MLS Quotesheet

Phenom Adu, 14, meets the media for first time as a pro

In a press conference at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, 14-year-old soccer prodigy Freddy Adu was introduced to the media after agreeing to a multi-year contract with Major League Soccer.

Guests:

Major League Soccer Forward - Freddy Adu

Major League Soccer Commissioner - Don Garber

Major League Soccer Deputy Commissioner - Ivan Gazidis

Anschutz Entertainment Group Senior Vice President - Kevin Payne

SportsNet - Richard Motzkin

Don Garber Opening Statements:

"It is with enormous pride and excitement that we announce today that Major League Soccer has reached a long-term agreement with young Mr. Freddy Adu, one of the most accomplished young soccer players in the world.

"We are very proud of our track record in nurturing young players who develop their talents on the field, but I speak for all of us at Major League Soccer when I say we're even prouder of our role in developing their capabilities off the field. And I think when you have a chance to chat with Freddy, you will see the type of person he is, not just as a soccer player but as a very bright and talented young man.

"As you can imagine, we had lots of competition for Freddy from some of the largest and greatest soccer teams in the world. And we are very excited that he has chosen to follow in the footsteps of so many other talented, young soccer players to have made the choice to stay at home and play in their league, Major League Soccer.

"And please, Freddy, don't ever change. Keep that great smile, keep that love, that passion and joy that you have for the game. Basically, do everything you can to just stay Freddy.

"Of course, I would like to thank Freddy's mom, Emelia, for raising such a terrific young guy as only a mother can do, working so hard to protect his interests while allowing him to pursue his dreams. On behalf of soccer fans throughout our nation, thank you for entrusting us with your son.

"I'd also like to thank Freddy's agent, Richard Motzkin as well as Dan Segal, his partner and Freddy's representatives at SportsNet. Your company, Richard, continues to be a visionary player in the U.S. soccer movement. Without your belief in what a strong MLS can do to help create opportunities for future generations of soccer players, we wouldn't be standing here together today.

"Lastly, I'd like to thank Deputy Commissioner, Ivan Gazidis and his assistant, our Senior Vice President of Player Personnel, Todd Durbin. These were the folks that were the key players on our side in putting together this landmark agreement."

Freddy Adu Opening Comments:

"I'd like to begin this by thanking MLS, Commissioner Don Garber, Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis, Todd Durbin, all the guys at MLS, thanks a lot. I'm happy to be a part of the family. Hopefully, this can go on for a long time.

"I'd like to thank my family, my mom. She's done everything she can to raise me right as a kid and she's still doing it. We've been through some tough times, Mom, but look, here's your son, standing right here, staring back at you. Hey, I've signed my first professional contract and its all thanks to you. Thanks a lot, Mom, I love you.

"I'd like to thank Coach John Ellinger and the rest of my Under-17 National Team staff, because without them, like I said, I wouldn't be here. They set me in the right direction. Coach Hackworth, Coach Ellinger, Coach Peter Mellor, they've guided me through all of this. Without them I don't know where I would be right now, to be honest.

"I would also like to thank my teammates on the Under-17 National Team. They've helped me through all of this. People assume that if one person is getting all of this attention that the rest of the team is going to be jealous, but those guys, they're a great group of guys. They've helped me through it. I don't know how to put it, they just kind of accepted it and kept playing and doing everything they could to help the team win and that's what I did.

"Mom, come up. We signed the contract yesterday and I would like to give this pen to my mom, to keep, for a very long time."

Ivan Gazidis Opening Comments:

"Very often in professional sports, you become jaded because so much of it is about money, talk about contracts, fame and issues of personal interest. This whole process with the Adu family, their friends and SportsNet, has for me, been a very reaffirming process. It's taken me back to a lot of the dreams I had when I was a kid and a lot of the things we think about sports - the way that we just love it for the beauty and the fun of the game. It has also reaffirmed my faith for what it means to be family.

"Dealing with this family, the Adu family, has been an absolute joy and pleasure. Freddy has people around him that care for him very deeply and I think it comes out when you see Freddy and the kind of speech that he just gave, the kind of young man that this group of individuals has raised from family friends like, Arnold Tarzy, who was instrumental in this total process, to the family that's around Freddy. Most importantly, in the middle of all of this, is Emelia Adu, who we've grown to know and love, and somebody who, throughout this process, has been extraordinarily responsible about the choices that her son and she are making for his future and who has thought, not about money. Money has never been at the center of any of the discussions.

"Freddy is a very, very special player. He's the best young player in the world right now, not just in the United States. I'm saying he's the best young player in the world. And I'm looking up at the highlights of him playing and some of the stuff that he's doing up there is incredible. They are things that you can't teach. Now, we hope, over the next few years of his career, we will be able to teach him some of the things that you can teach. We believe, based on the maturity that he has, his approach to the game and life and his positivity, that we will be able to achieve enormous things with Freddy, not only on the field, but also in his development as a young man. The sky is the limit for this young man."

Richard Motzkin's Opening Comments:

"As many of you know, there has been a great deal of interest, understandably, in Freddy, for his talents both on and off the field.

"I think MLS has made a tremendous statement about wanting to keep the very best and brightest here in the States. They've continued to demonstrate that commitment time and time again.

"D.C. United will be the perfect place for Freddy to begin his career. They've done a tremendous job with young players like Bobby Convey and others and will certainly continue to help mold Freddy into, not only a great young player and a future star for D.C. United and the U.S. National Teams, but equally importantly as a fine young man, which, as you can see, he's well on his way to being.

"Also for me, it has been a great process, getting to know the Adu family. A beacon of light in my eyes is Emelia Adu. It's almost emotional speaking about Emelia because as Ivan earlier indicated, in the sort of jadedness of sports that we live in today, you have somebody that really has her priorities in order and is a wonderful person and human being and has done a great job with Freddy."

Freddy Adu on comparisons to Pele and being called the "greatest American soccer player":

"When I'm out there on the field, I'm not thinking about all the stuff people say about me. I mean there is going to be stuff said about you, some of it is going to be good, some of it is going to be bad. I'm not worried about it. I go out there, I play, I have fun and really, I'm not playing to please anybody. I'm just playing to make it, to make my mom happy, to make myself happy, to challenge myself. So really, when I'm playing, I'm not worried about the talk about me. I don't get caught up in all that, I just keep playing and having fun."

Freddy Adu on the impact of living at home on his decision to sign with Major League Soccer:

"It had something to do with it but it didn't have everything to do with it. I made the decision because I have faith in MLS; I know the League is going to treat me right. I just felt like it was the best place for me to be right now. When I feel a certain way, I never second guess myself. I just go ahead with it and make the decision. In this case, I have all the trust in MLS and I know they are going to treat me right."

Richard Motzkin on Freddy's decision to forgo a European club to play for Major League Soccer:

"I think that, at the end of the day, if you look at all the factors that Freddy and his family had to consider, it became a very obvious choice; Among other things was his age, a desire to be close to home and close with the family, as well as what MLS has done with other players and what they have to offer. Last night as we were all at dinner, after the contract signing it became very clear and very obvious that this was the right choice."

Freddy Adu on how he got his start playing soccer:

"When you're born and raised in Ghana, that's the sport you play we live, eat and breathe soccer. We just go out everyday and play and have fun. I was too young to play for a club team when I was there but I went out every single day and just played barefoot in the streets.

"When I came here, the first time I ever played soccer was with a team called Only United and that was the first time I ever played with a club team. I played with them for about two or three hours and then Arnold Tarzy made a very wild effort to get me on his team because, at that time, I wasn't even in the phone book yet. Up until now, I still don't know how he got my number but we'll talk about that later. I've been playing ever since I was a little kid and I've loved it. I can't explain the love I have for the sport, I just love the sport."

Freddy Adu on playing with the 2004 Olympic team and the 2006 World Cup team:

"I like to think of myself as having a pretty good chance of being on either of those teams but, I can't just be picked to be on those teams. I've got to earn the right to be on those teams. Playing with D.C. United will give me a very good opportunity to prove myself not necessarily for the 2004 Olympic Team but to Bruce Arena. Hopefully, I'll do some things on the field that will make him think about bringing me in and giving me a chance to play with the team."