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<TABLE class=articlebodyblack cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=textjustify>It's an easy headline but observers seem to think it is quite apt.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><DIV class=sectiongaplarge></DIV>
<TABLE class=articlebodyblack cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=textjustify><P nd="3">Reuters:<P nd="4">Is Freddy Adu the real deal or just the latest great American soccer hope to sink under the weight of hyperbole? <P nd="5">After a highly publicised but inconclusive two-week training session with Manchester United, followed by an abrupt trade away from his Major League Soccer (MLS) club D.C. United, the jury is still out on the 17-year-old Ghanaian-born Adu. <P nd="6">While not exactly a flop, he has hardly set the U.S. soccer scene alight since signing a $1 million endorsement deal at 14, becoming MLS's highest-paid player on $500,000 per season at 15 and the youngest U.S. international at 16. <P nd="7">He was promptly traded to MLS newcomers Real Salt Lake, but could not have endeared himself to fans there by insisting he wants to play in Europe. <P nd="8">"People around him have always told him: 'You're the greatest,' and when you are a teenager you begin to believe it," said Steven Goff, the Washington Post's soccer writer. <P nd="9">"(But) he's a great kid and not full of himself, it's just that the expectations on him are so high. <P nd="10">"He's become a good MLS player this year," said Goff. "The first year he was a novelty, the second he was spectacular at times but also painfully inconsistent. This third year he was a good solid player, but certainly not a great player." <P nd="11">Another prominent soccer writer, Grahame Jones, of the Los Angeles Times, said: "I have always regarded Freddy Adu as being a marketing creation. <P nd="12">"He is a gifted player for his age but nothing special, even within the limited talent field that is MLS. His training with Manchester United was more of a courtesy by Man U toward MLS than an expression of serious interest and from what I hear he did not overly impress," he told Reuters. <P nd="13">"Perhaps in time and with the right coaching, he might become a useful journeyman player but at the moment he is quite ordinary," said Jones. <P nd="14">It was all so different three years ago when Adu burst on to the scene as a precocious talent on the U.S. Under-17 team with the speed and skill to beat opponents with ease and score. <P nd="15">Shoe company Nike saw him as a marketable icon and paid him well, while PepsiCo featured Adu in an advertisement for a soft drink. It was no coincidence that he was paired with Pele in those spots. <P nd="16">There the comparison with the great Brazilian ends. When he was 17, Pele was helping Brazil to win the World Cup. <P nd="17">MLS, naturally, wanted to promote Adu as the new face of a sport still struggling to make a mark in America. But therein lies the league's dilemma -- any player good enough
<TABLE class=articlebodyblack cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=textjustify><P nd="3">Reuters:<P nd="4">Is Freddy Adu the real deal or just the latest great American soccer hope to sink under the weight of hyperbole? <P nd="5">After a highly publicised but inconclusive two-week training session with Manchester United, followed by an abrupt trade away from his Major League Soccer (MLS) club D.C. United, the jury is still out on the 17-year-old Ghanaian-born Adu. <P nd="6">While not exactly a flop, he has hardly set the U.S. soccer scene alight since signing a $1 million endorsement deal at 14, becoming MLS's highest-paid player on $500,000 per season at 15 and the youngest U.S. international at 16. <P nd="7">He was promptly traded to MLS newcomers Real Salt Lake, but could not have endeared himself to fans there by insisting he wants to play in Europe. <P nd="8">"People around him have always told him: 'You're the greatest,' and when you are a teenager you begin to believe it," said Steven Goff, the Washington Post's soccer writer. <P nd="9">"(But) he's a great kid and not full of himself, it's just that the expectations on him are so high. <P nd="10">"He's become a good MLS player this year," said Goff. "The first year he was a novelty, the second he was spectacular at times but also painfully inconsistent. This third year he was a good solid player, but certainly not a great player." <P nd="11">Another prominent soccer writer, Grahame Jones, of the Los Angeles Times, said: "I have always regarded Freddy Adu as being a marketing creation. <P nd="12">"He is a gifted player for his age but nothing special, even within the limited talent field that is MLS. His training with Manchester United was more of a courtesy by Man U toward MLS than an expression of serious interest and from what I hear he did not overly impress," he told Reuters. <P nd="13">"Perhaps in time and with the right coaching, he might become a useful journeyman player but at the moment he is quite ordinary," said Jones. <P nd="14">It was all so different three years ago when Adu burst on to the scene as a precocious talent on the U.S. Under-17 team with the speed and skill to beat opponents with ease and score. <P nd="15">Shoe company Nike saw him as a marketable icon and paid him well, while PepsiCo featured Adu in an advertisement for a soft drink. It was no coincidence that he was paired with Pele in those spots. <P nd="16">There the comparison with the great Brazilian ends. When he was 17, Pele was helping Brazil to win the World Cup. <P nd="17">MLS, naturally, wanted to promote Adu as the new face of a sport still struggling to make a mark in America. But therein lies the league's dilemma -- any player good enough
Dat one almost as good as Leyton Orient! 
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