelsea youngster Leon Knight, at 15 was being called the next Pele, but he fizzled out and now plays with lowly Brighton in England's Second Division.Before Adu, a number of Ghanaians were being dubbed the next superstars, including Nil Lampty and Abedi Pele, who both performed brilliant as youngsters, but never stole the headlines later on. Lamptey, hailed as the new Pele when he was 15, is now 28 playing in the United Arab Emirates. He'll probably drop by and visit Freddy who is playing for the U.S. under-20 men at the World Youth Championship over the next month in the UAE.

Arsenal purchased the 15-year-old Jermaine Pennant in 1999 for $2.4 million and only this season has he broken into first-team play at Leeds United where he is on loan. A number of players that won the Golden Ball (Most Valuable Plauer) at the under-17 World Cup, such as Philip Osundo of Nigeria, William de Oliveira of Brazil and Oman's Mohammed Al Kathiri, never found stardom in the big-time. One U-17 Golden Ball winner currently doing well is American Landon Donovan who scored two goals in last Sunday's 4-2 MLS Cup victory over the Chicago Fire.

Donovan, 21, did well at the 2002 World Cup and one day could have a future overseas. If things go to plan, Adu could be playing on the U.S. World Cup team in Germany in 2006 -- if the Yanks make it -- a week or so after his 16th birthday. Wouldn't that be a story?

Randall writes: "Until it makes sense, I, for one, will not get excited over MLS. I'm as big a supporter of the sport as there is but, I don't believe in reinventing the wheel. MLS should use a single-table format and the champion would come from the long haul, not a short little end-of-the-season tournament. If the two-table system stays, make the tournament mean something! Top two in each division with an aggregate semifinal and a one match final. Taking the third and fourth teams in each table detracts from the whole affair.

"The setup I'd like to see would be to give U.S. Open Cup billing to fill the tournament 'need.' Go with a single-table league and bring the A-League in as a real second division. Then install the promotion\relegation system to insure the competitiveness all season long. Right now, the A-League isn't a true second division but a league that is in competition with MLS. I've seen some of those A-League teams that can outplay some of the MLS sides. Oh well, I know it won't happen, so I'll keep watching the English Premier League. By the way, I'm not a transplanted Brit, but an American that doesn't have NIHS (not invented here syndrome)."

Al Phaw says: "Perhaps the most talented field player, but even that could be argued. But the most talented U.S. player in any position? Try Kasey Keller or Brad Friedel, each of whom could start for a large percentage of the best clubs in the world, and maybe Tim Howard soon. On the world scene, Claudio Reyna just isn't that dominating. It doesn't look like we'll ever know how good or bad Landon Donovan would be because he lacks the heart to play with the big boys."

Wayne Berliner says: "Claudio Reyna, clearly the most talented player ever produced in the United States? One of the most talented, no doubt, but definitely not 'clearly the most talented.' Everything Reyna does, Tab Ramos did better. Like Reyna, Tab was haunted by injuries for most of his career, especially in his later years, never giving many fans the chance to enjoy his skills. I never saw a midfielder from the U.S., make plays under pressure the way Ramos did. Claudio is a great player and it is a shame that he's hurt so often, but for my money, Ramos had the edge."

Mark Torguson corrects us: "Claudio Reyna and his Man. City teammates were not playing in the Champions League. They were playing in the UEFA Cup, not quite the Champions League. [Editor's note -- this was an error in editing, not in the Mad Brit's writing. SoccerTimes regrets the error.]

Heard a rumor, have a gripe or a tip? Feeling lonely? E-mail the Mad Brit at themadbrit3@aol.com.