What, no Adu?

So no later than maybe 15 seconds after the USMNT roster for the International Friendly against Sweden was announced, all of the internet pundits started demanding to know why Bob left the MLS phenom and new Benfica midfielder Freddy Adu, off the 19 man roster. I on the other hand, would have been a little more shocked at Freddy being included than I am about Donovan being taken away from the LA Galaxy. Freddy needs to not be in this roster, for his own good.

It is pretty simple, and if anyone had read Bradley’s interview with Jack Bell in the NY Times, then you would have had a very good understanding that Adu would not be selected.

“Really what people need to do is to look on the FIFA calendar and if you see a single fixture date you know it is pretty much in and out. The Sweden game pretty much means the guys will play with their clubs on the weekend and then fly in to Sweden, which already should be a huge advantage for European-based players. That gives you a light training Monday and Tuesday then the players all leave.

Whenever you see a double date, there's an opportunity for us to have four-five days of training and make it more like a camp, that's importance of the double-fixture dates. If you look back to when we played Mexico in Phoenix I had said that it wasn't the right time to bring the younger guys in. I wouldn't want to bring a player in, and then a day or two later throw them on the field. We had not had a camp so I could assess some players. I said then that the double date in March would be a good opportunity, and it was.” – Bob Bradley

So from this viewpoint, considering that Adu hasn’t been in a Bob Bradley camp before, he wouldn’t get the right amount of time to evaluate Adu on his level of play, so it would be a wasted trip for him to go to Sweden. This does fail to show why Bradley did call in Sal Zizzo. The only guess I can venture is because Zizzo plays forward, which is pretty thin of a position to call up. Midfield, which Freddy plays, is stacked with experienced players to call up.

The bigger reason, in my mind of why Adu was not called up to the national team is that because he has only had a week and a half of training time with Benfica. I am assuming that Zizzo has been with Hannover 96 a little more than that. Given that Adu will be fighting for a starting spot with Benfica, having him leave for four days wouldn’t help him with the club. Having Adu stay in Portugal for this match will go along way towards getting him first team action with his club. Considering Bradley’s statements, I would actually expect Adu to be in the camp in September.

Freddy needs to get settled and used to Portugal and Benfica. Once he gets adjusted to his new club and gets first squad time, then it will be a better time for him to start collecting caps.

Adu to Benfica finalized.

Freddy Adu has finalized his move to Portuguese club Benfica, according to the AP. Pending a medical, Adu will officially join the club, despite already taking part in training with the players. Adu is set to sign a five year contract.

Freddy deserves this. He put up with all the wunder kid crap that the league tossed on him over the last four years, dealt with trying to play different positions and formations and even dealt with being in Salt Lake. He deserved the move and I really hope he does well over there. I believe that this will do nothing but advance his current game and skills and give him a larger chance of making the SA 2010 US squad.

Hopefully some of the other younger US players will see Freddy's move and get the itch. Yes, I am talking to you Eddie Johnson.

Soccer News & Notes: 7/25/2007

LA Galaxy win first SuperLiga Match; FC Dallas Draw
God I love Landon Donovan! This guy has a nack for making people eat the same stuff that they throw at him. After the Beckham circus match Saturday night, pretty much everyone dropped Donovan on his head for missing the open header late in the match and basically being invisible through out the entire match. I even said that the Galaxy would finish dead last in their SuperLiga group.

Well, he proved me wrong and showed the rest of the media that he can still step up in matches. Donovan scored the match winner as the Galaxy, minus Golden Balls, defeated Pachuca 2-1 last night. As FC Dallas drew with Chivas de Guadalajara 1-1, the Galaxy currently sit at the top of the Group A standings.

FC Dallas draw with Chivas.
The other SuperLiga match of the night had FC Dallas draw with Chivas de Guadalajara 1-1, despite an apparent hand ball that lead to the Chivas goal that tied the score at 1-1. FC Dallas played a man short for the end of the match as Drew Moor was sent off for shoving Chivas captain Hector Reynoso.

I watched the first half of this match and I was shocked at how hard these guys were hitting each other. The hitting was fierce and the passing was horrible. FC Dallas had terrible passes through out the entire first half, and it made me wonder if it was only time until Chivas snuck in with a goal. Chivas themselves weren't that much better, but they did have faster build ups in the offense, which I thought would be the difference. I figured teh score would be 1-0 for Chivas.

Freddy off to Benfica?
The AP is reporting that MLS and Benfica have agreed to a $2 million dollar transfer for Freddy Adu, but Freddy and Benfica have yet to agree to personal terms of the contract. Freddy was back in the Real Salt Lake line up as they hosted Boca Juniors in an international friendly last night, which finished 1-1. Negotiations appear to be on going.

I really, really like this move, assuming that Freddy can agree to personal terms with Benfica. Moving to Portugal provides Freddy with the chance to face an entirely different environment and get alot more playing pressure on him, rather than marketing pressure. At Benfica, Freddy will have to fight for playing time in training, something that Peter Nowak was trying to get him to understand and what he said he figured out with his two week training session last year with Manchester United. He won't be the media darling of the entire league, like he head been over here. His game should improve greatly, assuming that he moves. I am just happy that he wants the greater challenge, unlike some other guys.

Eddie Johnson turns Derby down.
Speaking of Americans getting chances to move overseas, Eddie Johnson has reportedly turned down Derby's offer to joining the EPL side this season. Derby has just been promoted to the EPL and were looking to bring EJ in to bolster its offense. In 2005, Benfica offered MLS a reported $6 million for EJ's contract, but the league turned them down.

As I said before, I think that EJ should move, especially with his stock so "high." The guy has been lighting up MLS, 12 goals in 11 games, but his game needs to go higher, especially if he wants to truly be an international goal scoring threat for the USMNT. Playing in the EPL would have forced him to become quicker, not only on his feet, but in his head.

Poor decision EJ, poor decision.