Freddy Adu.

Freddy Adu. Freddy Adu, born in 1989, Ghanaian-born American soccer player. In 2004 Adu (pronounced ah-DOO) became the youngest player on a major American professional sports team in more than a century when he joined the D.C. United of Major League Soccer (MLS). Fredua Koranteng Adu was born in Tema, a city in southeastern Ghana. When he was eight years old his mother won an immigration lottery and moved her family to Potomac, Maryland. A youth soccer coach there saw Adu playing the sport on the playground and recruited him. In a short time, Adu's speed, deft ball-handling, and ability to score made him one of the world's top young players. After starring in international youth tournaments Adu was offered a contract by several European professional teams, but his mother refused the offers. In 2002 the 12-year-old Adu moved to Florida to attend a sports academy run by the United States national soccer team. He was second in scoring on the U.S. Under17 national team with 22 goals in 2002. The following year Adu led the team in scoring and helped the Americans reach the quarterfinals of the 2003 U-17 World Championship tournament, scoring a hat trick (three goals) in one game. Later in the year he moved up to the U.S. Under-20 national team. In early 2004, D.C. United selected Adu with the top pick in the MLS draft. His four-year contract made Adu the highest-paid player in the league at age 14. He also signed endorsement deals worth several million dollars. Although he struggled at times, Adu scored five goals and had three assists in his rookie season as the United captured the 2004 MLS championship. Adu became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2003. Under international soccer rules he can play for Ghana or the United States in any national-team competition, such as the 2006 World Cup. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.