Episode 1: Freddy Adu
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‘He is gonna be bigger than Lebron, bigger than Michael and bigger than Tiger.’
- Nike Chairman Phil Knight (in speaking about Freddy Adu) – 2004
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At 7, he was playing barefoot on the dirt streets of his fishing village in Ghana. Somehow, by age 10, he had offers from Inter Milan, AC Milan and a host of others. Such hype had never before surrounded an American soccer player. He continued to impress – and at 13, he turned pro – a very unusual thing for an American 8th-grader.
He met Pele – who gave him some touching advise - one prodigy to another. And he became a millionaire and the most famous player in a league that desperately needed his help. So instead of academy or junior ball, he was thrown straight into the first team. The next youngest player on his squad was 22. A league losing millions of dollars per month does not have a lot of time to spare.
So the stage was never really set properly, and his career never did pan out as some had anointed it would. But no matter – Freddy did ok – he never refused an autograph or a picture. He went on every marketing assignment they gave him – and they gave him more than everyone else put together. He never lost himself to drugs, booze or scandal – he was a nice kid then, and despite all he went thru, he remains nice today. We should all be so lucky.
If this is your first go at Freddy’s story – I hope I do it justice here. If it is not, then maybe now you see Freddy in a new light. Either way – I hope you enjoy my chat with a man I greatly admire – Freddy Adu.