The history of men's soccer in the United States is a frustrating tale of
fits and starts, of encouraging progress and squandered opportunity. Not
until Freddy Adu emerged from the ether, however, could everyone finally
agree what the missing ingredient was. Now they know: A charismatic kid with world-class skills who dreams of hoisting the Jules Rimet Trophy against the backdrop of an American flag. If, as the soccer gods have prophesied, a child shall lead them, Freddy may be the guy we've all been waiting for. This is his story…

GROWING UP

Fredrua Koranteng Adu was born on June 2, 1989 in Tema, Ghana. His mother, Emelia, was the driving force in his life from the moment he entered the world. A hard-working woman who was utterly devoted to Freddy and his little brother, Fredua, she hoped to follow other family members, who had emigrated to America.

Freddy’s father, Maxwell, also had dreams of living in the U.S., though he was hardly the model parent. Emelia supported the family by working long hours in a convenience store. Her schedule actually provided the backdrop for Freddy’s entree into soccer.

Tema, which borders the Gulf of Guinea, is a bustling fishing town. That being said, the locals will put down their rods in a second for a game of soccer. Freddy caught the bug before his third birthday. Emelia gave him a soccer ball, and he took to the sport immediately. Even at his young age, Freddy’s talent was obvious.

As he grew older, Freddy’s passion for soccer grew stronger. Like most kids in Ghana, he spent his afternoons on dusty fields fields playing pick-up games. Organized leagues were non-existent in Tema, so Freddy learned the sport through experimentation and by mimicking his favorite players. A loyal fan of France’s national team, he was in awe of four international stars: Ronaldo, Ruud Van Nistelroy, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane.

Freddy shared his mother’s work ethic, and in turn added depth and balance to his game. Fast and agile, he was at his best with the ball at his feet. Kids his own age were no match for him. As a six-year-old, he began receiving invitations from teens and men in the neighborhood to join their games. Emelia was usually busy at the store, so she relied on these older players as de facto babysitters. They embraced the responsibility. Freddy often got knocked around, but teammates and opponents also took time to teach him nuances of the sport.

The main problem Emelia encountered was convincing Freddy to come home for dinner each night—that and keeping him stocked with soccer balls. The youngster went through balls like kids in the States go through Gameboys. With the price of soccer equipment in Ghana sky high, Emelia was fortunate that her relatives in America were willing to help out.

Because of Ghana’s poor educational system, Emelia was eager to go to the U.S., where she could enroll her sons in better schools. Freddy and Fredua, who also loved soccer, were both good students who enjoyed a challenge. Emelia wasn’t particularly worried about either of them adjusting to a different culture.

She got her wish in November of 1997, when she won a green-card lottery. Emelia packed the family’s bags, and they headed to Maryland, near Potomac, where the rest of her relatives resided. Maxwell made the journey too, but found a place of his own. Emelia’s brother, Anthony Yeboah, saw to it that she and the boys felt at ease in their new surroundings.

Affording life in America was no simple task. Emelia worked two jobs, one testing computer boards for Hughes Network Systems and the other as a cashier at Home Depot. Freddy initially attended a public school, where he made friends very easily. During recess, they usually gathered for soccer games, and Freddy always dominated. His life changed when a classmate, David Hawk, told his parents about the phenomenal new kid in town.

The Hawks wasted no time signing up Freddy for their son’s club team. In his first taste of organized soccer, he played against the Cougars of the Potomac Soccer Association, coached by Arnold Tarzy. One of the best teams in the area, the Cougars weren’t accustomed to losing, but on this day Freddy scored twice to hand them a 2-1 defeat. Thoroughly impressed, Tarzy recruited Freddy for the Cougars, and also helped both Adu brothers get into The Heights, a private school for boys in Potomac. Tuition normally cost $11,700 a year, but Freddy and Fredua were set up with full scholarships.

Freddy excelled in the classroom, skipping the seventh grade and breezing through eighth grade. Friendly and well behaved, he wowed his teachers with his thirst for knowledge and unfailing courteousness.

Freddy was equally impressive in sports. At 5-7 and close to 140 pounds, he was powerfully built and extremely agile. As Freddy gained a sense of his awesome potential, he tried his hand at a variety of sports. In his first JV basketball game, he pumped in 28 points. The first time he stepped on a golf course, he parred a 370-yard par 4.

ON THE RISE

Of course, Freddy was at his best on the soccer field. Word quickly spread about the young phenom, and the U.S. Soccer Federation began keeping close tabs on him. Entered into the Olympic Development Program, the 11-year-old more than held his own against boys 16 and 17.

In 2000, Freddy traveled with Tarzy and the Cougars to a tournament in Italy. The kids from Potomac stunned everyone by winning the event, with Freddy leading the charge. Officials from Inter Milan, the country’s top team, hoped to lure him with a multi-year contract in the neighborhood of $750,000. Tarzy sat in on the meetings with Emelia, and she also sought the advice of her brother. In the end, she turned down the deal.

The following summer, as he readied himself for his freshman year at The Heights, Freddy continued to headline for the Cougars. In the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships, he paced his club with two goals in a shutout of CASL Elite ’86 of North Carolina. His buddy, goalkeeper Nick Scrivens, was the game’s other star. The teams met again in the final, and this time the contest went scoreless through regulation and overtime. In the shootout, Scrivens made a great save, and then booted home the decisive penalty kick. Freddy, however, was honored with the tournament’s Golden Boot award. That fall he dominated in his first year of varsity soccer, posting 25 goals and 12 assists in 16 games.

Freddy now faced a critical decision. The offer from Inter Milan was still on the table, though Emelia remained opposed to the idea of Freddy playing overseas. Staying at The Heights, however, wasn’t a great option. Against inferior competition, his game would have less chance of blossoming. The Adus found a suitable compromise with U.S. Soccer’s Under-17 residency camp run, by IMG in Bradenton, Florida. There Freddy could attend the Edison Academic Center, while also training daily with America’s top teenage soccer talent.

The 12-year-old joined the program in January of 2002, and immediately opened the eyes of coach John Ellinger. Though two years younger than anyone else in the program, Freddy did things on the field that completely eclipsed his academy-mates. On the U-17 team’s schedule that spring included exhibition matches against a handful of MLS squads, and Freddy looked right at home against his pro counterparts. Against the San Jose Earthquakes, he deked MLS All-Star Troy Dayak, and raced by him down the field. Weeks later he almost singlehandedly beat the Chicago Fire with a pair of goals in a 2-1 win.

Freddy’s plan was to graduate from high school at age 15. Almost from the start, he found a successful balance between athletics and academics. A typical day had him in class from 8 a.m. to 12:30. After lunch came two hours of practice, then homework.

IMG assigned Trevor Mowad, a mental conditioning coach, to Freddy. Mowad worked with him to prepare for the media onslaught that awaited him, not to mention the scrutiny he was sure to receive for his performance on the field. Every detail was attended to. Freddy was often videotaped during his daily workouts, and later they would watch the tapes to see how he acted, even in the most innocuous situations. Mowad also hooked up Freddy with several mentors, including Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson, MLS star Clint Mathis and Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams.

The two most important dates on the calendar for Freddy in 2002 were February 12 and March 5. On the first, he officially became a U.S. citizen. Ever since seeing the American women capture the World Cup in 1999, he had dreamed of doing the same with the American men. Becoming eligible to represent his adopted homeland in international competitions was a major honor. On the second, he joined the U.S. team for the qualifying phase of the Under-17 World Championships, scheduled for August of 2003 in Finland.

Freddy would end up as his American squad’s second-leading scorer, with 22 goals. Though he overshadowed his teammates, he was among the most popular players on the squad. Freddy worked harder than anyone, had a good sense of humor, and was driven to win. He was also a wealthy young man. Just prior to his 14th birthday, Freddy signed a $1 million endorsement deal with Nike. He later inked a lucrative contract with Pepsi.

The Americans arrived in Finland hoping to improve n their fourth-place showing at the 1999 U-17 Championships. They began their quest with a 6-1 rout of South Korea, as Freddy netted three goals. That earned him the attention of America’s next opponents, Sierra Leone, which targeted him with a barrage of knees and elbows. Freddy was getting no help from the referees, so he retaliated the only was he could—by scoring the game-winner in a 2-1 victory. Unfortunately, the team’s run ended in the quarterfinals against eventual champion Brazil.

Freddy’s performance at the U-17s earned him a call-up to the Under-20 squad when forward Arturo Alvarez was injured. The 14-year-old started four games in the FIFA World Youth Championships in the United Arab Emirates and played well. He registered an eye-opening assist against Argentine in the quarterfinals, but Team USA lost 2-1.

MAKING HIS MARK

In the fall or 2003, rumors were flying about Freddy’s next move. There seemed little doubt he would turn pro, but his future address was the subject of much speculation. One even had him accepting $3 million to sign with Manchester United. The more likely choice—and indeed, the one he announced at a November press conference—was to join Major League Soccer. He inked a four-year deal with a two-year option. Including incentives, Freddy stood to earn as much as $500,000 annually, making him the highest paid player in MLS history.

Though Manchester’s offer was apparently real (and substantially richer), Freddy preferred to play professional soccer in the States, partly because he wouldn’t have to labor through an apprentice program. His agent, Richard Motzkin, was among those who steered Freddy toward this decision. Also the agent for U.S. national coach Bruce Arena, Motzkin was the founder of SportsNet, a firm devoted to the growth of American soccer.

The comparisons to past pro soccer prodigies began immediately. Some pointed to Diego Maradona, who burst on the world stage at age 15. Of course, his tale was a cautionary one, given the mess that the Argentinian star had become. Most, however, compared Freddy to Pele. Soccer’s most recognized and beloved player, he ascended to superstar status while leading Brazil to the World Cup title in 1958. Seventeen years later, Pele validated the North American Soccer League—and U.S. soccer itself—when he joined the New York Cosmos. Pele’s dream was to take America into the soccer mainstream. He was an instrumental force in bringing the World Cup to the U.S. in 1994, and recognized how Freddy’s success could further his long-term aspirations.

MLS hailed the signing of Freddy as the most important moment in league history. Embarking on a whirlwind media campaign, Freddy appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, NBC’s Today, 60 Minutes and MTV’s Total Request Live. Sports Illustrated, Time and Vanity Fair were among the major magazines that ran features on him. In January of 2004, during an elaborate ceremony engineered by MLS, D.C. United selected Freddy with the top pick in the league’s SuperDraft. The club obtained the selection from the Dallas Burn. There was never much question that Freddy would play for a team other than the nearby United.

Freddy’s coach with D.C. was Peter Nowak. In his first year at the helm, he was a good choice to shepherd the youngster. An MLS veteran, Nowak knew a little about what Freddy faced. More than two decades earlier he had made professional debut in Europe as a 15-year-old.

Nowak took over a club that had fallen on hard times. After claiming three of the first four MLS Cups, the United had qualified for the playoffs just once since. Still, Freddy wasn’t in bad company. Teammates like Bobby Convey and Alecko Eskandarian understood the pressure of being a teenage star. They treated him like any other rookie, challenging him in practice with tough play and making sure he carried equipment to and from the field.

Despite Freddy’s insistence that he was not the “savior” of American soccer, he got the red-carpet treatment wherever United went. Thousands of fans awaited his arrival in Tampa for D.C.’s first exhibition game, his jersey was flying off the racks in sporting goods stores, and ABC and ESPN2 were already haggling over the TV schedule for his games. Freddy had yet to appear in a regular-season game, but he was already his league’s most marketable star.

Nowak purposefully brought Freddy along slowly. Using the youngster at both the withdrawn forward and right-side midfield, the coach resisted the urge to overexpose him in the pre-season. Nowak cautioned fans and the press that Freddy’s adjustment to the speed and pace of professional soccer—not to mention the strength and intensity of players twice his age—would take time.

Freddy’s official debut came in April against the San Jose Earthquakes. A sellout crowd of more than 24,000—7,000 more than showed up for the '03 home opener—settled into RFK Stadium. Scalpers had a field day outside the arena, and vendors could barely meet the demand for Freddy Adu t-shirts. When the game started, the only thing the fans appeared interested in seeing was Freddy, who began the day on the United bench. In the second half, they started chanting his name. Nowak inserted him in the 61st minute with D.C. up 2-1. Freddy didn’t do much, and admitted afterwards that he was nervous.

Nowak continued to pick his spots with Freddy, which didn’t exactly thrill the fans. Most came to games hoping to see him dominate, and were dismayed when, at times, he did not even start. The first time Freddy gave fans something to cheer about was during a loss to the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. With the United down 3-1 in the second half, he snuck behind two defenders, collected a cross from Joshua Gros and beat goalkeeper Jonny Walker for his first MLS goal.

Overall, Freddy was still getting used to the pro game, and was often out of sync with his teammates. He blamed himself, saying he was simply thinking too much on the field. In May, he eliminated one potential distraction when he went through graduation in Florida and received his high-school diploma. After the ceremony, he flew to Colorado to join the United for a game against the Rapids. Freddy enjoyed his best effort do date, logging 80 minutes in a 2-1 loss.

Through 18 games, Freddy had two goals and an assist. D.C., meanwhile, was managing to keep its head above water in the Eastern Conference. After being named a commissioner's pick to the 2004 Sierra Mist All-Star Game, Freddy raised some eyebrows by griping to reporters about how Nowak was using him. The coach handled the situation quietly and effectively. Rather than giving the media fodder for controversial stories, he took Freddy aside privately and made it clear that his time would come.

Freddy began to find his stride in the season’s second half, and Nowak rewarded him with more playing time. He ended the year with appearances in all of the United’s 30 games, including 14 starts. In 1,440 minutes, he netted five goals and added three assists, good for fourth on the team’s scoring list. Behind Freddy’s improved play and strong performances from Jamie Moreno and Eskandarian, D.C. finished second to the Columbus Crew in the East at 11-10-9.

In the playoffs, the United dispatched the MetroStars in two games. Next up was the New England Revolution. The contest would go down as one of the most exciting in MLS history. Tied at 3-3, the match moved into a shootout—the league’s first in nine years. Nowak called on Freddy for one of the penalty kicks, and he coolly buried the ball in the back of the net. D.C. won the shootout and advanced to the league final.

That won’t be the last run of Freddy’s career. Indeed, he has already outlined his goals. More MLS Cups and perhaps a stint with Real Madrid are both on his list. So is the 2006 World Cup.