GOAL Convo: Adu discussed his expectations for Sullivan and the state of the American youth soccer system

Freddy Adu might not have grown up in the social media era, but if there was a 2004 equivalent of “going viral,” he lived it. 

Joining MLS at 14, he became the face of a league desperate to attract fans. Commercials with Pelé? Check. Mega endorsement deals? Absolutely. Pushing for senior-team minutes as a teen? Whatever it took to market a still-developing talent once linked to Manchester United and Tottenham before signing with D.C. United.

Adu says American soccer is in a much better place now than when he launched his career.

"There's a big change," Adu told GOAL. "When I was coming up, the whole youth system was new; it wasn't as big. There weren’t a lot of resources, so your pathway was either the youth national team or college. That’s how most people went pro. Now, there’s money in the youth systems, more opportunities – and that’s great for young players."

While Adu is remembered by many as a player who didn’t match outsized expectations, his career spanned more than a decade with stops at clubs such as Benfica and Monaco. The improved infrastructure in MLS gives him hope for another hyped teenager, Cavan Sullivan. The 15-year-old Philadelphia Union prospect is very much viral – he posted a highlight reel on TikTok this week that drew more than 570,000 likes in just three days.

Adu spoke with GOAL, via the home of football odds, about his expectations for Sullivan, soccer in America and how the U.S. youth system stacks up against England’s in the latest GOAL Convo, a recurring Q&A with central figures in the American game.

Getty Images SportON CAVAN SULLIVAN

GOAL: The player who is obviously getting a lot of comparisons to you is Cavan Sullivan. What are your thoughts on what's been thrown at Cavan, given your own experiences. When does it become too much, too soon?

ADU: Cavan’s a great player, and for me, I just hope it's not too much too soon, because sometimes it can get overwhelming with a lot on your plate as a young player. I thought the Philadelphia Union and MLS, in particular, were doing a great job with him, because he was brought into the first team in Philly and playing all the time. I think they took their time with him. Then he was with their youth team, and then he was playing with their reserve team for a little while, then they would bring him in and play a game or two, and then he was getting a lot of games with the reserve team. 

I think that was good for him. That's good for you as a young player, to still know that you have a lot of work to do before you get into that first team and become a regular starter and a regular contributor. As far as him going over to Manchester City? He's 15 now, and him going to Manchester City at this age, he's going to be in their youth system – I think that's a great idea, because I think he needs to be in that environment.

He needs to sort of grow up as a person and as a player in that environment, so he knows how it is, what to expect, all the grind that it's going to take to get to that next level. Players, when we're here in America, it's very different from what it is over there. Because over there, you are treated when you're in that youth system, and you abide by everything that goes on in that youth system and in that club.

AdvertisementIMAGNON SULLIVAN'S DEVELOPMENT

GOAL: Is it more lenient in the U.S.? Is that a good thing for Cavan?

ADU: I've seen both sides of it, and I think that we're a little bit more sort of lenient here, yes. I think young players need to be in a really competitive environment where they have to grind and work for everything, because once you get that instilled in you as a young player, that's what's going to carry you. It's really going to fuel you and help you, help bring out

GOAL: Is there anything different he could have done?

ADU: I don't know his whole journey. I just know you know where he's at. He was in the youth system, and he got noticed, and he was so good that Manchester City even noticed him, and they basically signed him to a futures contract. What I'm saying is sometimes – and not just particularly with Cavan Sullivan – sometimes there are instances where players are sort of propped up too early, and they sort of forget, like they don't necessarily earn it. Put it that way. You forget what got you to where you were.

I think being in that environment for longer, having to grind for it for longer, and earn it, that when you get a chance to get to that first team, you are ready, you are motivated, and you are ready to go right away. Not when you get a chance to get to the first team, it takes you two to three years before you get into it.

ON THE AMERICAN YOUTH SOCCER SYSTEM

GOAL: Have you seen a difference in over the last two decades within the American soccer system, from the way you were developed to how they're developing talented youngsters now?

ADU: There are MLS youth teams that obviously play in MLS Next – they play against clubs that are not affiliated with any MLS teams. I'll use a club that's close by me, for example: there is a club in Columbia where I do my sessions in Maryland, called Baltimore Armour. So Baltimore Armour is not affiliated with any MLS teams, yet that club plays in MLS next, and they play in tournaments and games against the youth teams of MLS clubs. Now here's the difference – the problem is still these kids are paying, they are paying to be on those teams.

I hope that we get to a point where the clubs are paying for all the youth teams. So these kids don't have to be out of pocket to get a chance to be seen, or to get a chance to play at the highest level and get better as players. I think this is where, in this country, we need to sort of take the next step in order to improve drastically as a football nation. Because in other countries, all their best players are in those countries, are the sort of kids that say "This is my way out of poverty" or whatever. And this motivates them. If those same kids are here whose parents can't afford to pay for them to play at the highest level, we're missing out on so many great players who would otherwise get a chance to play.

Getty Images SportON DIFFERENCES BETWEEN U.S. AND UK

GOAL: Certainly in the UK, football has always been the working-class sport, and the U.S. seems to be treating it as system of privilege? Is that correct?

ADU: Yeah, exactly. It's the one thing for me when I started working with and coaching the kids, that's when I really started noticing. I'm not coaching any teams or anything because I don’t want to get into that. I just want to help these kids improve as players, and that's why I do these sessions rather than coaching a team, because I personally think that we have a long way to go. And they're paying a lot of money. I mean, some people are paying $2,000 or $3,000 to play for a season. Then on top of that, your parents have to pay for you when you go on tournaments, they have to pay out of pocket for the travel, they have to get a hotel room, and all that stuff. So that's a lot of it, and it all adds up, so it's difficult for a lot of these kids.

I do think we've missed out on a lot of great players. I got lucky. I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, I got lucky because there was no way my mom was able to afford for me to play in a youth system. I got lucky to get noticed in elementary school… We played in a tournament, and the team wasn't that good. I literally scored all the goals for them in the tournament. At that point, I got noticed by a different team, a different coach of a different team, who was like, 'That kid is way too good to be playing with that team.' So, they gave me a scholarship to come play on their team, which was at a much higher level. And a lot of people don't have that. They don't get that opportunity.