Adu Debuts for Belenenses

The summer transfer/loan saga with Freddy Adu had many American fans nervous that the 20-year old would wind up stuck on the bench at Benfica this season. Thanks to a last minute loan move to Portuguese Liga side Belenenses, however, fans were given hope that this would be the year Freddy gets regular playing time in Europe.

From the get go, Adu's manager said that he would be slowly integrated in the squad, so Adu did not take part in Belenenses' first few matches. Today, though, with a League Cup match against Rio Ave, Adu was given his first taste of playing time with his new club. Adu came on as a second half substitute and immediately injected life into the Belenenses attack.


Adu showed flashes of what got American fans so excited about him in the first place, as he displayed quick combination play, good 1-on-1 ability, and quality crosses in his 26 minutes of playing time. Unfortunately for Adu, none of his teammates could finish off any of his crosses, and Belenenses lost 1-0. Overall, though, Adu was a standout performer in the second half.

Freddy played as an outside midfielder and more centrally later on in the match. Adu will hope to parlay this solid performance into consistent playing time, something he has not had since his days in MLS.

While his club career should be his focus now, as a fan one cannot help but think that Adu could work his way back onto Bob Bradley's radar with a good season at the club level. With the US lacking depth at outside midfield, particularly on the left hand side, it is not out of the realm of possibilities that Adu could work himself back into the World Cup conversation. For the time being, however, Freddy and his fans should just keep focusing on play with Belenenses. If he shows well, the call from Bob Bradley will come; until then, Adu just has to keep earning playing time and taking advantage of it.

Like many American fans, I for one am just happy to see him back on the field.