"He did very well in the last game against Los Angeles. He found his
rhythm and connected very well with this teammates and I'm happy with
him during practice. Things don't happen overnight. He and us need to
be patient. We have to move forward and see what we can do to make
him better and make our team better. I'm pleased with his efforts in
practice and overall I think he's going to get better."
-- D.C. United coach Peter Nowak on Freddy Adu's performance in a 1-1
tie with Los Angeles last Saturday, Adu's second game. Adu and D.C. United
face the MetroStars this Saturday.
"I've learned a lot. I've learned it's still the same game.
Everything is just a little faster. So when I do something I just
have to do it faster. I've been thinking a bit too much and that
takes me a bit out of my game. Now I've learned I trust my teammates,
make the right runs and my teammates will get me the ball in the
right spots. Now I'm just working a little harder. My fitness has
gotten a lot better and I'm working a lot harder on defense as I am
on offense."
-- Adu.
"I just moved into a new apartment and I have no TV or internet. We
have to concentrate on how to make this team better and how to make
my players better. As far as that, I respect all opinions. If someone
approaches me and tells me this is how it's supposed to be, we can
discuss it. But my players and the coaching staff make the decisions
and this is it. You cannot change a decision that happened two weeks
ago. We have to move forward and do what we can do better."
-- Nowak, on being criticized for not having started Adu yet.
"To be honest it's how smart defenders are in this league. That's
something that did surprise me a little bit. They're very smart and
always on the right foot. It's very hard to get a shot on goal and to
have a lot of space to take a ball at somebody. You have to work
extra hard to do that."
-- Adu on what has surprised him about MLS.
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