- [Narrator] There is no definitive criteria
to determine the success of an athlete's career.
It's all subjective.
But suppose I were to tell you about a soccer player
whose accolades include setting historic milestones,
resurrecting a dying league,
and representing their country on the global stage.
That sure does sound like a successful career, right?
Then how come that's not good enough for Freddy Adu?
Why do we perceive Adu as a failure who wasted his talent
and cost himself the opportunity
to be America's greatest soccer player ever?
Well, sometimes the lens we're looking through
can be a bit distorted.
(gentle music)
From the jump,
Freddy Adu transcended how we view soccer in America.
At 14 years old,
before ever competing in a professional match,
Adu was already dubbed as the next Pele.
It's normal for reporters to place expectations on players,
especially American media's obsession
with crowning young athletes and predicting their futures.
LeBron James was hyped to be the next Michael Jordan,
Tiger Woods was the next Jack Nicklaus,
Venus and Serena Williams
were the next Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.
Except Adu was one of one.
There were no past American soccer stars
he could strive to emulate.
But it's a miracle that Adu even had the chance
to be the country's next worldwide superstar.
Originally from a small town in Ghana,
Freddy immigrated to America at eight years old
after his family won a green card lottery
despite having less than a 1% chance of succeeding.
Freddy's legend grew from schooling kids on the playgrounds
in his new hometown, Potomac, Maryland,
to dominating top Italian clubs
with the US Olympic Developmental Program
in an under-14 tournament.
At 10 years old,
Freddy had a magnificent performance
earning MVP in the tourney
and gained the interest of Inter Milan,
one of the world's most storied sports franchises.
While it may sound ludicrous
that anyone would offer a child a six-figure contract,
top European clubs routinely went after players
in their preteens
so they could oversee their development.
The thing that was unheard of was a club of that stature
making an offer to an American,
a country known for having a weak worldwide reputation
in the sport.
While the 10-year-old could have been swimming in candy
with that type of cash,
Mama Adu wasn't ready to ship off her young boy.
Plus, it wouldn't be the last time
European clubs threw themselves at Freddy.
At 14, Freddy shined on the international stage
after putting on a sensational offensive performance
in the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
He played so majestically
that a Premier League club recruiting director
compared his performance to watching art in motion.
Freddy had the world at his feet
as multiple top clubs in major league soccer
fought to land his talent.
MLS' Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis believed
America's programs could compete with Europe's
which were historically known
for handling prospects his age,
but Freddy's decision was ultimately complicated.
Due to a rule by soccer's governing body FIFA,
players under 18 were prevented
from transferring to a European pro team.
But even a 14-year-old knew
FIFA wasn't the most law-abiding organization
and rules could be bent.
Freddy wanted a situation
where he could focus on his development
and get a chance to compete at a high-level ASAP.
With MLS, Freddy had the potential to start from day one
and undoubtedly be the biggest star in the league.
Under the condition that he could play close to home,
Freddy made his decision to join MLS
and was drafted number one overall
by D.C. United in 2004.
MLS won the Freddy Adu sweepstakes,
but the truth is they needed Freddy
way more than he needed them.
When Freddy entered the league in 2004,
MLS was on the verge of collapsing
and desperately needed star power to generate buzz.
D.C. United didn't even originally own the first pick.
The league forced Dallas, who owned the top pick,
to do a deal with D.C. to secure the MLS' future cash cow.
Freddy had the ideal mix of talent, charisma, and curiosity,
making him the perfect player
to capture the attention of Americans
and make soccer matter on a new level.
Through a relentless marketing campaign
that had him starring in commercials alongside Pele,
making appearances on MTV's "TRL",
and doing odd shit like popping up at Spike TV's
Second Annual Video Game Awards
alongside Lil Jon,
Freddy became an instant sensation.
Before he even stepped on the field for his first match,
Freddy had reached the mountaintop of fame
and became a household name overnight.
While MLS touted Freddy as their leading star,
he found it difficult to balance the act
of being a normal rookie within his own team.
Although players and personnel made efforts
to make Freddy feel welcome,
there was friction from the get-go
and Freddy felt like he was being picked on.
Freddy walked into a team full of veterans
making considerably less than him
and felt like he immediately had a target on his back.
Not to mention,
Freddy also didn't get any special attention
from his head coach, Peter Nowak,
who wasn't afraid to go rough at Freddy during practice.
To make things more confusing,
the external messages that Freddy received
versus what United preached
were extremely conflicting.
United management wanted Freddy
to block out the outside noise
and lock in on getting better
to win the respect of his teammates.
In the eyes of the MLS and his inner camp, though,
Freddy was a god send to save the league.
He had promotional obligations for the league
off the field
that weren't expected of other players
even after having average performances.
Freddy struggled to navigate through his varied priorities,
but his utilization became issue number one.
Adu preferred to play more in the center,
but in an attempt to give Freddy more chances
with his dangerous left foot,
Nowak switched to a formation pushing Freddy to the wing.
The new positioning exposed
Freddy's main weaknesses defensively.
Before joining MLS,
Freddy frequently played against competition
less talented than him,
allowing him to freely take on players,
score goals and worry less about defense.
At the professional level,
Freddy displayed a lack of effort in tracking back
and his teammates weren't thrilled
with the idea of picking up his slack.
Because of his unbalanced game,
Freddy acted more as a spark off the bench.
Despite rarely starting in his rookie season,
the excitement for Freddy to succeed
only continued to mount.
Fans packed out stadiums in a way that MLS
hadn't really experienced
just to see Freddy in action.
Then, in his third match, Adu delivered.
In the 75th minute on the road against the Metro Stars,
Freddy notched his first goal,
becoming the youngest player to ever score
in America professional soccer.
It was a monumental moment for Freddy's career
and a record that may never be broken,
but the goal itself wasn't really that special.
It was a nice setup and easy poke for Freddy
right in front of the net.
But with the country so starved for a soccer hero,
the entire crowd erupted in celebration,
even though his team was on the road.
That's just the type of energy Freddy brought on.
He represented a beacon of hope for U.S. soccer
and looked to be heading in the right direction.
I mean, he helped D.C. United win the MLS Cup
in his inaugural season.
Despite adding a trophy to his collection
so early in his career,
Freddy wasn't satisfied.
At 14 years old,
he already captured a title in his first season
while being the highest-paid player in the league
and was a celebrity outside of the sport.
What more could he want?
Playing time, of course.
Freddy continued to be annoyed with his minutes
and felt like he could make a larger impact as a starter,
even though his team just won the championship.
In his second season,
Freddy's frustration boiled over into the public
when he sounded off to reporters about his limited minutes.
Being on the field brought Freddy joy,
but his performance started to drop.
Criticism of his play heated up
and the pressure began to weigh on him more.
Adu had a bounce-back year in his third season
where he finally earned that starting spot
he desperately wanted.
Freddy began improving.
He showed maturation by making amends with his coach,
and while he wasn't yet Pele,
he was still at an age where he couldn't even
legally buy cigarettes.
While things looked great on the outside,
it was a different story behind closed doors.
Freddy remained upset about being played out of position,
and as the pressure and expectations
to perform at a high level
started to grow heavier on his shoulders,
the tension between his inner circle
on D.C. United overflowed.
Freddy wanted out.
The thing is, there was a disconnect
between Freddy's own expectations
and the reality of where he was as a player.
He desired to be in a system
that allowed him to attack more
and United granted his wish
when they traded him to Salt Lake in 2007.
While Freddy had a fresh opportunity
to prove he could still revitalize soccer in America,
a month later people were more captivated
by an English footballer coming to MLS.
With Salt Lake, Freddy walked into an organization
that gladly treated him like a prized possession.
He had the opportunity to play more freely on offense,
but the team was dreadful.
And with no one challenging him,
Freddy's ego ballooned while his effort diminished.
Freddy slipped further away
from the expectations that were set for him
and reporters rushed to be the first
to bury him as a failure.
It perfectly represented the extremes of his career.
At one point expected to be America's savior,
only to be labeled as a failure within a few years.
But despite Freddy developing
an arrogant personality and underperforming,
he still showed immense promise in international play.
That summer, Freddy starred at the 2007 Under-20 World Cup
and captured global attention once more,
which led him to landing a deal
with Portuguese powerhouse Benfica.
It was a dream for Freddy to play
for a top European club,
but his journey abroad ended in a disastrous nightmare.
Over the next decade,
Freddy found himself playing for a dozen different teams
in various leagues across a multitude of countries.
To be straight up,
Freddy never really improved much.
Experts thought he lacked tactical awareness,
turned pro too early,
and stopped gaining new skills by the age of 15.
Criticizing Freddy for turning pro early
was a harsh knock against him,
especially when people championed him
to do that exact thing.
As he continued to stray away
from the player he was expected to be,
Americans were no longer interested in following his career.
It was never really about Freddy.
It was about Americans being able to puff out their chests
and say the Land of the Home and the Brave
could kick any country's ass in soccer.
Freddy was just another cautionary tale
of the great American hype machine.
The most frustrating thing about all of it
is that Freddy could have been America's champion.
He had all the potential in the world
to elevate soccer in America to a brand new level.
When he appeared alongside Pele in a commercial,
Pele marveled at Freddy's abilities
that reminded him of his own
and compared his prodigious talent to Mozart.
Pele also offered Freddy advice to enjoy the moment
but be careful, as fame comes with mighty expectations.
During his formative years in MLS,
Freddy struggled with making the distinction
between himself as a player and as a media sensation.
He never had the proper time to focus on soccer
because he constantly had to promote the league.
Don't take it from me, though.
Take it from Freddy,
who sounded exhausted by all the things outside of soccer
while speaking to journalist Grant Wahl.
- [Freddy] It did get to a point, though,
where I was like, damn,
I wish I didn't have to do all this,
because every city we went to
I had to do a conference call before
and then when I'd get there I gotta do meet and greets,
you gotta do this, you gotta do photo ops,
you gotta do this.
It was just, agh, you know?
I just wish I didn't have to go through all of that
all the time,
you know, during my first couple of years.
- [Narrator] It wasn't just the fact
that Freddy was overwhelmed by all the obligations,
but he felt like his career
could have been drastically different
if he had more time to focus on the game.
- [Freddy] These were the important years
that if I could have just focused more
in just playing soccer,
the trajectory of my career would probably be different.
Honestly, it would have been
much, much, much better for my career.
- [Narrator] No club in Europe would have made Freddy
the face of an entire league,
especially without first showing promise.
Freddy was unfortunate enough
to be the first young US soccer prospect
to go through this cycle.
His shortcomings stand out so much
because he was the first to reach such heights.
Although MLS has drastically improved
its developmental programs,
even America's next brightest star, Christian Pulisic,
was afforded the opportunity to hone his skills
out of the media spotlight
as a teenager in Germany with Borussia Dortmund.
Think about this for a second.
An entire professional sport league
turned to a 14-year-old kid
to be their knight in shining football boots.
It's kind of gross.
As a teenager,
Freddy loved the attention,
because who wouldn't at that age?
My palms were sweaty whenever my crush laughed
at one of my corny ass jokes,
so I know I would for sure act up
if I was essentially treated as a sports god.
When Freddy signed with Nike years ago,
Nike Chairman Phil Knight described Freddy
as having the potential to accomplish more in his sport
than Jordan, Tiger, and LeBron.
The promise of a young genius is intoxicating,
but not everyone pans out.
On the field, Freddy never matched the accomplishments
of the prodigies before him,
but he did succeed in opening up soccer
to an entirely new demographic in America.
As a young Black kid,
Freddy had to navigate the stresses
of playing in a predominantly white sport
that tended to gatekeep players
that resembled his skin color.
Black children could look to Freddy
and aspire to be soccer stars,
just as they did to Tiger and the Williams' sisters
for their sports.
As a whole,
it's undeniable that Freddy made a sport
that people rarely cared about
relevant in America.
Just look at those numbers.
If you set aside all the hype and lofty expectations
placed on a preteen,
you're left with the story of an immigrant kid
who helped change the trajectory of the sport in America
and took care of his family financially.
So I ask again,
does that sound like a successful career to you?
'Cause it sure does to me.
(gentle music beat)
Yo, thank you for watching this episode of "Prism".
If you enjoyed this episode,
I think you'll love these other episodes in the series.
Make sure to like and subscribe
and keep on coming back every week
as we'll drop new episodes of "Prism".
Peace out.
(gentle music)