Freddy Adu linked to move to Benfica

Think back to a time when David Beckham was merely a distant, unobtainable star in the MLS universe. It was a time when the league was desperate to latch on to the next big thing even if the next big thing was a small 14-year-old from Ghana.  The media circus soon followed and the next thing you knew Freddy Adu was going to save soccer in the United States while presumably finding a cure for cancer, stopping global warming and feeding us all chicken noodle soup.

If the reports are true, the Freddy Adu era in MLS is about ready to come to an end. Adu, now 18, is evidently on the verge of signing a deal that would send him to Benfica in Portugal. This would be a good move for Adu. The Portuguese league is one with a high level of competition and where young players are often given an opportunity to develop. Benfica is a solid club that has a good coaching system. Escaping the purgatory known as Real Salt Lake won’t hurt.

These facts will likely be lost in the shuffle as people evaluate Adu’s MLS career. In 98 games with DC United and Real Salt Lake, he scored 12 goals. He hardly dominated and at times was outmatched by his older, stronger opponents. In short, he did not save American soccer and we’re still waiting for that cancer cure.

From my perspective, his stint in MLS has not been a failure. It has enabled a 14-year-old kid grow into an 18-year-old adult who will be given a shot by a top tier European club. It has helped his game to grow to the point where he is able to be one of the better players in the U-20 World Cup. In other words it has taken Adu to the place where he should be at this point in his career. That place might not be where the media and marketing folks want it to be, but it still ain’t bad. The final chapter on his career is a long way from being written.