The Tragedy of Freddy Adu

Psychologists and fans of the late Michael Jackson would frequently refer to him as a "child in a man's body", whose life was nothing like that of a normal adult due to his upbringing and being famous the world over from his early years. His view of life would be completely skewed and in many circles would become as famous for scandals and eccentric living as his once-magnificent music career.

With another American landing on my radar in the last week, the comparisons between Freddy Adu and Michael Jackson seemed to scream at me throughout his interviews, along with the publicity generated by his signing for Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS). The widely-publicised press conference he gave on Thursday allowed him to give probably the same quotes as he'd given on signing for each of his previous ten clubs. Bear in mind, Freddy is just 25 years old.

Freddy in his new KuPS away jersey (photo by Juha Poutanen)

However, Freddy spoke to state broadcaster YLE afterwards and gave some moving quotes. When asked why he moved to Kuopio, his body language saddened, his smile remained as he replied "KuPS gave me a great opportunity to come here and just play football - that's something I haven't really had a chance to do in a long time, and I really missed it". Going back to 2004, Freddy said in an interview to Sports Illustrated ahead of his MLS debut (still aged 14), "I'm not always going to have the greatest game of my life. There's going to be games when I absolutely suck. That happens to everybody. So it'll be up to me to regroup and try to find a way to bounce back." This is a young man who has had a lot of media training from an early age.

New Pele and old Pele

Prior to last Saturday's announcement of his signing, he had previously been spotted apparently acting as a nightclub promoter in Washington DC, news which went around the world as a "where are they now" joke. Yet shortly afterwards, I spoke to a KuPS employee who said that Freddy just wanted to go somewhere away from the circus. I'm sure he was fully expecting his new clubs to suddenly become the talk of ESPN, while this very website had a large surge in traffic searching for information on KuPS and the Veikkausliiga.

Freddy said in the YLE interview that it wasn't about the money (it certainly wouldn't be a big factor in Finland), but was amazed to find that coach Marko Rajamäki actually spoke to him in English about his game and tactics. KuPS probably would be a nice place for him to get back into playing, they have signed a proven goalscorer in Irakli Sirbiladze to shoulder the scoring burden, while they certainly won't be expected to challenge for the title. A likely place in the first qualifying round of the Europa League could provide some excitement, with potential trips to Azerbaijan, Malta or Luxembourg.

Adu spoke passionately and with humility about having grown up, "learning things the hard way" and his joy about being asked his opinion on football. His eyes lit up at the thought of having some value in a European football dressing room. Plenty of journeyman footballers rock up in leagues over the world, claiming to be turning a corner. When asked about pressure, Freddy smiles and talks passionately about having nothing to lose, missing the day in, day out lifestyle of a footballer.

For a twenty-five year old footballer with seventeen international caps, it feels like Freddy's dream of representing the United States team at a World Cup is just a fantasy, something born in Neverland. After so many false dawns and cynicism at the speed in which KuPS jerseys bearing ADU 11 became available, it's easy to assume that this will just be another stop on the world tour. But with every Veikkausliiga match available to watch online and the slowly-increasing status of the league, there could be just enough in the season for the gawpers to think again.

View image | gettyimages.com

Freddy on international duty in 2012

It's not the most Off The Wall thing to suggest. 2015 could be a Thriller.

You can see the original YLE interview (in English) here.

Interview with Veikkausliiga's Risto Oksanen

With the 2015 Veikkausliiga (Finnish Premier Division) officially launching today, ahead of the first round of fixtures on April 12th, I had a chat with the league's marketing executive Risto Oksanen about the league and it's aims and goals.

How important was it for the Veikkausliiga to secure a broadcasting deal with ISTV and YLE?

Broadcasting on YLE has been our long term strategy. We understand the power of free-to-air TV in increasing the popularity of the Finnish football. YLE Futiskierros is totally new way to watch football, with the possibility of seeing all of the important events from each match, which then widens the target group to the whole of Finland. The broadcast is more entertaining even for people who are less interested in football. On the other end, ISTV (Ilta-Sanomat TV, who will stream each game online to subscribers) offers the chance for supporters and hardcore fans to follow every match of their own club.
 

What challenges do the Veikkausliiga face to attract new fans, faced with the wider appeal of domestic football from England, Spain or Germany?

One challenge is that Finlandhasn’t been able to raise international interest towards Veikkausliiga. We have only a few internationally known active players. After Sami Hyypiä and Jari Litmanen, we haven’t had many players with star status. The clear strength for Veikkausliiga is that it is played in summer, when most of European leagues are on break. For people who want to watch football, Veikkausliiga can be great alternative. Betting is also raising the interest towards Nordic football in summer.

What are the Veikkausliiga’s goals in foreign markets?

So far our goals have been in domestic markets. The international markets have been considered more of a bonus, so we don’t have fixed goals for this.
 

There have been various suggestions for changes to the league structure – does the relegation play-off aim to make things more interesting?
There are cons and pros with relegation play-offs. Definitely the matches will be interesting with a lot at stake and its important to have our doors open for strong first division clubs.  On the other hand, the matches will be played in autumn when the conditions might be terrible for football in many cities. Any short term injuries might have a fatal impact for a club's prospects.

What they're all playing for

How does the fixture planning take fan groups into account, relating to travel and pricing?
We are trying to consider all aspects of fixture schedules and listen to the clubs when planning our match programme. Even though we are trying to optimise the matches into right places, the result is always a compromise between groups.

Do many foreign firms enquire about marketing with Veikkausliiga? How would such firms benefit?
There would definitely be room for more sponsors. The targets differ from sponsor to sponsor, but they all are related with their target group and how to have positive impact to those people. In customer products and services, the best results can be achieved if the brand can share the feeling and emotions with the fans. It’s should not be short-term, one way advertising. It should be long-term participating at all levels. At the end of the day, the results will be evaluated in business terms. Increased exposure is important for Veikkausliiga’s sponsors and also for the main sponsors at club level. It supports our common targets.

HJK’s Europa League campaign last year and move into Japanese markets has increased their profile internationally – do Veikkausliiga work with other clubs to provide advice and infrastructure?
Veikkausliiga is an organisation for the domestic market, therefore our main focus is here in Finland. Of course we do our best to help our clubs with any international issues. Teams are also sharing their foreign experiences with each other, which is encouraging. 

Risto

After Honka and MYPA’s financial problems, are there any safeguards to help other clubs with similar issues?
Veikkausliiga is an association, formed by top league teams. Decisions are made with one vote for each club. The board decides everything in Veikkausliiga. We try to prevent the problems with our licensing system, ensuring that a club entering Veikkausliiga must be able to meet the various demands of a Veikkausliiga season.