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Brazil got a taste of what it might have been like if it faced South Korea instead of Turkey in the 2002 World Cup semifinals when it was forced to scramble for a 3-2 victory over the Koreans in a friendly November 20 before a capacity crowd of 63,000 at Seol World Cup Stadium.
Ronaldo played a part in all three Beazilian goals, scoring the first two before drawing the 90th minute penalty kick that was converted by Ronaldinho.
South Korean striker Seol Ki-Hyeon opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a header off a free kick by Ahn Jung-Hwan.
Ranaldo ran onto a pass by Ze Roberto ro score in the sixteenth minute, but Ahn put his side back on top in the fifty-eight minute. [b]Ronaldo struck again nine minutes later to level the score at 2-2.
Argentina returned to Japan, site of its World Cup crash five months earlier, and scored twice shortly after halftime to beat the Japanese, 2-0, in Saitama
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Real Madrid showed off the class that has earned it two European championships in the last three years when it cruised to a conmfortable 2-0 victory over Olympia of Paraguay on December 3 before 66,070 in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup, in Tokyo, Japan.
Ronaldo, who in his last appearance at International Stadium scored twice to lead Brazil to a 2-0 victory over Germany in the 2002 World Cup final, scored yet again to give Real Madrid an early lead. Subtitute Guti supplied the late insurance goal.
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Manchester United will make its first Southern California appearance in nearly 40 years when it plays reigning Mexican Champion Club America on July 27, 2003, in a friendly at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The match will be a second stop on the English giant's four-game tour of North America.
Also lined up:
Scottish champion Glasgow Celtic will play at Seahawks Stadium in Seatle, Washington on July 22.
Juventus at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ July 31; FC Barcelona at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The United-Barcelona match will be the first sporting event to be held at the new home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.
Though Manchester United's last European Cup triumph came three years ago, when it alson captured the English Premier League title and English F.A. Cup, the tour promises to be the biggest soccer event in the United States in 2003.
The five teams involved claim they will bring their full teams, including England captain David Beckham of United and Juventus marksmen Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezueget.
Elsewhere, Brazil will be named Team of the Year and Senegal the Mover of the Year at the 2002 FIFA awards gala December 17 in Madrid. Brazil finished the year as the top-rated team.
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AC Milan made one goal stand up for the second European Champions Cup game in a row as the Italian side shaded Borussia Dortmund, 1-0, in a Group "C" match.
The win left Milan in the first place, three points ahead of Dortmund, going into the winter break. The cup will resume February 18-19.
Striker Filippo Inzaghi provided the margin of victory four minutes after halftime, latching onto a Clarence Seedorf pass and scoring from inside the area for his ninth goal of the tournament.
At the other end of the group, defending champion Real Madrid's struggles continued in a 2-2 draw with Lokomotiv Moscow at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Raul scored the first and last goals of the game, in the 21st and 76th minutes, to spare Real, which has gone winless in its last six matches. James Obiorah scored in the 48th minute and Benni Mnguni the 74th minute for Lokomotiv.
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What men can do women can do it better. They have taken over in every aspect of life. Maybe, they should start producing sperm.
quote:Ghana's Black Queens to meet Super Falcons
Accra Mail (Accra)
December 20, 2002
Veronica Commey, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria
Nigeria's Super Falcons walloped their South African counterparts, Bayana Bayana, 5-0 in their semi finals match played at the Warri stadium on Wednesday, thus setting the stage for a final clash between Nigeria and Ghana today.
Regardless of today's scoreline, the Queens and the Falcons have emerged as Africa's representatives to the FIFA Women's World Cup slated for the People's Republic of China in September next year.
Today's encounter will be the second time the two teams would be meeting at the finals. The first was in 1998 when Nigeria won the game.
While the Queens would be on record as the team to have conceded less number of goals, the Falcons would be riding high with the highest goals scored so far in the tournament.
The Falcons, bolstered by the heavy home crowd, are heavily tipped to win the finals to call the bluff of the Ghanaians who had silenced them 1-0 in their group match.
This was however, dismissed by the Queens, who said they are looking forward to the final with a lot of hope.
"Just as the Falcons think they are poised for action, so are we. We are well prepared and would not return to Ghana without the cup," Coach Oko Aryee told the Ghana News Agency in Warri.
The Ghanaians, who have not lost any match, said they intend to maintain that record after all five matches.
Coach Aryee admitted that the expected heavy home crowd could impact negatively on the performance of the Queens, but said his side was psyched up for the intimidation.
"We have had no support ever since we beat the Falcons and we know Friday will be worse. We have already psyched ourselves up against the situation."
Skipper Alberta Sackey, leading goal scorer of the tournament, said she expects her team to put in its best and face the Falcons "squarely".
"We are not going to be a walk over this time around. Just as they are ready to surprise us, so are we," she said, adding that with God on their side, nothing could detract their attention.
South Africa's Bayana Bayana and the Lioness of Cameroon would also play today for the third place, ahead of the finals at the Warri City Stadium.
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Nigeria took the Women's Cup of Nations with a 2-0 win over Ghana's Black Queens in Wari. It was the third time they had won the tournament, meaning they get to keep the trophy. Ghana had beaten the Super Falcons in the group stage of the competition, but Nigeria gained their revenge with lethal aplomb. Ghana shoot Falcons down Perpetual Nkocha got the Nigeria's first after a skilful dribble down the left flank. And Ekpo Effionwan netted the second on 74 minutes with a clam finish from a prolonged build-up. Nigeria were always in control, although Ghana's Alberta Sackey missed a great chance to put the Black Queens back into the game, miscuing on 51 minutes. That was after the match had been had up for several minutes after fans began to pelt the Togolese referee with missiles. Tough match After the game, an ecstatic Sam Okpodu - the Super Falcons coach - told the BBC he was proud to have won the trophy in Nigeria. "Nigeria is known as the country of football, and I'm glad that I'm the man who's led them to their third championship," Okpodu said. "We're very excited to have won it three times - we're not doing anything but celebrating." And he paid tribute to the team's opponents. "The Ghanaians put up a tough fight," he said. This competition between Nigeria and Ghana will go for a very long time to come."
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Ronaldo was honored as the FIFA World Player of the Year for an unprecendented third time and Mia Hamm received the FIFA Female Player of the Year for the second consecutive year during the 2002 FIFA Awards Gala at the Congress Center.
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Brazil ended her suspense and named Carlos Alberto Parreira its coach. The 59-year-old Parreira stepped down as coach of Corinthians, which won the 2002 Rio-Sao Paolo tournament and Copa Brasil before bowing to Santos in the Brazilian National Championship Final.
Parreira who guided Brazil to the 1994 World Cup title, succeeds another world cham[pion, Luiz Felipe "Big Phil" Scolari."Big Phil" stepped down in August after guiding Brazil to the 2002 World Cup crown and has since taken over at Portugal.
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Pape Bouba Diop, El Hadji Diouf and Ahmed Hossam have been named the finalists for the 2002 African Footballer of the Year award, the Confederation Africaine de Football has announced.
The winner, chosen by the confederation's media and technical committees, will be revealed at the annual CAF awards gala March 31 in either Burban or Johannesburg.
Diop (RC Lens), the 2001 winner, and Diof (Liverpool) helped Senegal to its surprise appearance in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. Hossam paced his club, Ajax Amsterdam, to the Dutch double, but he was a disappointment for Egypt at the African Nations Cup.
Finishing out of the running were Khalilou Fadiga (senegal), Auxerre), Lauren Etame Mayer (cameroon, Arsenal), Henri Camara (Senegal, Sedan), Julius Aghahowa (Nigeria, Shakhtor Donetsk), Hatem Trabeisi (Tunisia, Ajax), Salif Diao (Senegal, Liverpool) and Salif Keita (Mali, Lorient).
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Six African Nations--Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Biafranigeria, South Africa and Tunisia--had formally declared an interest in hosting the 2010 World Cup by the December 31 deadline, FIFA reported.
Biafranigerians later said they want to present a joint bid with West African neigbors Benin, Cameroon, Ghana and Togo, but FIFA said Biafranigeria's letter made no mention of the unprecedented plan.
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Soccer finally arrived in Taliban-ridden Afghanistan when they found the going tough in its first official competition in 20 years as it lost all three of its opening round matches and was eliminated from the South Asian Football Federation Championship in dHAKA, Bangladesh.
The Afghans began with a respectable 1-0 loss to Sri Lanka, then bowed to India, 4-0, before falling to Pakistan 1-0. A day after its depature, Afghanistan made its first appearance in the monthly FIFA world rankings and found itself dead last at number 204.
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Women were allowed to attend a match in Tehran between host Paykan and Barg of Shiraz toppling another cultural barrier in Iran. Who said women are not winning?
The conservative Islamic state has long barred women from soccer games because of harsh language used in the stands.
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Israel, barred by the UEFA from playing at home because of security concerns, has arranged to play its next two European Championship qualifiers--April 2 against defending champions France and April 30 against Cyprus--at Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence.
Also, FIFA has announced it will begin releasing monthly rankings for women's national teams in May in conjunction with the draw in China for the 2003 Women's World Cup. Data from some 3,000 international matches played since 1970 will be used to establish the first set of rankings.
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The car of Cagliari defender who scored an own goal in a 3-0 loss to Italian Serie B opponent Venezia was set ablaze in apparent retaliation. Gianluca Grassadonia's automobile was torched, making him the latest in a string of Italian players who have been attacked or otherwise abused by angry fans.
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A referee in China was sentenced to 10 years in prison for accepting nine bribes from 2000 to 2001 totalling $44,700. Gong Jianping, chief referee of China's top two divisions, confessed to most of the allegations at Xuanwu District People's Court in Beijing.
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NEWCASTLE, England (Reuters) -- Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi says his goalscoring exploits in the Champions League have been motivated by a desire to prove his worth to manager Bobby Robson.
The 21-year-old's double strike helped Newcastle secure their first Group A points in a 3-1 away win against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, reviving the English premier league club's hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals.
"I went into the game determined to make a good impression because I know that every time I get the chance to play for Newcastle United I have to prove to the manager that I am good enough," Ameobi told the Evening Chronicle newspaper on Wednesday.
"Hopefully, I can keep doing that and scoring a couple of goals in a Champions League match like that is fantastic for my confidence."
The goals took Ameobi's Champions League tally to three, following his strike in the 3-1 defeat by Barcelona at the Nou Camp in December.
"Last night was even better because the goals against Leverkusen helped me end the match on the winning side and that's a much sweeter feeling," the Nigeria-born England under-21 international added.
Ameobi is likely to be among Newcastle's substitutes when they face Leeds at Elland Road on Saturday, with Robson expected to prefer Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy who were both suspended for the Leverkusen match.
Lomana Lua Lua scored Newcastle's other goal in a victory that left the St James' Park side three points behind Inter Milan and six behind group leaders Barcelona.
LuaLua said: "I was determined to take my chance against Leverkusen and delighted to score. I had been waiting for that moment ever since we qualified for the Champions League.
"It's a big thing for me and Shola to come in and play at this level in the best club competition in Europe. Playing in the Champions League is just the same as playing international football."
Shearer ended his two-match Champions League suspension on Tuesday and is likely to lead the Newcastle attack when they host struggling Leverkusen next Wednesday.
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Iraq national head coach Bernd Stange has left the country and returned to his native Germany because of war fears. The German Foreign Ministry issued a warning of its citizens, urging them to leave Iraq.
Stange, a former coach of East Germany, signed a four year contract in November 2002 to coach Iraq's national team and Olympic team. The contract included a provision allowing him to leave in the event of hostilities
Elsewhere, Israel, barred by the UEFA from hosting competitive matches on home soil because of security concerns, welcomed Armenia to the National Stadium in Tel Aviv and rolled to a 2-0 win. Midfielder Avi Nimni opened the scoring in the 19th minute and Michael Zandberg, who set up the Ninmi goal, put the match out of reach with a 62nd-minute strike.
On February 17, Uche Ugochukwu's lone goal defeated host Gambia in Banjul.
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World Cup legend and winner of three World Cups, Pele (Edson Arantes dos Nascimento) and Guiseppe Peppe Pinto, who owns the rights to the Cosmos name and logo are reported to have sent a bid for a spot in Major League Soccer.
The New York Cosmos were a part of the North American Soccer League from 1971 through 1984. Pele came out of retirement and played for Cosmos from 1975 through 1977 introducing the exchange of jerseys after play and earning $5 million.
Elsewhere, Infront Sports and Media AG, a marketing company headed by former West German International Gueter Netzer, acquired the TV rights to the 2006 World Cup from the bankrupt Kirchsport in a staggering $325 million deal. All 12 venues of the 2006 World Cup in Germany will host at least four matches according to Horst Schmidt, the vice president of the German World Cup organizing committee.
United States preparations for the FIFA Confederations Cup in June is up in the air after Japan cancelled its March 29 friendly with the U.S. at Seatle Seahawks Stadium. The Japanese are staying home for a possible U.S. attack on Iraq.
European Champions Cup--Second Phase:
Manchester United 2 Juventus 1 AC Milan 1 Lokomotive Moscow 0 Real Madrid 2 Borussia Dortmund 1 FC Barcelona 3 Inter Milan 1 Newcastle 3 Bayern Leverkusen 1 Arsenal 1 Ajax Armsterdam 1 Valencia 1 AS Roma1
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Here they go, the Taliban states are at it again, this time in your neigborhood. Na wah!
quote:Niger State Gov Bans Female Soccer
Vanguard (Lagos)
February 28, 2003
Wole Mosadomi, Minna
NIGER state governor, Engineer Abdul-khadir Kure has washed his hands off the sponsoring of female soccer in the state saying, "I don't see anything rewarding about it as it is not in conformity with our culture".
That is not however to say that the governor is totally against female participation in other sports as he pointed out that he can stake government funds or support on other sports like athletics, volleyball and others.
Governor Kure who bared his mind on female soccer when officials of Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) Niger state had an audience with him in his office said there are sports that should be specifically meant for a category of people and that soccer is one of such that should be left exclusively for men and not women. The governor who invariably endorsed female in the state as a "no-go-area" said, "if you Director of Sports or any government official use government money to sponsor female soccer, you will account for it".
He commended YSFON in the state for its efforts in promoting soccer and promised that his administration will continue to fund sports within the confines of its financial resources.
Earlier, the first vice chairman of YSFON in the state, Alhaji Abubakar Makun Shehu had briefed the governor on the maiden edition of the under-19 "Ranin Lapai" Youth Soccer Competition which is the traditional title of governor Kure.
Alhaji Makun Shehu said it was the plan of the federation to go national with the championship but for some logistics, the maiden edition will now be localized.
He said the competition is in recognition of the governor's support for sports.
Meanwhile, a sports philanthropist and state chairman of YSFON, Alhaji Abdulkadir Katuka Marafa has been appointed the first "Falakin Lapai" by the emir of Lapai, Alhaji Umaru Tafida Bago the III.
Alhaji Katuka Marafa, is a holder of masters degree in finance and presently the Director Local Government Affairs in the state Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
With the new traditional title, the YSFON chairman is now charged with the responsibility of advising the emir on major policy issues as well as handle other traditional matters that he may be assigned by the traditional council.
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Thirteen year old Ghanaian striker Freddy Adu who was recently granted U.S. citizenship has been named in the eighteen member squad of the U.S. under-17 team in preparation for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup Championship in Finland.
Biafranigerian striker Nwankwo Kanu has invited some of the world's top players to take part in a March 4 exhibition in Bolton, England. The tournament will benefit Kanu Foundation for African children.
The list of invitees includes Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Raul and Roberto Carlos of Real Madrid; Marc Overmars of FC Barcelona; Nicholas Anelka of Manchester City; and Kanu's Arsenal teammates Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.
The charity fundraisng tournament is projected to raise more than $500,000 for the foundation.
Biafranigerian-born Poland striker Emmanuel Olisadebe scored two goals in a 3-0 defeat against RSC Anderlecht at Leoforos Stadium.
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quote:Obodo's Game Invites Chukwu's Attention - Shines Again in Italy
Vanguard (Lagos)
March 4, 2003
John Egbokhan
Christian Obodo, Nigeria's sensational export to the revered Italian Serie A, has continued to show class and brawn at his Perugia side after putting up a good performance in last weekend's exciting 2-2 stalemate with Lazio.
The match which had its fair share of drama and incidences saw the young Obodo, with jersey number 10, commandeering Perugia's midfield for the entire 90 minutes at the Renato Curi, Perugia's home ground.
According to Coccer-age site, Obodo played well in Perugia's attacking midfield and the young Nigerian proved his high rating when his pass to Marchegianni resulted into a penalty. Ze Maria converted the penalty.
Lazio did not have to wait long to square scores after Conrad was gifted the chance to head in a corner kick by inform Oddo. "Conrad was allowed to head in an Oddo corner, virtually unchallenged due to an error of judgement by Perugia's Australian keeper Kalac," said Soccer-age.
The highly-charged game continued to enthrall as both teams played more attacking. It was this strategy that brought out Obodo's sheer skill against a Lazio side hell bent on spoiling Perugia's night.
Perugia scored another goal to increase scores to 2-1 but Oddo's last gasp goal, five minutes from time, brought Lazio on level terms with their opponents.
Italian football analysts, trace part of Perugia's good spell to the impressive form of Nigeria's Obodo, who might soon get a call-up from Christian Chukwu, the coach of Super Eagles. Followers of the game at home are already warming up to Obodo's debut for Eagles.
It would be recalled that Obodo was one of the 11 players selected in the weekly Serie A best 11, after playing the yeoman's role in his club's 18th game in the present season.
In describing the prowess of the young Obodo, the very critical Italian press said "the young Nigerian mid-fielder has what it takes to be a real champion."
It remains unclear if Christian Obodo would get a call-up to the camp of the Super Eagles, ahead of their March 29 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier with Malawi in Blantyre or Lilongwe but he certainly will soon be an Eagle.
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Roy Dayak is an MLS All-Star defender. Freddy Adu isn’t shaving yet. But when they met on a soccer field last spring, in a full-speed scrimmage between MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes and the U.S. under-17 national team, a curious thing happened. Taking a pass on the left side, Freddy feinted to his right, then swerved like an X-wing fighter to his left with such a sudden and breathtaking whooosh that poor Dayak nearly fell over. Both benches howled. U.S. coach John Ellinger turned to the Earthquakes, then the defending MLS champs, and deadpanned, “I guess Troy hasn’t played against a 12-year-old before.”
Says MLS's Hudson of Adu, "A blind man on a galloping horse can see his talent." Bill Frakes How good is Freddy Adu, the prodigy of American soccer? Good enough that Ellinger (who helped develop U.S. World Cup stars Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley) says Freddy could play in MLS right now, at age 13. Good enough that one MLS coach predicts he’ll start for the U.S. in the 2006 World Cup -- when he’s 17, the same age that Pelé was when he made his Cup debut. Good enough that some people have questioned whether he’s really 13. And good enough that Inter Milan, one of the world’s most storied clubs, offered Freddy’s family a six-figure package to oversee his development, an unprecedented show of interest in a U.S.-based youngster.
“He has an unflinching confidence with the ball,” marveled Dave Sarachan, the coach of MLS’s Chicago Fire, after Freddy scored both goals in a 2–1 exhibition win over the Fire two weeks ago. “Speed kills, and if you give him any room, he’ll break down your defenders.”
Since Freddy moved from Potomac, Md., to the U.S. under-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla., 13 months ago, the 5'8", forward has added 15 pounds of muscle (he now tips the scales at 140), scored 24 goals and busted enough “holy s---” moves to become the most talked-about youth in American soccer history. The videotapes don’t lie. Here’s Freddy slaloming through three Columbus Crew defenders -- seasoned pros -- on a single run. Here’s Freddy blasting a free kick around a Canadian wall into the upper corner. Here’s Freddy clowning four onrushing Finns, drawing a penalty kick while two of them crash into each other like punks in a mosh pit.
“I love having the ball at my feet and running at the defender one-on-one,” Freddy says, flashing his megawatt smile. “That’s when I’m at my best, when I can pull some weird move and get by him and everyone goes, Ohhhhhh. I love that.”
It’s all so much for a 13-year-old. On March 5, just three weeks after becoming an American citizen, he’ll make his official U.S. debut at the qualifying tournament for August’s Under-17 World Championship in Finland. Yet even if Freddy excels in those venues, the odds are stacked against his future stardom. Out of 144 players from the ’99 U-17 championship who were eligible for their country’s 2002 World Cup rosters, only three (Donovan, Beasley and Brazil’s Kaká) made it to Korea/Japan last summer. “Freddy’s without a doubt the most talented kid we’ve ever seen at that age,” says U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena, “but who knows where he’ll be two years down the road?” Says D.C. United coach Ray Hudson, who watched Freddy train with his team for a week last fall, “A blind man on a galloping horse can see his talent. He’s a little Fabergé egg, and everyone’s just trying to protect him.”
Including, not the least, his mother. As the offers poured in -- from Inter Milan, from Adidas, from all manner of agents -- Emelia Adu stood firm in her response: No. “He’s just a young boy,” says Emelia, who in 1997 brought her two sons, Freddy and Fro, to the U.S. from Ghana after the family won a green-card lottery. (They no longer live with the boys’ father, Maxwell, who came with them from Ghana and remains in the D.C. area.) Most perplexing to Freddy’s suitors was how a single mother working two full-time jobs could turn down security for her son. “I would get 10 calls a day, even at work,” says Emelia, who now toils solely as a cashier at Home Depot. “‘Are you Freddy’s mom? Why didn’t you take the deal?’ Sometimes I cried at night thinking about it.”
Emelia says education was the main reason the Adus left their home in Tema, a bustling harbor city on Ghana’s Atlantic coast. As a six-year-old Freddy would spend hours each day at the neighborhood lot, polishing his skills in barefoot pickup games on a pebbly, sand-covered field against men three times his age. “They’d put me in games, and they would foul me,” he says. “It was almost like they were teaching me to be tough.”
Since their arrival in Potomac, Freddy and Fro (now 11 and in the U.S. under-15 pool) have thrived in sports and in school. Yet Freddy had never played organized soccer until the day a fourth-grade classmate, dazzled by Freddy’s recess exploits, brought him to a tournament hosted by the Potomac Soccer Association. “He had all the instinctive skills to play soccer, as if they had been bestowed on him,” says Arnold Tarzy, then coach of the elite Potomac Cougars travel team. “It was beyond imagining.” Within 48 hours Freddy had joined Tarzy’s team.
Along with Freddy’s uncle, Anthony Yeboah, Tarzy has remained the Adus’ closest adviser (“the only person I trust in America,” Emelia says). It was Tarzy, the owner of a financial consulting firm, who hosted the meeting between Emelia and two Inter Milan reps in April 2000. That month 10-year-old Freddy had traveled to Italy with a U.S. Olympic Development Program team for an under-14 tournament against the youth squads of such It
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