FREDDY ADU to BENFICA?

[T.K.]

Who called him the "American Pele"?

Perhaps some boneheaded newspaper reporters, but it certianly wasn't MLS to do so.

And if player who is coming off a U-20 WC like the one Freddy just had (3 goals and 3 assists in 5 games, and a Golden Ball candidate) and is on the verge of a move to a European club can be called a "flop" then I'm sure that Jamaica could use a few flops of their own.

Yes sir it was the press who had labeled him the American Pele. MLS just hyped up his introduction into the league and allowed the kid to be played off as the "Saviour of American Soccer". I really do think they did everything in their power, short of Tonya Harding-ing Freddy, to destroy his career before it even got started. I would not wish the way they took advantage of him on any Red Bull.

Um......when did I call Freddy a flop? I think you meant to direct that at Mosiah not me. And yes we could use a few Freddy Adu's for the Reggae Boyz program. He is talented.

Btw I just read that Eddie Johnson turned down Derby County and opted to stay with the Wizards instead and that Freddy's agent had rejected Benfica's initial contract but they are expected to come back with a better offer. If I remember correctly MLS agreed to Benfica's transfer offer of $2 million so it is just up to Freddy to figure it out. Also Freddy scored against Boca Juniors last night in a 1-1 match for Real Salt Lake. Not too shabby.

Did you watch Super Liga last night? Can't lie I stayed and watch both games. They were exciting. Especially the last one with the Galaxy and Pachuca. - T.K.

[Mosiah]

Yes, we are flopping at the Maracana even as you yelp!

The flop I am referring to, since it's obvious you are a bit challenged, has to do with him living up to the hype, a hype created by an ignorant American press and public (of which you are one) and sustained by a respect-seeking league.

[Za]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Freddy Adu will be playing in Major League Soccer for at least a little while longer.

Major League Soccer and Benfica reached an agreement on a $2 million (€1.5 million) transfer fee for the 18-year-old American, but Adu and the Portuguese club could not work out contract terms, a person familiar with the negotiations said on Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

FIFA's transfer deadline is Aug. 31, meaning a deal still could be resurrected.

Richard Motzkin, Adu's agent, declined comment.

Adu was to play for Real Salt Lake on Tuesday in a friendly against Boca Juniors after missing more than a month with his club while he captained the U.S. team to the quarterfinals of the Under-20 World Cup.

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RSL director of soccer operations John Ellinger, who has been coaching Adu since he was 12, said although the first round of negotiations fell through, talks with Benfica were not finished.

"I know Freddy has called his agent and said 'It's still open. Don't let this get off the table.' It's still a real possibility," Ellinger said on Tuesday. "As a club, we're ecstatic to keep him and we're ecstatic for him if he gets a chance to play overseas. That's kind of how we feel about it."

Adu is in his first season with Real Salt Lake, which acquired him from D.C. United last year knowing that he would turn 18 this summer and become eligible under FIFA's rules to transfer outside his home country.

Adu has just one goal in 11 MLS games for RSL, which is a league-worst 1-6-8

[Zeppo]

Um......when did I call Freddy a flop? I think you meant to direct that at Mosiah not me.

Bingo.

Yes, we are flopping at the Maracana even as you yelp!

In the poor man's U-20 World Cup. Rock on.

[Tilla]

Btw I just read that Eddie Johnson turned down Derby County

I thought this was the other way around. Derby decided not to persue the player as they may have problems securing a work permit under the 75% amount of games in the last two years clause.

Eddie is a good youth however and his time will come. . .

[Mosiah]

Predictable sour grapes.

Might I remind you that the USA also entered the poor man's world cup, and we finished way ahead of them.

Be glad that you have so much money, because football talent really does not exist in yankee country. All your players are part of a pool who basically undergo the same training and can move from one team to another, the real world cup team to the poor man's world cup team.

I hope the bling from our medal doesn't blind yuh!

bad mind r@5s!

[Mosiah]

Eddie Johnson is not in a position to turn down Derby County. Thanks Tilla, because if yuh nuh watch dem sometime...

[T.K.]

I thought this was the other way around. Derby decided not to persue the player as they may have problems securing a work permit under the 75% amount of games in the last two years clause.

Eddie is a good youth however and his time will come. . .

Tilla here is what I read.....To be honest I have not read anything that says that Derby decided not to pursue him due to work permit issues. - T.K.

Johnson turns down England's Derby
Associated Press, Updated 14 hours

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Eddie Johnson, Major League Soccer's leading scorer, has turned down a transfer from the Kansas City Wizards to Derby of England's Premier League.

Peter Vermes, the Wizards' technical director, said Tuesday that Johnson made the decision earlier this month after returning from U.S. national team duty at the Copa America.

"There was an offer for Eddie, and Eddie decided he wanted to stay with the Kansas City Wizards and play in MLS," Vermes said.

Vermes said he could not confirm the terms of the transfer fee offered by Derby, said to be in the $3.6 million range. Derby won promotion to the Premier League this past season, after being relegated from England's top division following the 2001-02 season.

"For Eddie to stay says a lot about our league and a lot about the Kansas City Wizards," Vermes said. "Everyone says when our players get good enough, they go to Europe. Now here's Eddie Johnson, and he's staying."
Johnson was not immediately available for comment.

"He is young, has great pace and also a point to prove because he has never played in England before," Derby manager Billy Davies was quoted as saying in the July 19 editions of the Derby Evening Telegraph. "He scores goals for fun and has started the American season like a house on fire. He is the most valued player in the MLS. Very few American players have come to this country and failed. They have a lot to offer, they are fit and they are very good professionals."

The 23-year-old forward, the first U.S. player to score eight goals in his first eight international games, has thrived under first-year Kansas City coach Curt Onalfo.

He has 12 goals in 11 games for the Wizards - a spectacular comeback from a 2006 slump that saw him score just twice in 19 games - and has scored twice this year for the national team.
This was the second time in a little more than two years that a European team has tried and failed to land Johnson.

MLS, which signs all of its players to contracts, rejected a proposed transfer to the Portuguese club Benfica in March 2005, when he was playing for FC Dallas. Johnson trained with Reading, another Premier League club, this past offseason.

[T.K.]

Eddie Johnson is not in a position to turn down Derby County. Thanks Tilla, because if yuh nuh watch dem sometime...

Mosiah I don't really appreciate you implying that I am telling a lie or trying deceive anyone.

I have yet to read a report saying anything close to what Tilla is saying. I have however read a number of articles from the US and the UK that said Johnson, not Derby, turned the offer down.

If you have an article that shows it was Derby who turned down Johnson please post it so that we all can get the new info. I am alot of things but I am not a liar. If I am mistaken or the articles I have read are mistaken no problem. - T.K.

[Mosiah]

My apologies, TK!

Wasn't trying to give that impression. It was more supposed to imply that it's good when someone could refresh our memories about something. We are not going to remember the details of some event that happened 6 or 7 months ago.

Again, my apologies!!!

[Bricktop]

My apologies, TK!

Again, my apologies!!!

How come yuh never apolgise to me yet?

[Mosiah]

Mi ever do yuh nutten yet?

Yuh nuh see how mi apologise twice to TK? How yuh nah say nutten bout dat?

Oh, nutten wrong if mi apologise twice. But if mi apologise few times, den...

[T.K.]

Cool Mosiah! Thanks! - T.K.

[Zeppo]

Eddie Johnson is not in a position to turn down Derby County. Thanks Tilla, because if yuh nuh watch dem sometime...

How would you know? He turned down a move to Benfica a few years ago.

I'm not saying it was smart, but that's what happened.

[Tilla]

The man is not questioning if he turned down Benfica a few years ago (a bone head move if you ask me). He is saying that Eddie did not turn down Derby, it was the other way around. I was watching this buildup and the Deryb coach Davies said they were no longer persuing him as they perceived problems with work permit as he did not have the requisite amount of games for the national senior games to qualify for a work permit.