MLS Insider Blog

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

When news of Bob Bradley’s contract extension with U.S. Soccer broke last night it seemed like deja vu all over again with Bradley appearing to once again be the backup girl to the perpetually playing-hard-to-get Jurgen Klinsmann. So for all of the feverish supposition and speculation (“Bob Bradley to Fulham,” “Bob Bradley to Aston Villa”) the talented coach with the lengthy resume couldn’t break Europe’s glass ceiling for American coaches and will begin 2011 in the exact same way that he began his time as the Yanks head man in 2007: prepping for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

And on the other side of the player-coach divide –not to mention the other side of the planet– sits Freddy Adu who, if his Tweets are to be taken for their seemingly-obvious meaning, will remain at Greek side Aris. This despite Argentine coach Hector Raul Cuper’s apparent signals that Adu was not in the team’s plans for this season (Adu was left out of the team’s pre-season tour/training and he’s nowhere to be found in the new official 1st team photos on the club site).

But reading too much into player Tweets, the soccersphere equivalent of reading tea leaves, is ill advised and I’ll end my scrutiny before I really start, choosing instead to wait for something bordering on official to be stated regarding Freddy’s status before going any further. But like Bradley, it seems that he may also be on the receiving end of that old saying about loving the one you’re with if you can’t have the one you want.

BY SIMON BORG

MLS fans have gotten to know Greek club Aris over the last year after the club acquired Americans Freddy Adu and Eddie Johnson. While Johnson may have returned to Fulham and Adu is reportedly not in the team’s plans, there is still a reason to keep an eye on the team. In his official debut, ex-MLS superstar Carlos Ruiz scored the only goal for Aris in the 93rd minute of its 1-0 win over Austria Vienna in the first leg of a Europa League playoff. The second leg will be played next week with a berth to the group stage at stake.

“We deserved the win even if we had to save ourselves from conceding a goal in the first half,” Ruiz said to Guatemalan daily Al Dia. “The game was complicated and I thought it was going to finish 0-0, but we didn’t give up. It’s a minimal victory but it will serve us well in the return leg.” After missing the two previous games due to injury, Ruiz came off the bench in the 63rd minute to score a patented “El Pescadito” goal: poking home a ball off a rebound from a teammate’s effort. Another former MLS player, ex-FC Dallas midfielder Juan Carlos Toja, also started for Aris.

Greek football is nothing new to Ruiz, who played for PAS Giannina F.C. before joining MLS. He never opened his scoring account with PAS.
Now back in Greece, “El Pescadito” says it’s helpful to have Argentine Hector Cuper as his manager. Adu, who is still on the books at Aris, will likely not be sharing the same view.
“When I play, I’m always thinking of doing something important for Guatemala,” Ruiz said. “I want people to feel proud and to enjoy and to feel what I feel.”

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

Did you read about Freddy Adu not making the grade for Swiss side FC Sion? Is it just me or does it seem like every time you think to yourself “Surely this will be the team that Freddy Adu sticks with” it never turns out that way? From Real Salt Lake to Benfica to Monaco to Aris the guy just can’t seem to latch on anywhere longer than a season. And when he is there he doesn’t seem to get anywhere close to the playing time that you would think a player with his skill (remember the U-20’s in Canada?) would warrant.

Every time we get word of him making a new move to new club -and let’s be honest here, ever since Benfica each one has seemed like a step down from the one before it- I find myself wondering why he doesn’t come to the States. Things certainly didn’t go the way he or his fans may have wanted in Europe but that doesn’t mean he has to keep barnstorming around the continent in search of…well I’m not exactly sure what.

It could be anything from financial gain to an outside chance at Champions League play that is driving him but if the now-cliche, standard American soccer  player’s dream of “playing in Europe” is what continues to push his tour of leagues you will not see on ESPN, FSC or GolTV along then it’s real shame; as a talented, creative midfielder his services would be in high demand domestically. Or perhaps they would have been in high demand. But with every transfer and unsuccessful trial his stock falls incrementally and if he’s not careful he could wind up playing himself out of options.

Now, I’m sure that if it was Freddy’s want he could find an MLS side willing to take a chance and add his well-known name to their roster but at this point he probably couldn’t command the wages he once did. Still at this stage in his career it might be worth a cut in pay for a chance to prove that he can still play; he might have to swallow some pride to do it but like they say, you can always come home.

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

As we read this morning that Freddy Adu has been left out of Aris’ traveling squad for a pre-season trip to Austria, one has to wonder what will become of the former D.C. United star. Since leaving MLS Adu has played -sparingly I might add- for four teams and looks to be on his way to a fifth unless his Portuguese employers Benifca decide to bring him home, which at this point seems unlikely.

So what is it with Freddy? When he has suited up for the USMNT or the Olympic team in recent years his performances have been impressive with goals & assists coming in at a regular clip. But for whatever reason this international success doesn’t seem to translate into club success. Is he a poor practice player? Does he have an attitude problem? Perhaps continental coaches have little taste for such a highly-touted American? Is he still developing? Or maybe he’s just not that good?

Personally I don’t agree with the last theory; Adu has got skill in bunches, regardless of his age or nationality. But his nomadic journey through European football remains one of the great mysteries of modern-day American soccer. Hopefully someone will solve it soon for both Freddy and our sakes; to continue to waste a talent like his on the benches of Europe would be a real shame.

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

Does Tony Kornheiser have a college-aged daughter? And if so, did she ever date Freddy Adu against his wishes? With the frequency with which Kornheiser has taken jabs at Adu, I’m beginning to wonder if such a scenario or something equally off-putting occurred between the Pardon The Interruption host and the diminutive midfielder. After all, they do both call the D.C. area home.

Yesterday Kornheiser took the opportunity to get in another dig at Adu –on his birthday no less– saying his career is “in ruins, he’s Freddy A-Done.” Certainly his career has taken a detour from the golden path that was laid out before him at age 14 but the guy is playing better (and, crucially, more often) than he has in a couple of years. Does Kornheiser even have any idea what club Adu currently plays for or in what league they play in? It’s doubtful. Perhaps he is just talking out of some other orifice than his mouth on this one?

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

The cruelty of the game strikes again as Eddie Johnson, a player whose time with the USMNT had passed for many people, sees his potential World Cup appearance thrown into jeopardy in the 11th hour. The Aris striker injured his hamstring over the weekend and will not be able to play for 10 10 15 days.

For those of you keeping score at home that places his return to action toward the end of the upcoming World Cup training camp. It’s an unfortunate bit of timing for the resurgent forward and an injury that will drain Bob Bradley’s already shallow pool of strikers even further. And not that it will happen but how ironic would it be if Charlie Davies was named as an injury replacement?