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A Philadelphia Union blog hosted by Christopher A. Vito and Matthew De George

Saturday, July 21, 2012

MAKING A BIG TO-DO OF ADU

(Times staff / COLIN KERRIGAN)
Unsure what to make of this Freddy Adu situation? Well, get in line.

To recap, here's what we know:
  • Adu was not in the Union's 18-man gameday roster and did not travel with the team to Harrison, N.J., for Saturday's match against the Red Bulls.
  • Prior to the game, a Union official said it was “an internal team matter.” Union interim manager John Hackworth echoed the reasoning for keeping Adu at home, saying it was “a team matter.”
  • Adu did not miss the match due to fitness or injury. Earlier in the week, Hackworth insisted Adu would be ready to go. And Adu was not featured in Friday's league-wide injury report. When asked if Adu was unfit to play, Hackworth ignored the question and fielded another.
  • A teammate said the Union learned Adu would not travel with the club upon arriving at PPL Park to take the team bus bound for North Jersey.
  • Whether it's disciplinary in nature or rooted in something altogether different, Hackworth only said, “Hopefully (Adu) will be ready for the next game,” which would be a July 29 meeting with New England at PPL Park.
  • Prior to kickoff, Adu sent out a good-luck tweet to the Union.

One scenario running rampant on Twitter suggests that the Union sat Adu to prepare to move him in advance of the July 27 closure of the MLS midsummer international transfer window. That means teams have until Friday to determine their immediate needs. Per Hackworth, the Union only would do add a player if he can make “an immediate impact.” Feeding this scenario is the belief, based on their recent trade history, that the Union have a decent amount of allocation money at their disposal – to facilitate a transfer. But such an assertion is rooted merely in speculation, and I don't feel comfortable spreading rumors.

For all we know, Adu might have been kept at home for violating a minor team rule. Then again, it might have been something more severe. And even still, it remains a possibility that Adu just might not have been 100-percent fit.

Until either Adu or the club step forward and speak further on the topic, we simply don't know.

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