Adu to Monaco on loan

[Frank Cunha]

thanks, I was not sure

[pirate]

The full Season schedule is Expected to be relesled in eary January. :thumbsup:

[Frank Cunha]

Soccer notebook: Too much ado over young Adu



Tuesday, December 23, 2003


BY FRANK GIASE
Star-Ledger Staff

The MetroStars' 2003 season was a major disappointment and there are more players leaving the team than arriving so far in the off-season, yet there is already a buzz about the 2004 home opener.

Unfortunately for the MetroStars, it has nothing to do with the team's outlook.


From Our Advertiser




The 2004 Major League Soccer schedule will be released early next month, but the MetroStars will play host to D.C. United -- and 14-year-old sensation Freddy Adu -- on Saturday, April 17 at Giants Stadium.

The MetroStars will open the regular season Saturday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. against the Crew in Columbus, Ohio.

Adu is arguably the most exciting signing in the history of the league. ABC already has committed to airing Adu's MLS debut, April 3 against the league champion San Jose Earthquakes at RFK Stadium.

Still, teams had better be careful what they promise their fans when United comes to town. For the first time in his career, Adu will be playing against men, not boys a few years older than he is, and despite his skill, it would be unrealistic to think the forward will be a starter any time this season.

It's a reasonable assumption that Adu will be a late-game sub, sent in to run at tired defenders and create a scoring spark. If the other nine teams can sell tickets based on that, more power to them.


MLS NOTES

The Dallas Burn acquired veteran goalkeeper Scott Garlick from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for the Burn's second-round pick in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. Garlick, 31, ranks second in league history in saves with 763 and is third all-time in victories with 81 and minutes with 14,901....

The San Jose Earthquakes' home opener April 10 against the Chicago Fire will be a rematch of the Nov. 23 MLS Cup final, won by the Quakes, 4-2.... The New England Revolution named Craig Tornberg general manager. He had been the assistant GM and director of fan development. Tornberg replaces Todd Smith, who resigned last year due to health reasons....

Coaching openings in D.C. and San Jose are close to being filled, with former MLS players Peter Nowak (D.C.) and Dominic Kinnear (San Jose) the front-runners for the jobs.

[Frank Cunha]

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=yearendsoccer&prov=st&type=lgns

[Frank Cunha]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/30/sports/soccer/30SOCC.html

[Frank Cunha]

Look Back at Soccer in 2003
By JACK BELL

Published: December 30, 2003


REDDY ADU He is so skilled that some people simply do not believe he is 14. He played for the United States in the under-17 world championship in Finland and then was a late addition, and finally a starter, for the under-20 team that went to the quarterfinals in the United Arab Emirates.

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For the next two years, the national team coach, Bruce Arena, will have to deal with questions about Adu and his place on the 2006 World Cup team.

Adu signed a professional contract with Major League Soccer and D.C. United, instantly becoming the league's highest paid player. ABC has already committed to broadcast his first game, April 3 in Washington against the defending champion San Jose Earthquakes. Then the D.C. United caravan comes north for the MetroStars' home opener on April 17. Somewhere, Maurice Clarett must be wondering if he picked the wrong sport.

MANCHESTER UNITED The world's richest club is back on top of the English Premier League, its coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, has signed a new contract through 2007, the club is coming back to America after last summer's sold-out tour and the Red Devils have retooled with the addition of young stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Tim Howard.

HOME DEPOT CENTER The stylish 27,000-seat, $150 million complex in Carson, Calif., built for the Los Angeles Galaxy of M.L.S. has quickly become the citadel of American soccer. The complex will also serve as the training center for United States national team programs.

M.L.S. believes that new, soccer-only stadiums will ensure future success. There is a deal in place for a new 20,000-seat stadium amid a 17-field complex in Frisco, Tex., outside Dallas, for the Burn. There is also talk about new stadiums in Chicago and Washington, and continuing discussion about new digs for the MetroStars in Harrison, N.J.

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH The 37-year-old Russian oil billionaire, the Steinbrenner of Siberia, quickly pumped $200 million into Chelsea, the fashionable London club, making it a three-team race (along with Manchester United and Arsenal) in the English Premier League. Many big names in the game, from Ronaldo to Ruud van Nistelrooy, have been linked to the Blues.

M.L.S. Under Commissioner Don Garber, the league is stronger than it has ever been. The cost of the software (the players) is closely controlled. The league's shrewdly run marketing arm, Soccer United Marketing, owns the rights to the 2006 World Cup, and has made money selling its programming, which has little appeal outside a circle of soccer fanatics. A dedicated soccer television channel cannot be far off; M.L.S. is more like a TV company that happens to own a soccer league. The cost of players is the league's smallest expense, but the game is driven by stars.

FIFA Joseph Blatter, the president of soccer's world governing body, keeps issuing edicts, and the sport's power center in Europe keeps complaining. Blatter's latest: top leagues limited to 16 teams; a commitment to a world club championship; the World Cup in Africa in 2010; a statement that top European clubs are engaged in neocolonialism for cherry-picking the best players from Africa, Asia, South America, and now North America.

BEST MOVIE "Bend It Like Beckham" got all the attention, but a solid little documentary from England, "The Game of Their Lives," could not get distributed in the United States.

The movie, which shares a title with a forthcoming film about England's 1-0 loss to the United States in the 1950 World Cup, tells of North Korea's surprising run to the quarterfinals of the 1966 World Cup in England. The team was adopted by fans in Middlesbrough, eliminated Italy, and led Portugal, 3-0, before losing 5-3 as Eusebio scored four goals. "The Game of Their Lives," produced by Dan Gordon, was named best sports documentary of 2002 by the Royal Television Society in Britain.

TIM HOWARD Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United loves his new keeper from New Jersey and the MetroStars. Will Bruce Arena in 2006? Howard, 24, has 9 shutouts and has allowed only 13 goals behind a defense that seems certain to soon lose Rio Ferdinand, the world's most expensive defender, to an eight-month suspension for not appearing for a random drug test.

DAVID BECKHAM Beckham's $45 million transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid was voted the top sports story of the year in a worldwide poll of Associated Press subscribers. For several weeks last summer, the midfielder seemed to be everywhere, transcending his sport.

BEST TEAM Boca Juniors of Argentina won the Libertadores Cup (beating Santos of Brazil for its fifth title) and the Intercontinental Cup (beating A.C. Milan of Italy on penalty kicks in Tokyo).

The club is also a financial rarity in South America: it makes money. According to the daily South American Journal, Boca made $30 million from winning the first-half tournament, $3 million from the Libertadores Cup, $1.5 million from the Intercontinental Cup, earns $1 million from its Nike sponsorship deal and $1 million to wear the Pepsi name on those Nike jerseys.

COLLEGES Indiana's Jerry Yeagley announced he would retire after 31 seasons as coach before the Hoosiers marched to their sixth N.C.A.A. men's title, defeating St. John's in the final. Yeagley started the program at Indiana in 1973 and is the most successful men's coach in N.C.A.A. history. North Carolina (27-0) did not allow a goal in the women's tournament as the Tar Heels won their 18th title.

WOMEN The three-year-old Women's United Soccer Association folded after losing $100 million. The United States scrambled and succeeded in organizing the Women's World Cup on short notice after it was pulled from China because of the SARS epidemic. Perhaps it was a hangover from the W.U.S.A.'s demise, or perhaps the rest of the world has caught up to the United States, but a smothering loss to Germany in the semifinals was probably the end of an era.


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[Frank Cunha]

Adu merchandise
Eurosport now has a DC United/ Adu t-shirt. Here's a link to the page. I would imagine this is just the start of Freddie mania in the merchandise front. I wonder when the Freddie cleats will be out from Nike.

Also they have the new jersey available. But only in XL. Lucky me.


http://www.soccer.com/IWCatProductP...oduct_Id=116647

[Frank Cunha]

http://www.soccer.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id= 1&pcount=&Product_Id=116647

[BethlehemFC]

Frank -- you mad consumer you!

[Frank Cunha]

anything to improve the economy

[BethlehemFC]

Spending the profits from that business of yours!

[Frank Cunha]

I got another day in

[Frank Cunha]

"Adu, Adu, Adu ..."
-- Chant by Mexican fans that has been greeting DaMarcus Beasley throughout the U.S. U-23 team's stay in Guadalajara for Olympic qualifying. Adu is not with the team that will be its qualifying quest Feb. 3 against Panama.

[Frank Cunha]

"Adu, Adu, Adu ..."
-- Chant by Mexican fans that has been greeting DaMarcus Beasley throughout the U.S. U-23 team's stay in Guadalajara for Olympic qualifying. Adu is not with the team that will be its qualifying quest Feb. 3 against Panama.

[Jager]

Frank, any Serie A sides taking notice?