Freddy Adu signs with Benfica

[BYU 14]

I was really hoping he would go to the EPL, so much for the "future" of MLS.

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_6489289

Freddy Adu is gone.
The 18-year-old Real Salt Lake striker has struck a transfer deal with Benfica of Portugal, and boarded a plane to his new home on Saturday - just hours before RSL begins the second half of its Major League Soccer season against New England at Rice Eccles Stadium.
Team spokesman Trey FitzGerald said Adu was scheduled to travel to his family home in Washington, D.C., before joining his mother and agent on a flight to Lisbon on Sunday. Adu is expected to sign a 5-year contract worth roughly the same as his $550,000 annual salary in MLS, with housing and car allowances and goal bonuses as part of the deal.
"They agreed to terms over the phone," FitzGerald said. "nothing has been signed, so I guess there's a .0001 percent chance that he could return. But I wouldn't expect it to happen."
Benfica will pay a $2 million transfer fee to MLS, and RSL will receive a major allocation worth $500,000 as its share of the compensation. In addition to the $350,000 of salary-cap room that Adu's departure will create, the major allocation will give coach Jason Kreis even more financial latitude in rebuilding a team that went 1-8-6 in the first half of its league season.
"We would like to thank Freddy for his time here and we wish him the best of luck," Kreis said in a statement the team is planning to release. But
"there are a lot of new faces on this team that believe in each other, and as a result, we believe we have begun to move in the right direction."
With Adu out of the mix, strikers Robbie Findley and Alecko Eskandarian are expected to start for RSL against the Revs. Both among the six new players acquired since Kreis took over as coach nearly three months ago.

[Young Drachma]

I wondered if this deal would get done. Well..we'll see what the kid is able to do somewhere else...

[Eaglesfan27]

Any channels over here that covers many Benfica games?

[oykib]

Good for him. And good luck to him.

BTW, anyone else here listen to World Soccer Daily (http://www.worldsoccerdaily.com/)?

[Critch]

Any channels over here that covers many Benfica games?

RTP International is the only tv coverage, it's on Dish Network and DirecTV in their foreign language packages.

Other than that, should be easy enough finding something streaming online.

[Ben E Lou]

He revolutionized the way Americans don't watch soccer.

[Toddzilla]

He revolutionized the way Americans don't watch soccer.Comedy GOLD

[MrBug708]

Vick certainly makes me want to go out and watch football as I'm holding my dog in my pool

[Ben E Lou]

Comedy GOLD

I know nothing about him, other than that line. Who was it that dropped it originally?

[MJ4H]

Good for him. And good luck to him.

BTW, anyone else here listen to World Soccer Daily (http://www.worldsoccerdaily.com/)?

I do, but only when I'm driving to work every day. Haven't listened in a couple of months due to summer vacation, but I will be listening again starting this coming week.

[SirFozzie]

RTP International is the only tv coverage, it's on Dish Network and DirecTV in their foreign language packages.

Other than that, should be easy enough finding something streaming online.

Setanta Broadband has it online.

[Critch]

Setanta Broadband has it online.

Is that English language commentary?

[Huckleberry]

I was really hoping he would go to the EPL...


Why? His game isn't well-suited for the EPL.

[SirFozzie]

yup. Rumor has it that after this year, when the SPT contract expires, that Setanta will bid heavily for at least the bigger Portugese teams

[BYU 14]

Why? His game isn't well-suited for the EPL.

So I could watch him get worked every week on Fox Soccer channel ;)

[cthomer5000]

He's only 18, let's keep that in mind. I assume he's off to Portugal for about 3-4 years, then off to league X after that.

I really hope MLS got a sell-on clause in that deal.

[andy m]

BUT YOU GUYS GOT DAVID BUCKSHAM!

[Blade6119]

He will do much better in portugal compared to the US or UK. He excels in a wide-open environment that stresses creativity and attacking. The MLS and premiership were about physical play, and hes not built for that.

[PilotMan]

He couldn't get a work permit for the UK, or at least it would have taken much longer and he wanted to move now. So Portugal was where he ended up.

[Big Fo]

Moving to a mid-tier league like Portugal or the Netherlands was probably the best move possible for Adu if he had to leave now. Benfica will be able to develop his talent more effectively than RSL, Simao will teach him a few tricks. Shame about the low transfer fee though.

[BYU 14]

Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by Huckleberry http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/images/styles/yellow/buttons//viewpost.gif (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?p=1513257#post1513257)
Why? His game isn't well-suited for the EPL.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

So I could watch him get worked every week on Fox Soccer channel ;)

Dola

To add to this, players of his talent level/potential should be able to adjust to the style of play around him....I do have an interest to see if he can adapt to the physical style that is the EPL and would still like to see him there at some point.

[Desnudo]

Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by Huckleberry http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/images/styles/yellow/buttons//viewpost.gif (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?p=1513257#post1513257)
Why? His game isn't well-suited for the EPL.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



Dola

To add to this, players of his talent level/potential should be able to adjust to the style of play around him....I do have an interest to see if he can adapt to the physical style that is the EPL and would still like to see him there at some point.

That's not necessarily true. There are plenty of players who have failed in the EPL, but thrive in Italy or Spain.

[MIJB#19]

Moving to a mid-tier league like Portugal or the Netherlands was probably the best move possible for Adu if he had to leave now. Benfica will be able to develop his talent more effectively than RSL, Simao will teach him a few tricks. Shame about the low transfer fee though.Too bad Simao was sold for about $25M to Atletico Madrid last week.

[Big Fo]

:o must have missed that one

good for adu then, one less player to beat out for a starting spot

[Shkspr]

Dola



Fifteen hours? Your dola skills need some work. :)

[bulletsponge]

Fifteen hours? Your dola skills need some work. :)

should he have his dola privlages taken away?

[Karlifornia]

should he have his dola privlages taken away?

Maybe he just hit the wrong key...and meant to start a lengthy rant about Dole..either the former presidential candidate, or the canned fruit corporation.....I don't know what's happening anymore, but I smell a CONSPIRACY!

[ISiddiqui]

That's not necessarily true. There are plenty of players who have failed in the EPL, but thrive in Italy or Spain.

Indeed... the list is very long of players who just couldn't hack it in the more physical, attack-always EPL and had more success in the slower, more technical, more creative Spanish or Italian leagues. Diego Forlan is a prime example. A player who could only manage 10 goals in 63 matches at Manchester United in the EPL has scored 54 goals in 106 matches with Villareal in Spain.

[Sgran]

Let's just hope he uses his time in Europe to learn to fake an injury properly. Then maybe the US will get somewhere in the next World Cup.

[MIJB#19]

Let's just hope he uses his time in Europe to learn to fake an injury properly. Then maybe the US will get somewhere in the next World Cup.Adu chose well then, the Portugese league is known as the best league to learn how to dive and fake injuries.

[Young Drachma]

Let's just hope he uses his time in Europe to learn to fake an injury properly. Then maybe the US will get somewhere in the next World Cup.

A friend and I teased two of our foreign friends mercilessly during the World Cup for this very thing, when they'd try to talk about the merits of futbol v. gridiron. Not that we don't like soccer, it was just funny to hear their arguments and then to watch players flop and cry.

So we spent that month saying, "don't be a soccer player."