Where in the World is Freddy Adu? Vegas, Baby, Vegas

| Posted on |

Freddy Adu went from the savior of American soccer to a complete nobody over the last 10-plus years. Now, he’s found a home in an unlikely place.

As you know, Freddy Adu arrived on the American soccer scene as a savior of sorts in the mid-2000s. As a kid, I remember him being all over the place — even appearing in a commercial alongside Brazilian legend Pelé at just 14-years old. While he never lived up to his hype, he’s always been a popular player that casual fans (like myself) care about.

Think about him like this: Freddy Adu is to soccer what John Daly is to golf.

Both are extremely polarizing players who never met their full potential and most importantly, are difficult guys to pin down in one spot for an extended period of time.

Embed from Getty Images

Besides his stints at all different levels of the United States Men’s National Team, Adu has really had just two long spells in the same city. Ironically, both of them came for Major League Soccer clubs.

  • D.C. United (2004-06): 87 regular season matches, 7 postseason matches, 11 total goals
  • Philadelphia Union (2011-13): 35 regular season matches, 2 postseason matches, 7 total goals

The rest of his career, spanning from 2004 until now for 14 different clubs, has been a mixed bag. From top-tier teams with gigantic stadiums in historic leagues (ie: nine games with AS Monaco of Ligue 1 between 2008-09) to top-tier teams in smaller countries (ie: five games with KuPS of Veikkausliiga in 2015), Freddy Adu has been in many places for many teams at many different levels. And like a one-hit wonder rock band, the older he gets, the smaller the crowds and paychecks become.

In 2016, we got a rare glimpse into how Adu feels about everything when he gave an exclusive interview to GOAL USA.

“I’m not going to lie, that stuff bothers me. It hurts, “ Adu told Goal USA in an exclusive interview. “I’m only 26. Yes, I’ve had some tough times in my career. I’ve had some great times as well. In the end, I can’t control what people say. It wasn’t my choice or decision to be compared to Pele when I came into the league.”

At the time, Adu was back in America playing for the Tampa Bay Rowdies, a second-tier club in the NASL. And while it was a big-fish-little-pond situation in terms of star-power, he wasn’t a regular starter and failed to score a goal in 12 matches between 2015 and 2016. Even though he didn’t set the world on fire, however, he was handed an opportunity to get back into the league where he saw his best years: a trial offer with the Portland Timbers for the 2017 MLS season.

Unfortunately, he trained, he saw, and…was sent home without a contract after two weeks.

Adu didn’t compete in any official matches during 2017 and essentially took a year off from soccer. Yet, when 2018 rolled around, he announced on Twitter he was ready to “start fresh”.

Immediately after, Adu was brought in by a new expansion franchise in the widely popular United Soccer League — Las Vegas Lights FC.

Yes, it’s a second-tier league in America but the talent isn’t far off from MLS — look at FC Cincinnati! Furthering the USL’s legitimacy, ESPN+ is an official partner of the eight-year-old league and broadcasts the majority of their matches.

And because he’s Freddy Adu and weird things happen to him, he recorded the first assist in team history against the team that drafted him almost 15 years ago: D.C. United. It was a preseason match but still an awesome footnote. In mid-March, Adu officially joined the club and the rest is history.

Now 29-years old, Freddy isn’t starting every match or playing 90 minutes a night but he’s part of an exciting franchise with fans that care about what’s in front of them. At the end of the day, that has to mean a lot to him and the folks with a soft-spot for his story. Vegas, despite being a first-year franchise with a losing record, ranks No. 5 out of 33 USL teams in attendance with over 7,500 fans per home game.

Adu has played in six games (with four starts) for the Lights and recently scored his first professional goal in what seems like forever.

To watch Freddy Adu with his new team, subscribe to ESPN+ for $4.95/mo.

Stay tuned for a feature about Las Vegas, their new teams, and why professional sports work in Sin City.

Thanks for reading! Please follow me on Twitter here (Aaron Carter just did…so why not, right?). Or if you love you some Slackie Brown, share this article or follow us on Twitter here.