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| Birth Name(s) : Freddy Adu |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Athlete |
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Full Freddy Adu Biography
1 Senior club appearances and goalscounted for the domestic league only andcorrect as of 22:53, 21 October 2007 (UTC).2 National team caps and goals correctas of 22:53, 17 October 2007 (UTC).* Appearances (Goals)
Fredua Koranteng "Freddy" Adu (born 2 June 1989 in Tema, Ghana) is a Ghanaian-American footballer playing as a striker and an attacking midfielder. He currently plays for Portuguese team S.L. Benfica.
Adu grew up in the port city of Tema, where he played football against men three times his age. When he was eight, his mother won the Green Card Lottery, and he and his family moved to Washington, D.C., and in 2003 he became a U.S. citizen. Soon after arriving in the United States, he was discovered by a local soccer coach and began playing with boys several years older. Adu attended The Heights School, a private school in Potomac, Maryland, for several years. While playing with the U.S. Olympic Development Program in an under-14 tournament against the youth squads of such traditionally strong Italian teams as Lazio of Rome and Turin’s Juventus, Freddy’s team won the competition and he led the tournament in scoring and was named MVP. Adu was noticed by Italian football clubs, including Inter Milan, who discussed a six-figure offer for him that was turned down by his mother on the advice of his agents.
At age 12 in January, 2002, Adu joined the IMG Soccer Academy, U.S. Soccer's full-time residency program in Bradenton, Florida. He made his professional debut in Major League Soccer in early 2004, at just 14 years of age, and now plays for the United States Under-20 national team.
Adu has played for the United States in four international tournaments: the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland, the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates, the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.
Prior to the 2007 MLS season, he was traded to Real Salt Lake, and was also captain of the U-20 United States men's national team in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. After the conclusion of that tournament, Benfica of the Portuguese Liga secured Adu's rights from MLS for a transfer fee of $2 million USD. On 31 July, the signing was completed and he trained with the team in Lisbon.
In his first season as a pro, Adu finished the year with five goals and three assists, while playing in all 30 regular season games. Although briefly a starter, Adu was relegated to a substitute when D.C. United acquired central midfielder Christian Gómez mid-season, and it was in this role that he appeared in United's MLS Cup victory. He played in three of DC's four playoff games, coming off the bench each time; he tallied one assist in the postseason.
On 11 December 2006, D.C. United traded Adu and goalkeeper Nick Rimando to Real Salt Lake in exchange for a major allocation, goalkeeper Jay Nolly, and future considerations. Adu made his debut for Real Salt Lake on 7 April 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas. He scored his first goal for the club on 20 May 2007, converting a penalty kick in the 68th minute of a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Adu went on to score his second goal with Salt Lake from another penalty in a 1-1 draw against Boca Juniors.
On 28 July 2007, Adu opted out of playing for Real in their regular-season match, and later that day, boarded a plane to Portugal to negotiate with Benfica. On Monday, 30 July, Benfica issued an official statement announcing that Adu had been transferred to their club for a fee of $2 million USD that had been previously agreed upon, and the following day, the signing was complete and he trained with the team. He will be wearing number 30.
On 14 August 2007, Adu made his debut with Benfica against FC Copenhagen in a UEFA Champions League qualifying match, coming into the game in the 37th minute as a substitute. It has been reported that Benfica's coaching staff have been impressed with Adu's skills and attitude in training and are planning to increase the young American's exposure this autumn. On September 26th, 2007 Freddy scored his first goal, on a penalty kick, for Benfica in the 92nd minute of a game against E. Amadora in the Portuguese League (Carlsberg) Cup. Benfica subsequently won the game on penalty kicks, including another by Adu. Adu went on to make his league debut as a sub in a match against Sporting Lisbon on September 29, 2007. On October 20 he scored his first goal from open play in a 1-1 cup draw against Vitoria Setubal.
On October 24, 2007, Adu played his first UEFA Champion's League game for Benfica against Celtic FC in a 1-0 victory in Lisbon. He became the youngest American to play in that competition when he entered in the 61st minute.
On October 28, 2007, Adu, after entering in the 81st minute, scored his first goal (a winning goal) for Benfica in league play in the 87th minute against Maritimo. |
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