Freddy Adu just finished up a two week, maybe less trial with manchester united and impressed a lot of people.
Although his size and lack of physical play are probably what ultimately kept him from playing in the Premiership league, Freddy Adu made a great impression for up and coming soccer stars from the US.
Although there have been more and more players making the jump from the MLS to the European leagues, America needs a big name player, one with a lot of publicity, to spark nation wide interest in the sport and in European soccer.
Soccer fans in America are more of a cult following than a large majority of the people. There’s not enough scoring in the game and it’s hard to juice a soccer ball. Whay America needs is a star on the world stage to show that soccer can be exciting.
Freddy Adu, playing in any European league, could do that. Although many are worried that him leaving the states to go play across the Atlantic would take away from the MLS and ultimately be it’s demise (one player isn’t going to make this happen) Freddy’s moving to Europe could be just what the MLS needs.
People need to know it’s out there, get passionate about the players and then the MLS will build momentum as a real league in America.
technorati tags:Freddy, Adu, Soccer, Futbol, MLS, Manchester, United
Here’s my cure for the MLS:
1. Interleague play with Mexico. They’re partway there with the recently announced SuperLiga championships, but imagine the attendance boost in MLS cities that have a heavy Mexican presence if there were regular games against Mexican teams.
2. It sounds like heresy, but I think they could boost scoring by changing the offside rule. Specifically, no offsides if the ball is in the penalty box. Offenses would have an incentive to get the ball in tothe box, then run screens and stunts to force the defense to follow runners all the way to the baseline. Defenses would have to be more cautious about running offside traps.
Pro basketball is different from international and college basketball, why not soccer?
Personally, I’d love to see them bring back the indoor soccer league, maybe as a minor league to play in smaller cities like Boise and Green Bay. It’s a great winter sport and very TV friendly.
How in the world could freddy adu play in the EPL? Hes not even close to being the best american in MLS. He doesnt play defense and sits around waiting for the ball like a premodonna. He quit working hard to better his skills long long ago and hes still young.