Adu final gets to Europe

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/07/31/bc.eu.spt.soc.adu.benfica.ap/index.html

So the American phenom is finally heading to Europe, but not to Manchester United or Chelsea (where he was long time rumored) but instead to Benefica. Let us put this in perspective. Benefica is a solid club, but more due to its legacy rather than its current form. They have struggled in their domestic league, as the article states they have not won the domestic title in 13 years and the European glory came in the 1960s. The Portuguese league is also not the most powerful in Europe, I would rank it well behind England, Spain and Italy and below France, Germany and Holland's leagues. But still well ahead of the MLS, so Adu will get a much higher level of competition playing in Portugal and will get some exposure to European football.

What is interesting is the following - all the hype that followed Adu in the MLS and post U20 World Cup made some believe that he was destined to slot behind Rooney in the starting 11 at Manchester United, yet he ends up in a second tier club. I think this once again shows that the US media hype machine, when it comes to football, over values the worth and talent residing in the MLS.

I do think this is a good move for Adu. He will never discover what his actual football worth is had he stayed in the middle of the MLS mucking it with Real Salt Lake. If starts to live up to an iota of the hype that surrounds him he will do well at Benefica. Playing for such a club will allow him to be better represented to the larger clubs in Europe and will allow him to move to a Barca or Manchester United in 2-3 years of success in Portugal. This will be a big test for Adu. Can he hack it in Europe? You know he will have a huge spot light on him and the defenders in the league will be getting their boots ready for Adu. If he can become a solid player his stock will rise accordingly.

Freddie's move is what should be the blue print for other "prospects." Rather than toil in the MLS (granted according to Alexi Lalas it is really one level below the Prem) get to a lower domestic league in Europe and get your football legs under you, build your resume and then move to a bigger European club. While older established players, such as Beasley, Dempsey and McBride can head right to second tier teams in big leagues, the younger players will need to look at lower domestic leagues or second tier teams (see Rossi who went to Parma from the US).

I will be interested to see how Adu fares, here is to hoping he does not pull a "Donovan" and actually sticks it out through thick and thin. He will be better for it.