Old man. Grizzled veteran. Elder statesman.

These are not the usual characterizations US soccer fans make when talking about Freddy Adu. For the longest time Adu has always been the youngest player just about anywhere he has played. He was the youngest player in MLS. The youngest player at the Under-17 World Cup, the youngest on the US Under-20 team and the youngest ever to be capped on the US senior national team.

But time has a funny way of changing things. Four years ago, at age 18, Adu was on the US team at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.  Now 22, Adu stands to make his second Olympic team and suddenly finds himself as the most experienced man in Caleb Porter’s Under-23 camps.

He cannot help but laugh when thinking of himself as ‘the old guy’ on the team, but for a player who has had a nomadic career such as his, Adu can provide a great lesson to his Olympic teammates on the pitfalls that soccer can bring.

“That is something that we we’re talking about at the last camp,” Adu told 10 Kit. “It is kind of strange to be around guys who are actually younger than me but it is a great opportunity for me to be a leader and bring not just my Olympic experience but also my national team experience to the table.”

Adu expounded on the Under-23 squad via phone while also detailing his training stint with Madrid club Rayo Vallecano. It remains to be seen if Rayo will extend an offer to Adu or if he will be suiting back up with the Philadelphia Union this spring. The Maryland native finally returned to these waters on Saturday and will be in Florida this week under Porter’s watchful eye.

Club commitments with the Union prevented Adu from attending the first Under-23 camp, but he was in Florida last month for the second camp and soaked up the enthusiasm often found in youth national team surroundings.

“I had a great time with the U-23s,”Adu said. “I hadn’t been with a youth national team in a really long time but I enjoyed it. The nice thing is that everyone wants to be there and be a part of it”

The early reviews have been positive for Porter who has said that the upcoming camp in January will be more about keying on certain players for selection rather than a broad evaluation. Without question, there will be a battle among camp invitees to earn Porter’s favor.

Considering that players from the Beijing squad like Maurice Edu and Jozy Altidore have become senior national team stalwarts and that head coach Jurgen Klinnsman has said he estimates six players from the Olympic squad will represent the US at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, becoming one of the London 18 will be prime roster real estate.

The outlook is that competition will feed into Porter’s style of coaching and make this Olympic edition a cohesive one.

“Caleb is a great coach and everyone has bought in and is responding to the system,” Adu said. “His way is the right way to play. It’s an intense style but he has us playing the game hard.”

10Cast Special Edition: Arch Bell on his Freddy Adu articles by USA10Cast

by Arch Bell