Adu Q&A
U.S. youth star turns 14 in South Korea
Posted: Wednesday June 04, 2003 11:28 AM
U.S. under-17 national team star Freddy Adu celebrated his 14th birthday on Monday, helping his team to a 2-2 tie with Argentina. On Tuesday, Adu sat down to talk about what it was like to celebrate his birthday in Korea.
So, do you feel any different?
Nope, just the same.
How did your birthday go here in Busan, South Korea?
One of the Korean interpreters with the team brought me a present, some cookies and stuff. That was really nice because I didn’t even know she knew it was my birthday. Somehow she knew, so I was really surprised. All the guys on the team told me happy birthday and made me feel like I would at home, but I’m looking forward to going home and getting my presents.
How has your time in Korea been?
It’s been fun, but I know it took me personally awhile to get used to the time change. I haven’t been able to sleep well. It took me to about last night before I started sleeping well, and I guess that kind of showed in the games, too. In the first game, I don’t think I played as well as I could have. I was able to sleep better yesterday, and feel good now, though. It’s too bad it took me this long to get used to it because we leave in a couple of days.
What has been the most interesting thing during the trip?
The people are extremely friendly. They just treat us very well and are very humble. You just don’t see that everywhere you go. The culture here reminds me a lot of Ghana because people are so passionate about soccer and everyday life.
What do you think of the tournament so far?
We didn’t play as good as we wanted to in the first game [against South Korea]. In the second game though we came out and showed everyone that Argentina wasn’t going to dominate us like they thought. We just came out and somewhat dominated, despite two defensive breakdowns. We tied 2-2, but we could have easily won that game.
Are you surprised by the media attention surrounding your recent decision to sign with an agent?
Right now the media is all over it, but I don’t really get too caught up in it. I just want to keep playing and work with the team and concentrate on getting ready for the world championship. That is my main goal.
Courtesy of USSoccer.com.
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