CHICAGO (AP) - Freddy Adu is getting another chance.
The former phenom was selected to the U.S. roster for next month’s Gold Cup on Monday, the first time in almost two years he’s been included in coach Bob Bradley’s plans. Adu has been playing at Rizespor in Turkey’s second division since January.
“Freddy is a player that, in the past, has shown us soccer qualities that we think help our team,” Bradley said. “It hasn’t always added up enough yet with the full national team, but it seems like a good opportunity to get him back in with us when we have a good month together, and challenge him and hope that he has continued to grow and mature.”
The Americans will begin reporting Thursday to training camp in Cary, N.C. They have a June 4 exhibition in Foxborough, Mass., against World Cup champion Spain, followed by the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.
The Americans open group play June 7 in Detroit against Canada. They play Panama on June 11 in Tampa, Fla., and close the first round against Guadeloupe on June 14 at Kansas City, Kan.
“Thanx everyone for the congrats. Happy to be part of the US team again,” Adu said on Twitter.
Adu, who turns 22 on June 2, burst onto the U.S. soccer scene at the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championships. He scored three goals against South Korea and a game-winner against Sierra Leone in the tournament, where Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas was the MVP.
The teenager created an even bigger splash that November when he signed with D.C. United _ a deal that landed him on David Letterman’s “Late Show.” His MLS debut in April 2004 was given showcase treatment on ABC, and he played the final 29 minutes, becoming the youngest player on a major U.S. pro team in more than 115 years.
He earned his first invitation to a national team training camp in January 2006. Later that month, the 16-year-old became the youngest player in U.S. national team history when he came on as a substitute against Canada.
“At different times, he has shown some soccer abilities that are special,” Bradley said. “He hasn’t always been able to make them count in different situations, at different levels.”
In fact, Adu fell so far, so fast that he’s become a cautionary tale for youngsters with exceptional talents.
Weeks after Adu scored three goals against Poland at the 2007 Under-20 World Cup, Benfica paid $2 million for his transfer from MLS. But the coach who signed him was fired after two games, and Adu made only two starts that season. He was loaned the following July to Monaco, where he played 110 minutes _ all season.
Adu scored his first goal for the U.S. team on Nov. 19, 2008, in a 2-0 win over Guatemala in a World Cup qualifier, and added his second the following July against Grenada in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. It was his last appearance with the U.S. team, and he was left out of last year’s World Cup.
He bounced between clubs in Portugal and Greece, and had a handful of tryouts with other European teams before being loaned to Rizespor in late January.
Though Bradley has been keeping tabs on Adu _ he watched Rizespor’s playoff game Monday on the computer _ he acknowledged Adu’s selection was probably the biggest surprise on the 23-man roster. Because of the importance of the Gold Cup, Bradley stuck with most of the veterans that were part of last year’s World Cup team while adding up-and-comers Juan Agudelo, Tim Ream and Eric Lichaj.
“Freddy has fallen out of the scene a little bit. Typically, playing in the second division in Turkey doesn’t bring you back into the scene,” Bradley said. “We never thought (his) story was over. Now we will find out where it fits for right now.”
Adu is getting regular playing time and has scored three goals for Rizespor. But Bradley said a combination of factors convinced him to take another look at Adu, including what he hopes is a maturity that might have been missing in past years.
“We respect the fact that he made this move to go to a smaller club because he had to show people he was willing to do whatever to keep going,” Bradley said. “We’re looking forward to seeing how he’s handling things, a maturity, a way that tells us his experiences along the way have been measured and he understands that all of it needs to come together to move along, whether it’s with a club team or the national team.”
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton, England), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Nick Rimando (Salt Lake)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Tigres, Mexico), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Clarence Goodson (Brondby, Denmark), Eric Lichaj (Leeds, England), Oguchi Onyewu (Twente, Netherlands), Tim Ream (New York), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United, England)
Midfielders: Freddy Adu (Rizespor, Turkey), Michael Bradley (Aston Villa, England), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Maurice Edu (Rangers, Scotland), Benny Feilhaber (New England), Jermaine Jones (Blackburn, England), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht, Belgium), Robbie Rogers (Columbus)
Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New York), Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor, Turkey), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose)
___
Follow Nancy Armour at https://twitter.com/nrarmour
Please read our comment policy before commenting.