CHESTER, Pa. -- Freddy Adu can say it now. He was spoiled. A pro at just 14, the youngest ever to play for the U.S. two years later, Adu was christened the next Pele -- and the petulant teen phenom believed the hype. When he was benched, Adu lashed out at the disciplinarian coach. When he turned 16, Adu drove a 2006 BMW 330i and proclaimed, "everything is me in this car." He was billed as the next one-word superstar like Tiger, LeBron, Shaq. He would win World Cups for the United States and maybe play for Arsenal or Chelsea by his early 20s. Yet six years after his debut in Major League Soccer, Adu was miles removed from Englands Premier League or even a packed house in Washington roaring in delight, tingling in anticipation of each move by soccers boy wonder. He sat scared in Greece on his teams bus as it was attacked by overzealous fans. His own teams fans. Hooligans pelted the bus with rocks and shattered windows all because Adus Aris FC lost a game in Thessaloniki to its city rival. Waiting for police to clear a lane back to the hotel, Adus lone thought was, get me out of here. "It was one of the craziest things to happen to me," Adu said. "Im like, man, this is not what I envisioned when I wanted to be a pro athlete." Few parts of his career have developed the way Adu expected. Once billed as American soccers saviour, Adu found himself stuck in Greece last year with his career in shambles. He had bounced around European teams on a series of unsuccessful loans that left him forgotten by the public in the United States and an afterthought for a meaty role on the U.S. national team. Former national team coach Bob Bradley had no use for him on the U.S. roster for last years World Cup in South Africa. On top of the world as a teen, Adu stopped having fun playing the game he loved. "When I didnt get called up to the World Cup team, that really hit me," Adu said. "Thats always been a goal of mine. When I didnt get a chance to go, I really sat back. For me, the rest of the year, was the worst time of my career. The worst. When I went back to Aris, the team said my salary was too high and basically tried to bully me into taking a paycut by not allowing me to train with team. Everything was bad." He wasnt the next Pele. Adu wasnt even the next Preki. Or Landon Donovan. He was a high-priced globetrotting journeyman, playing ball in Portugal or Greece or Turkey, trying to find a perfect fit before he ran out of time to rediscover the talent that made him such a prodigy and a pro at 14. Now 22, Adu has returned to MLS and the Philadelphia Union, still dreaming of a career stuffed with national team glory and Premier League uniforms. But he comes back to the United States a mature and humbled young man. He has reunited with his former D.C. United coach, Peter Nowak -- the disciplinarian -- with the hope of salvaging his pro career and proving that, yes, he can still blossom into the superstar so many experts and fans pegged him to become. "Some people might think I came back to MLS because I didnt have any offers," Adu said. "This is where I want to be." He knew he didnt want to play in Greece. After being snubbed for the World Cup roster, Adu found a way to terminate his contract with Aris and chose in January to play for a second-division team, Caykur Rizespor, in Turkey. Its akin to an NBA lottery pick asking for a spot in the D-League. But all Adu wanted was to play soccer. Turkey offered the best chance for regular playing time, even if the competition didnt stack up with the worlds elite. "You had to really swallow your pride to say, Ill go play in the second division," he said. "Its not where you want to be. But you had to be mature in this decision. I got much better playing in the second division in Turkey because I played every week. I was part of something. I was part of a team making a run to get promoted." Adus move paid off and he earned his own personal promotion: Bradley selected Adu for this summers Gold Cup. Adu led the U.S. to the Gold Cup final in June with a long, slanting pass to Donovan for the only goal in the semifinal against Panama. His corner kick in the championship game set up Michael Bradleys goal in an eventual loss. "You have to think about starting from scratch and working your way up," Adu said. "That was my mentality." Starting over is tough to imagine for a long-ago budding prospect like Adu. Soccer was easy as a child. Born in Ghana, he trained with top youth athletes at the IMG Soccer Academy in Florida before signing with MLS in 2003. He forged a friendship with IMGs Trevor Moawad, at the time the programs mental conditioning coach, a bond that has endured through all of Adus travels. Moawad says Adu deserved the spotlight as a child because he was clearing all the benchmarks for soccer players of his age groups. Even if it seemed now a mistake for Adu to turn pro at 14, making him the youngest player on a major U.S. pro team in more than 115 years, Moawad says he believed the precocious teen was ready to handle the rigours of professional soccer. "We never anticipated that adapting would be a problem for him at the professional level," Moawad said. "I think that those issues were probably more significant than I would have thought theyd be." Moawad tried to prep Adu by arranging him to spend time with superstar athletes like sprinter Michael Johnson and NFL star Anquan Boldin. Even Jaleel White -- best-known for his role as Steve Urkel on "Family Matters." "People wondered, why are you having him spend time with Urkel," Moawad said. "Urkel was having to deal with these incredibly complex issues at the age of 13. Who else could (Adu) empathize with and understand what he was going through at a young age?" While Adu admits having his doses of fun -- a student newspaper at the University of Maryland quoted students as saying they witnessed the underaged Adu drinking at various keg parties on campus -- he was socially isolated from his older teammates. They went to clubs or home to their families. Adu spent time with his mother. "Who are you going to hang out with," Adu asked, "when youre 14?" And when playing time and goals didnt come as effortlessly as foreseen, it was Nowak who took the brunt of the criticism. Adu wasnt shy about popping off and going public with his frustration over his role while in Washington. "There was always a lot of advertisement at the time, Come watch Freddy Adu and D.C. United. Then the game comes and Im on the bench," Adu said. "Just stuff like that. At the time, I should have handled myself better. "Its difficult to not get a little carried away, which is what happened. I admit it. I did get carried away with all that. It was difficult for a 14, 15, 16 year old to handle that." His mother, Emelia, was a heavy factor in his decision to turn pro. With his father out of the picture since Adu was 8, Emelia Adu worked two jobs to support her two sons. Adus $500,000 rookie salary was the highest in the league and he netted a $1 million endorsement deal from Nike. Emelia Adu hasnt worked since Freddy turned pro. "Even if I suffered for it, so be it," Adu said. "Thats a sacrifice I was going to make for my family, for sure. Id do it a million times out of million if I had the same opportunity." MLS was eager to take advantage of Adus sizable publicity push. Interviews with David Letterman and "60 Minutes" allowed Adu to flash that megawatt smile and outgoing personality -- a trait he claims was often mistaken for not being serious enough about soccer. He put fans in the seats and moved MLS out of the glut of fringe sports to the mainstream. "Im not sure looking back on the whole Freddy Adu experience that we managed it as well as we could have," MLS commissioner Don Garber said. "But hindsight is 20-20. The league was very different then. Freddy was different then. He was a very young guy with a lot of attention on him and the league needed it. The sport needed it. Freddy needed it. And Im not sure he was able to handle it. Now that hes back, at the ripe age of 22, I think he has a lot of soccer ahead of him -- and hes in the right place." Adu and Nowak patched up their differences long ago, and Adu stayed in touch with Nowak while he played four years in Europe. Adu, a two-time MLS all-star, was able to arrange a free transfer from Benfica of the Portuguese first division to MLS, in part, because of his relationship with Nowak. The pair won an MLS Cup together in 2004. Nowak found a player who can no longer scoot by on hype alone. "Weve become closer to each other," Nowak said. "Weve understood each other more and more. Its a great sign he could be part of my team again." The Union found footing in a crowded sports market and can fill their sparkling stadium without Adus name value. He wasnt signed to become the centerpiece of a marketing campaign. The midfielder returned to MLS simply as another valuable member of a team chasing a championship. Nothing more. He jokes he feels like an old 22 even though he boasts hes young at heart. "I wouldnt change anything that has happened to me," Adu said. "Its made me a much better person, a much better player." Rob Gronkowski Jersey . Now is one of those times. Mauer had another four hits and three RBIs to lead the Twins to an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. "Ive seen him hit his whole career," Gardenhire said. Emmitt Smith Jersey . The 76ers looked like the high-scoring, solid defensive team the brass envisioned when it traded for Andrew Bynum. http://www.nflofficialauthentic.com/nfl-jerseys/washington-redskins/sean-taylor-jersey-c-1_89_93.html . June Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamps mother, told The Times in a front page interview published Monday: "Why? Why my little girl? Why did this happen? Why did he do this?" "Just like that she is gone," the newspaper quoted her as saying in what it described as an emotional telephone interview. Walter Payton Jersey . The move is believed to make room for AHL scoring leader Ryan Strome to be added into the Islanders lineup. Peyton Manning Jersey . Against a good team, too. Hiller stopped Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane in the tiebreaker, leading the Ducks to a 3-2 win Friday night and sending the Chicago Blackhawks to their third consecutive loss.ST. LOUIS -- Tony La Russa will become the second retired manager to lead an all-star team next summer, joining Hall of Famer John McGraw. La Russa concluded a 16-season run in St. Louis with the teams second World Series title in five years last October, stepping down after 33 seasons overall. Commissioner Bud Selig announced Tuesday that the 67-year-old La Russa will manage the National League in this years game July 10 in Kansas City. "Tony earned this opportunity with the remarkable run the Cardinals completed last October, and I am delighted that he shared my enthusiasm about staying in this role," Selig said in a statement. "The all-star game celebrates all the best of our game, and it is very appropriate that we will have the chance to celebrate one of the greatest managerial careers of all-time as a part of our feestivities.dddddddddddd" McGraw retired after the 1932 season and managed the National League in the first All-Star game the following year. Danny Murtaugh managed the NL all-star team in 1972 after stepping down following Pittsburghs 1971 World Series title, but Major League Baseball doesnt consider him retired for that appearance because he returned to manage the Pirates from 1973-76. This will be La Russas sixth time managing an all-star team, three in each league. Two managers led all-star teams after moving to new teams, Dick Williams in 1974 after switching from the Athletics to the Angels and Dusty Baker in 2003 after switching from the Giants to the Cubs. La Russa and Joe Torre are tied for fourth with six All-Star managing appearances, trailing Casey Stengel (10), Walter Alston (9) and Joe McCarthy (7). cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '