Adu Is Gone

As a quick note, it looks like Freddy Adu's sale to Benefica is now a done deal.

Ives raises an interesting point

Can the same player that Real Salt Lake traded the MLS equivalent of a mint to acquire really be a player that RSL is ready to let leave just eight months after trading for him?

Ives points out, Real Salt Lake could put an end to this by telling the league they do not want to sell Adu right now. As for the mint comment, it's true. When the original trade occurred, I wrote that I felt RSL was giving up too much to DC United for Freddy. The move not only gave DC United a major allocation but it helped them get a lot of money off their books both in the then $97k Rimando was making (RSL re-negotiated it down to $65k) but more so the $300k that Freddy Adu is making. With an allocation and that sort of cap space Real Salt Lake could've went after a midfielder with defensive talent like Carl Robinson (TFC) or Pablo Ricchetti (FC Dallas). More so, DC United was said to still be getting the majority of any future transfer fee when Freddy is sold.

So why would Real Salt Lake be willing to let Freddy Adu go now? It could be that they're on the verge of signing Jay Jay Okocha? That could be the case although rumors about Okacha to RSL haven't had legs for awhile so that seems unlikely. That aside it could be the Real Salt Lake got what they really needed from Freddy, a new stadium. Personally, I don't see how Freddy had much influence on the deal. There didn't seem to be much press indicating the deal got done because the taxpayers of Utah and Salt Lake County had their perception of the deal and the team changed with the arrival of a big name player. If anything, the deal seemed to get done because of a last minute intervention by Utah's governor Huntsman.

As mentioned at the time of the deal, RSL had plenty of attacking talent. Since then they've traded away Chris Klein to Los Angeles for Sturgis and Findley. More recently they traded away Mehdi Ballouchy to Colorado for the hard-nosed Kyle Beckerman. At this point, they could use Freddy's attacking skills.

As for RSL's designated player slot, they have not traded it away. Nor do they appear to be on the verge of signing a DP. And in dumping players like Kreis, Tejeda, and Klein they should already have a room for a move like that. There shouldn't be a pressing need to sell Freddy to make room.

It would seem that if anything is pressuring for this move, it is Freddy Adu himself. And if that's the case it makes things all the more interesting since RSL publicly stated that their reason for keeping John Ellinger on board as a technical director (fired as their coach) was because of the relationships he had with players. Reading in between the lines, they were saying because among other things it would help to keep Freddy happy. Once Freddy is gone, one has to wonder if Ellinger will be next.

Some questions for the readers. Is this a good move for Freddy? Do you think Kreis wanted him gone because he didn't fit in his plans? Had RSL managed to hold on to Adu, would he have been worth a designated player slot in 2008 (he was grandfathered in 2007)? Most of all, does this mean that DC United has made out like bandits in the trade?

Adu Going? Freddy Staying? Adu Going?

The speculation over Freddy Adu continues. A lot of fans figured he would be on his way to Europe after he turned 18. Recently it looked like he might stay a bit longer after all. But Ives is reporting that talks between Benefica and Freddy Adu are still ongoing and Adu very well may be joining the Portuguese club for the 07-08 season. Will Real Salt Lake's upcoming game against New England be his last? Would Benefica be a good move for Adu?

Freddy's Staying?

Thanks to FC Rocky for catching an article updating us on the Freddy Adu situation. It looks like the league and Benefica were able to come to terms but Freddy and the Portuguese club could not. More details on it at FC Rocky.

Freddy Adu, Headed to Benefica?

The rumors around Freddy Adu leaving Major League Soccer for Europe have been swirling on and off since the off-season if not the last couple of years. Recently the chatter has stepped up again and it would seem from the article below there is something to Adu being linked with the Portugese side Benefica. Will it happen? If so, I'd expect RSLFM to give us the best insight on it. Salt Lake Tribune :

Sources confirmed media reports that Adu is most likely headed to Benfica in Portugal, in part because of how difficult it would be for him to obtain a work permit to play for either of the other two teams most interested in him, Celtic FC in Scotland or Tottenham Hotspur in England.

However, Adu and his agent still must work out a transfer fee with Major League Soccer - the league owns the contracts of all its players - in addition to the details of a personal contract with any potential employer. Media reports have said the league wants $7.5 million for the rights to Adu, a price that might be viewed as too steep for a player who, despite his star turn at the recent Under-20 World Cup, has done little for RSL.

Can Kreis Save Real Salt Lake?

So far there hasn't been much for analysis on Real Salt Lake's shake up today. As mentioned before, John Ellinger has stepped down as head coach of RSL. He isn't leaving Utah though, staying with the organization as technical director. As Dave Checketts said today, "he [John Ellinger] has a tremendous eye for talent, in our draft, in our trades, in the things that he has done." I'll take a look at that statement another day.

Checketts announced that Jason Kreis will be the new head coach of the team. He is not an interim coach and has signed a multi-year deal. One would presume this means that Real Salt Lake is committed to him and believes in him. But will he be able to do enough to shake the team up and get them into the play-offs? If so, can he do it this year?

Rarely in life are there silver bullets. Kreis is not going to be one of them. He has no previous coaching experience, especially at the level of Major League Soccer (MLS). Kreis came into the season focused on learning a new position with Ellinger playing him in a 4-5-1 as a holding midfielder alongside Carey Talley. And if things played out as they say they did in the news conference, it wasn't until Tuesday evening that he first thought about being a head coach in the MLS for the 2007 season. Even taking into account that he's been with the franchise since day one, Kreis will need some time to find his legs and sort out a vision for type of players he needs to get the team winning.

Kreis does have some things going for him. Expectations as a whole are low. I'm not saying this to be flippant. Other than a nice run of form during the last half of 2006, the team has stunk. Most of the die-hard fans were long ago fed up with John Ellinger and wanted him out. Any new coach at RSL was bound to be excused for some mistakes for awhile simply because to the fans at least it's not Ellinger. Kreis is also a fan favorite. This should help him buy the time he needs to shape the team and start to learn the coaching ropes.

It will not be easy for Kreis to turn things around, especially this year. Beside being new to the job, 5 of the next 7 of RSL's games are on the road. Their next game is a home against an New York Red Bull's that has yet to give up a goal. If they don't win that game it's tough seeing them win any their next 4 on the road (CO, FCD, Chicago, NE). It's conceivable that the team won't get it's first win until mid-June or even not until July when they host Toronto FC at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

If they go into the all-star break with only 1 or 2 wins and a few ties, it may be a blessing in disguise. One of the mistakes that Real Salt Lake made was in not making this decision in the summer. It would have given the new coach, whomever that may have been (note: Checketts make a comment in the news conference that sounded as though he had spoken with other teams about bringing to RSL a current coach of theirs), time to start changing the squad to fit their vision. As it is now, Kreis has Ellinger's squad and such a low standing should give him the leeway to really shake things up including trading fan favorites like Ballouchy or Williams or casting off players like Brown or Tejada. Kreis' retirement alone will free up enough cap space to bring in a new face or two.

Kreis has a lot of work ahead of him. In the off-season Real Salt Lake didn't do much to improve their squad. Bringing in Freddy Adu played to what they were already strong at, attacking. What they didn't do was strengthen their defense or add some bite to their midfield. To compound their problems the 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 has not worked well for them. I would expect Kreis to switch them to a 4-4-2 with Harris playing alongside Cunningham to give him better support. This will also take pressure off of Adu and Klein to get forward to help Cunningham and allow them to offer their backs. There also may be some other minor changes such as Lancos replacing Stewart in the backline. Beyond that it will depend on who what they're willing to give up in trades or what foreign players they can bring in. Unless I'm overlooking a trade in which they were given away, they have 2 Senior International (SI) slots open and they still have to use their Designated Player (DP) slot. But in reality if RSL plans on keeping Adu around next year, they will need that DP slot to keep him. And they don't have any allocations left which impact what they can offer in trades and any help they need in salary, transfer fees or players that don't qualify as a discovery player.

Kreis has a lot of challenges facing him right now. It's hard to see how he will have much success in the short run. But if the franchise is as patient with him as they were with John Ellinger he should have the time to show if he's capable of being a good coach.

If you'd like to listen to the press conference, AYL soccer has it here.

Why Rimando With Adu?

Seeing that Real Salt Lake has now traded Nick Rimando to NYRB for future considerations, I found myself wondering why they took him in the trade in the first place. It would seem that Ellinger wasn't interested in keeping him around to compete with the less than convincing Scott Garlick. Why take Rimando in the trade in the first place? One would think that DC would be looking for more than just a major allocation for Adu. After all, he is the single most promising American prospect in the game today. Why didn't RSL work to at least get a decent developmental player out of it? RSL does still have some needs to be addressed for 2007 such as strengthening their backline, finding a good backup for Garlick, and some bite for their midfield. Instead they end up losing a major allocation and bring in Adu for a position they were already strong at with both Andy Williams and Medhi Ballouchy more than capable of playing an attacking role in the middle of the park. Did this happen simply because DC United didn't want to be the ones trading Rimando away to a rival team?

Adu, Adu, Adu

As I mentioned yesterday, US soccer blogs around the internet are full of stories on the Freddy Adu trade. Columnists are already chiming in too.

Andrea Canales mentions that the ball got rolling a few weeks when Freddy ran into his old coach Ellinger :

About three weeks ago, Adu and his agent ran into Ellinger at a soccer event. There, Adu clued his former coach in to his readiness to make a move.

"We started to maneuver and tried to figure out if we could make it work," said Steve Pastorino, Real Salt Lake's general manager.

Ives Galarcep hasn't had a column printed on the subject yet but had this to say on his blog :

What's my take on this trade? It is an absolutely horrendous deal by Real Salt Lake, whose front office folks have dunce cap imprints from all the bad deals they have made.

Pseudo Corner Kick believes it's a good move for both RSL and DC United.

Are You Loyal? already has pictures of Adu arriving at SLC last night.

Dan Loney, over at Big Soccer's blogs, apparently hasn't seen these photos yet and light heartedly wondering if this is some sort of Ghanian version of a Nigerian email scam.

Screaming Eagles Podcast, the official blog of the DC United's supporters group the Screaming Eagles, has a nice synopsis of what a few others have to say.

And just in case you forgot the deal was just about Freddy, MLS Fangirl is going miss Nick Rimando.

My Soccer Blog reminds us that Freddy's likely to miss part of the MLS season with the U-20 World Cup being played this summer. Surely DC United had that in mind as they try to build a team that can win it all next year.

The Far Post points out that DC United needs someone who can play outside midfield and that Adu's salary was too much in the MLS for what Freddy's able to produce.

Adu = Salt Lake Stadium???

Will Adu Bring The Stadium?

As you probably already know, there was a huge trade today in Major League Soccer involving DC United and Real Salt Lake. The news was big enough that it was even mentioned on Monday Night Football. And there's hardly a soccer blog stateside that hasn't mentioned it (as you can see below).

It's a good move by both teams. But the reasons may not be apparent. Let's take a look at the definite pluses for each.

Real Salt lake

Nick Rimando :
He's barely mentioned but Real Salt Lake was needing a new starting goalkeeper. Garlick looked competent at times last year. But many others he looked as though he didn't realize that diving was part of the job description for a goalkeeper. Garlick along with Bo Oshoniyi was the least convincing of starting GKs in the league last year. RSL needed a new goalkeeper and Rimando while not perfect is a good choice.

Freddy Adu :
He's the poster boy for American soccer. It's likely that only a deal for David Beckham would get more press in the US. While Freddy is not the next Pele, he's not 18 yet and clearly a talent player who is already doing good things. Most importantly for RSL, the good press from landing this huge deal could be the last little something they need to get the deal for their new stadium deal completed. RSL's front office may have had a ground breaking in August but they have yet to get Salt Lake County to sign on to the deal. Ad without the county's money, they can't pull off building their new soccer specific stadium in Sandy. They're close to completing the deal but it's been dragging on for months. During this time they've been taking a lot of damage in the media over the deal. If they don't close soon, the county could pass on the deal for the 2nd time in less than a year.

Stadium :
Did I mention this could be the PR the team needs to finalize their stadium deal? I did but need to mention it as it's own category since without it, Real Salt Lake is likely to leave metro Salt Lake City.

DC United :

Major Allocation : While it's not a designated player slot, it's still worth enough to bring in a big player at league max. DC United in the past has shown while they're not perfect, they are skilled at finding good players at this level. Gomez and Moreno are two good examples of this. With DC making a push to do with in internal competions and winning the MLS Cup starting in a couple months, they will need more talent around if they're to do well on multiple fronts.

Jay Nolly : Nolly showed in 2006 that he's a competent stand-in when called upon. Unlike Rimando Nolly's not expecting to start and frees up @ $70,000 in cap space. That may not sound like a lot but in the MLS that give DCU room to add some good depth if not a new starter to their squad.

Better Focus, Natural Width :
Let's face it, Freddy Adu was a distraction for DC United. He wasn't content not being played in the middle nor in not being a guaranteed starter. He made this well known to the extent that at one point DCU had no choice but to suspend him for shooting off his mouth in public. And the focus on the team from the press was just as much about Freddy as it was about the entire team. Without Adu around the press can get back to talking about the team and the team can worry about playing well instead of how to integrate Freddy and deal with his antics. And without Freddy, DC can look to bring in natural width that's happy to play their role on the rather than how well they're setting up their big money move to Europe.

Nowak :
Whether Peter Nowak, arguably the best coach in Major League Soccer, would be back next year or not has been up in the air. It's unlikely the team would make such a move without it being made by whomever they were going to have coach next year. And given the friction Nowak and Adu had, it's reasonable to assume the deal has Nowak's seal of approval and that he's on the verge of finalizing a new contract with the team.

Cap Space :
As mentioned, Adu and Rimando being gone gives DC United a lot of flexibility in staying under the salary cap. Getting rid of Rimando should enable them to bring Donnet back (if that's what they want) or bring in a solid MLS player. And the allocation gives the ability to bring in a very talented player while keeping their designated player slot open for an even bigger signing.

Money :
If Adu is sold, DC United will see a good portion of it. This is money they will need with Gomez and Moreno in their last years in the league.

There are some negatives for both teams.

DC United :
Talent Loss : DC United loses a GK capable of starting in the league and in international club play. If Perkins sustains a major injury the team could struggle. And Adu would've been a good player to have around to fill in in the middle if Gomez, who is 32, is injured or needs a rest with DCU playing in 4 club competition next year. Injuries aside, DC may lose Jeff Carroll from their midfield. And they've probably lost John Wilson (last year's knee injury may be career ending). Having Freddy around would mean one less hole to fill.

Positive Press :
As much as DC United has been the closest thing to a dynasty that Major League Soccer has had, they still couldn't generate the kind of press that Freddy can. Metro Washington is one of the if not the best soccer market in the United States so they won't disappear quietly into the night. But they will clearly get a lot less attention.

Real Salt Lake :
Payroll : For Real Salt Lake they have to worry about not just the salary cap but also making their payroll. They're still picking up part of the tab for Clint Mathis (likely in the neighborhood of $150k). It's likely that Jeff Cunningham, coming off a career season, will be looking to increase his $212k salary up to the league max (@$300k for 2007) if he's to stick around. As big as Freddy Adu is, he can not replace Cunningham's 16 goals and 11 assists. Real Salt Lake is also facing paying Eddie Pope ( $400k in 06), Chris Klein ($178k), Jason Kreis ($198k), Andy Williams ($100k), Garlick ($100k). RSL's other teenager, Nick Besagno is up there too with his 06 wages (up to $90 depending on bonuses) even though he's only started a handful of games over 2 years.

More Changes Needed :
RSL was worst in the league for goals allowed in 2006. They finished last in their conference. And with Ballouchy, Williams, Klein and even Kreis they were not in need of yet another attacking midfielder. If Adu plays more forward as a link between the midfield and Cunningham, it makes what to do with Kreis more of a question. If he plays in the midfield, it leaves more of a question of how their midfield will play defense with Williams, Ballouchy and Klein all not being known for being strong coming back. More so it's hard to see how the team can afford to keep Garlick around With 2 other well paid, experienced and talented keepers on the marker - Hartman (LA) and Thorton (Fire) - it's unlikely that RSL will be able to get much for Garlick.

Quick Loss / Designated Player Slot :
Freddy Adu turns 18 this spring. He's already made it clear that he wants to move to Europe. With his birthday he very well make that move. And while he's grandfathered in for 07, if Adu does stick around in 2008 Real Salt Lake will have to use a designated player rule slot on him to keep him in 2008. The MLS has done a great job on selling the DPR as the Beckham rule. They've sold it as a chance for teams to bring in big players. But the reality is it's the league moving to tighten up their salary cap requirements. There are only 13 of these slots and any team willing to trade theirs going into 2008 should be able to command a steep price for theirs knowing that RSL would have little choice but to trade for it to keep Adu. That is assuming RSL uses their in 2007. If they do that player is likely to be on a 2 year guaranteed contract so they'll need that 2nd slot for Adu.

Given all of that the temptation is to reduce the trade into terms that imply that one team can only make gains at the expense of the other. Trades are never that simple. DC United may not make good use of their cap room. Keeping Nowak around may not be enough for the team to win a couple of their competitions like they expect to. But even if things go well, that doesn't mean Real Salt Lake loses. Simply landing Adu is likely to help their local media realize they are a major team. And with the team facing having to move or be sold if they can't finalize their stadium deal, that's a lot to loose. In the short term they stand to loose on the field and this move will necessitate more roster moves. But all the negatives they face with the deal would be well offset if this deal is indeed the tipping point in finally securing their stadium.