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ASN Morning Read: Is That Freddy Adu We See?
The attacker has found his way to England, where he's training with an old friend; deep thoughts on why European coaches don't want Americans; Landon Donovan plays the role of wise veteran.
BY
Jesse Yomtov
Posted
January 31, 2014
8:53 AM
Freddy Adu news? Freddy Adu news! The 24-year-old free agent is training with Blackpool. It’s unlikely he’d be able to secure a work permit, but it seems he’s good friends with Blackpool interim manager Berry Ferguson, thus explaining his visit. Greg Seltzer also reports that Adu has drawn some interest from teams in Turkey’s top flight. Adu spent the end of the 2010-11 season on loan with Rizespor in the country’s second division.
Roger Bennett has a great piece on why Americans don’t get many opportunities in Europe, with some fascinating insight from Herculez Gomez and Red Bulls general manager Jerome de Bontin. "European clubs remain condescending when it comes to U.S. soccer," de Bontin said. "I saw that first hand at Monaco when I tried to help young American players join clubs in France or Austria. Any president who brought one in would face a fight with a coach who won't give an American the time of day, not because he is lacking skill-wise or physically, but because U.S. players are not taken seriously."
Veteran Landon Donovan gets all “back in my day,” talking about the evolution of player development. “[Kids today] have a lot more options than we ever had,” Donovan said. “It seems now, every week or two there's a young kid at some academy somewhere that's American that's coming through the ranks, and that wouldn't have happened years ago.”
Jermaine Jones has found a new home yesterday, heading to Turkish club Besiktas on a deal that only runs until the end of the season. Brian Sciaretta providesfive things we need to know about the move. The contract includes an option for the club to extend through 2016. Besiktas currently sits fifth in the Turkish league, and was banned from the 2013-2014 Europa League because a match fixing case that dated back to 2011.
Tonight, the U.S. women kick off 2014 with a match against Canada at Toyota Park in Frisco, Texas. The team is riding a 39-match unbeaten streak and hasn’t lost on American soil since Nov. 6, 2004, a 77-match run. Our Noah Davis wrote something cool about Sydney Leroux earlier this week.
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