Thanks to Gabe for point this out. Thought it deserved its own thread. 
Man Utd targeting an American soccer prodigy?
Of all the things Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson might have been pondering on April 23 -- how to solve Real Madrid that night in Europe's biggest match of the year to date, whether he should start or bench David Beckham, or how to take the next step in his psychological warfare with Arsenal nemesis Arsene Wenger -- the last thing you'd expect to be on Ferguson's mind was a 13-year-old American soccer player.
Then again, Freddy Adu is not your typical 13-year-old American soccer player.
Let me explain. The day before, as part of a media op with American outlets in advance of Manchester United's four-game U.S. tour in July, Sir Alex was told by a Men's Journal writer, Josh Dean, to "keep an eye" on Adu, the budding star of the U.S. under-17 national team. (Adu was profiled in Sports Illustrated's March 3, 2003 issue.) When we arrived back at Old Trafford on the day of the Man Utd-Real Madrid match, Dean was pulled aside by the Man Utd communications director and put on the phone with ... Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Boss said he had made a call to one of his scouts after hearing the Adu tip, and now he was looking for a phone number so that Man Utd could contact Adu's parents. "I'm very serious about this," Ferguson told Dean.
Though Dean didn't have the number, I volunteered to call Arnold Tarzy, the Adu family's most trusted confidante. And in what is likely to be my first and last foray into the international player market, I passed along Tarzy's number (with his approval) to Man United.
Who knows if anything will come of it? But perhaps something will. Keep in mind, Ferguson first brought Ryan Giggs to the Man United youth team when Giggs was a 13-year-old phenom, too. Yet even if young Freddy never wears the Reds shirt, it's astonishing that he would be on Ferguson's radar just hours before such an important match.
Man Utd targeting an American soccer prodigy?
Of all the things Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson might have been pondering on April 23 -- how to solve Real Madrid that night in Europe's biggest match of the year to date, whether he should start or bench David Beckham, or how to take the next step in his psychological warfare with Arsenal nemesis Arsene Wenger -- the last thing you'd expect to be on Ferguson's mind was a 13-year-old American soccer player.
Then again, Freddy Adu is not your typical 13-year-old American soccer player.
Let me explain. The day before, as part of a media op with American outlets in advance of Manchester United's four-game U.S. tour in July, Sir Alex was told by a Men's Journal writer, Josh Dean, to "keep an eye" on Adu, the budding star of the U.S. under-17 national team. (Adu was profiled in Sports Illustrated's March 3, 2003 issue.) When we arrived back at Old Trafford on the day of the Man Utd-Real Madrid match, Dean was pulled aside by the Man Utd communications director and put on the phone with ... Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Boss said he had made a call to one of his scouts after hearing the Adu tip, and now he was looking for a phone number so that Man Utd could contact Adu's parents. "I'm very serious about this," Ferguson told Dean.
Though Dean didn't have the number, I volunteered to call Arnold Tarzy, the Adu family's most trusted confidante. And in what is likely to be my first and last foray into the international player market, I passed along Tarzy's number (with his approval) to Man United.
Who knows if anything will come of it? But perhaps something will. Keep in mind, Ferguson first brought Ryan Giggs to the Man United youth team when Giggs was a 13-year-old phenom, too. Yet even if young Freddy never wears the Reds shirt, it's astonishing that he would be on Ferguson's radar just hours before such an important match.
