Because I attended the same secondary school as Michael Essien, the bison, and Mathew Amoah both of the current Black Stars, (not forgetting Edward Boye and Alex Mingle of 1972 Black Stars, Mike Alhassan - Phobia, Ato Mensah - Oly, Fredua Mensah, aka Big Ben - Ebusua Dwarfs, Atta Duodu, aka Piccolo - Vipers, and George Daniels (Jupiter) who as a student ran the 100, 200, 400, and anchored the relays for Ghana and later at the University of Colorado equaled the world record in the 50-yard-dashes then held by Bob Hayes), I like to read every article about the bison. I just read about him urging Freddy Adu to shun Manchester United and the US to join him at Chelsea and also play for Ghana. I have also read all the comments about the article and feel the need to make some comment about Adu that some readers fail to consider.
Most of the comments about Essien's plea seem to suggest that Adu should be ignored since he does not consistently choose Ghana over the US and he said after the US-Ghana game that he is waiting for either country to call. Is there some good judgment in his decision to remain nonaligned. If he chooses to play for America he will be assured to play in every WC that he is fit to play because being in a weak division, America will always meet the criteria. If decides to play for Ghana, there is no guarantee the Ghana will play in the next WC (this is a topic for another discussion) or there will not be better players for his position.
As for his reluctance to throw his support for the Black Stars before the US game I blame his parents and/or public relations person. Every popular person is surrounded by people who advice him about what to say in public especially if a question is foreseeable. I would have suggested to Adu to pick Ghana over the US and give the reason that soccer is the only sport that Ghana can beat the US in so he does not want to take the joy out of the hearts of 20 million people. With this answer Ghanaians would have seen him as patriotic and Americans would have considered him to be levelheaded. This is the sort of image that makes an athlete marketable to the public. Michael Jordan made a lot of money for playing basketball but he made even more from advertising Nike and hair products (even without hair) because of his public image.
A boxing trainer once visited a correction facility (nkodaa bone) in New York City and noticed a boy who was fearless in the ring and swung sharply with great accuracy. The trainer became the adoptive father of the boy and took him home to train in his private gym. Besides boxing, the boy was introduced to rearing pigeons to curb his aggressive nature and in his spare time, he watched and analyzed old fights on films. That boy grew up to be known as Mike Tyson. I was once watching a Real United soccer game in Tamale when a young boy of about 15 was ordered to the field to play among men. The boy was obviously nervous and fumbled often. Other spectators told me that the boy was the player of the year in the colt's league making his debut in the adult league. That little boy grew up to be known as Abedi Pele. The lesson here is that Freddy is only 17 and nobody knows how good he will be in a couple of years. When I saw Adu playing among boys of his age and size he easily blew away the competition. It was obvious that he was playing at a much higher level than the rest of the field but in the American league he gets pushed around because of his size - he is about 5-8 and 140. Honestly, he has no place in the Black Stars now as even the American coach admits, but compared to Abedi at age 15, I would pick Adu. I am not saying that he will be better than Abedi in the long run. The average student in class today may end up being the best in class while the best student today may in the end be just a good student. All that I am saying is that I see the potential in him. Also, if Essien of all players sees him as a Chelsea and Black Stars candidate and coach Doya wanted to invite him to camp, let us not rush to condemn him.
All told, Adu he is still a boy. Being good at controlling a soccerball with his feet does not make him any different from the average Ghanaian boy who wants to be in America and quickly Americanize himself. He was reported to have taken his newly-issued American passport to the training field just to show it to his teammates. Almost all the foreign-based players on the Black Stars grew up in Ghana and got the chance to leave because of their skills but Adu left Ghana like to America to seek a better life - he did not mature at home to experience the pride of being Ghanaian.
There are many Ghanaian children of Adu's age in America who are ashamed to say where they come from because Africa is generally associated with poverty, disease, illiteracy, and underdevelopment. Most of them are ridiculed by their peers (including Black Americans, Black West Indians, and even African who have lived longer in America) so much so that they distance themselves from anything African but with time and maturity, they gain confidence and self-respect and always come back to their roots. So let us give Adu the chance to mature, if he decides to play for Ghana let us give him the chance to justify his inclusion on the team.
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