Freddy Adu heads to Greece

So the great American soccer hope is heading off to play for Aris Thessalonik FC ... um who? This is the third loan he is off on after signing with Benefica - after Monaco and Belenenses - getting 13 games at both sides scoring zero goals. Not exactly the track record you would expect from the player that was touted as the greatest since Pele and Maradona, a player that was going to elevate the US soccer team into the atmosphere of the Brazils, Italys, Germanys, Argentinas of the world. Was Adu over hyped? Yes, no doubt. I know when my college friends are talking to me about a footie player that he has become over-hyped...my college buddies could not tell you how many years are between World Cups or for what nation Maradona played for...

Can Adu live up to the enormous expectations? Doubtful. Can he become a solid footballer at the club and international level? Sure. He still had tremendous talent and needs to find himself. I will give him credit for realizing that he will need to play in Europe and not the MLS to improve his career. He really needs stability at the club level to continue to develop and try to live up to a fraction of his supposed potential. However if you look at the players that are his peers - between 20 and 22 - he is behind. Higuain at Real Madrid with 11 goals already, Benzema same club, Michael Bradley playing in the Bundesliga, Walcott already playing a key role in qualifiers for England, Obertan (who is that you ask) a France U21 player at Manchester United...let us not forget that Manchester United gave Adu a look and said no thank you. Or even Pjanic who at 19 is becoming a vital cog for Lyon. None of these players had ads with Pele when they were teenagers, but all are far ahead of the Ghanian born player at this point of their careers.

Adu is a poster child for the US hype machine over playing their hand with a player.