Freddy Adu = Good. Bob Bradley = Bad
Since we’ve already talked about the biggest issue with Bob Bradley’s coaching in the lack of passion instilled in his team, now is a good time to continue the biggest discussion spreading throughout US Soccer at the moment. Why doesn’t Freddy Adu see any playing time under Bob Bradley?
Unless your Eric Wynalda or some other status quo loving grouch, you want to see Freddy Adu play for the USA in South Africa next year. He’s shown the flair at the youth level, provides creativity unprecedented in the American system (sorry Dempsey, your foolish ball tricks only create giveaways), and commands defensive attention from the opposition. Though for some reason Freddy continues to rot on the bench despite our team’s last goal from the run of play being weeks ago by a defender. Why?
The reasons for Adu’s lack of playing time have been many, from both Bradley-lovers to the coach himself but none of them travel too far with people who are fed up with the same underwhelming results and embarrassing performances on the field. Let’s look at some of them:
Freddy Adu needs to get regular minutes with his club.
A standard anti-Adu stance on BigSoccer now also backed by Landon Donovan and Bob Bradley himself in a recent interview. I could argue that it doesn’t matter how a player performs for his club but how he performs in National Team camps and more importantly while he’s on the field. More often than not, when Adu gets garbage minutes with the United States he attacks defenders, draws double teams, frees up his teammates, eases pressure off our defenders. Does his lack of time at Monaco somehow change that? Ok, so if playing time is so important to you then please explain to me how the likes of DaMarcus Beasley & Benny Feilhaber continue to get chance after chance, despite not playing for their clubs; despite continuing to suck on the pitch? Johnathan Spector? Jozy Altidore? Clearly you see the pretzel logic with this flawed prerequisite for club playing time.
Freddy Adu isn’t big enough.
How big was Diego Maradona before he discovered cocaine? How big is Guiseppie Rossi? The answer is not much bigger than Freddy Adu. Freddy Adu is not a defender, he is an attacking midfielder, winger, or striker. More often than not, the truly skilled players on the pitch are smaller but quick and agile. This gives them the advantage in a 1 on 1 against a clunky flat foot giant defender. The United States fields many tall & physical men and we’re still getting beat on set pieces and getting scored on, maybe we should try pushing the ball forward for a change and take the pressure off our defense?
Freddy Adu can’t play defense.
I think this is ridiculous on many levels. The first is, Freddy is actually alot better on defense than most haters give him credit for. Often times Freddy sprints back to cover for his teammates but apparently that goes unnoticed. The second is, SINCE WHEN DO ATTACKING PLAYERS HAVE BE GOOD DEFENDERS!? Last time I checked, nobody critcizes Lionel Messi for his poor defensive skills and Robin Van Persie isn’t known for his crunching tackles & physical play. Sorry folks, but the old saying goes, even piano movers need a piano player. This is a problem with the US Soccer system and American soccer development in general. Young players are held upon high if they are big & physical and praised for being good defenders, while chastised for being creative and attack minded. Clearly this is the problem right now with Bob Bradley (and the system, which deserves a blog on its own) and is something that won’t change under his regime.
Like it or not, Freddy Adu is one of our best attacking players and is the most creative thinking player the United States has ever produced, period. Wasting him and others with skill on the bench because of the baseless arguments outlined above is restraining our team and United States soccer development from becoming a world class power in the sport. Torres is another good example of wasted talent because Bob Bradley simply isn’t comfortable with their style of play and would rather opt for the “dependable” Beasely, Feilhaber, and Kljestan. Why those nobodies play over Adu & Torres is mindboggling. Why Bradley closed the Brazil game with one sub left and Adu on the bench while losing 3-0 is ten times more mindboggling.
Regardless of what personal problems Bob Bradley has with Freddy Adu, his insistance on not putting our best players on the field has hurt this team in the short run and in the long run will prevent Adu from developing into the player that even Bradley himself sees. Bradley admits there’s a future in Freddy, “”Obviously, the fact that we call him in is an indication that we still see talent and the hope is that he can continue to move himself along.” Well, playing him would definitely help his improvement, right Bob?
When your team is listless on the field for months and is stacking up loss after loss, what is there to lose with playing someone who you see as a potential player for South Africa 2010? Aboslutely nothing, and Bob Bradley’s refusal to play Freddy Adu is one reason why Bradley needs to be fired effective immediately.
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