Bio

As recorded at Wikipedia

Fredua Koranteng “Freddy” Adu (born 2 June 1989 in Tema, Ghana) is a football (soccer) player who competes for D.C. United in Major League Soccer. At the age of 14, he became the youngest professional athlete in modern American team sports history when he signed a professional contract with Major League Soccer, the top league of the United States soccer pyramid. Adu is regarded as one of the most exciting young players in the world^[1]. Adu left Ghana with his family in 1997 and is now a resident of Potomac, Maryland. In 2003, he became a US citizen.

Adu grew up in the port city of Tema in Ghana, where he played football barefoot against men three times his age. When he was eight, his mother won an immigration lottery, and he and his family moved to Washington, D.C. Soon thereafter, he was discovered by a local soccer coach and began playing with boys several years older. Adu attended The Heights School for several years, a prestigious private school in Potomac. While playing with the US Olympic Development Program in Italy in successive annual trips, he played spectacularly in two tournaments. Adu was noticed by Italian soccer 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.

At age 13, Adu joined the IMG Soccer Academy, U.S. Soccer’s full-time residency program in Bradenton, Florida, in January 2002. He made his professional debut in Major League Soccer the following year at just 14, and now plays for the United States Under-20 national side.

Adu played for the US in two tournaments in 2003, the FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland and the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates.