image: washingtonpost.com

Slowly but surely, Freddy Adu is getting better. He won't be going to the World Cup, and he doesn't deserve to, but once he knew that was fact he seemed to knuckle down and concentrate on his game. No moe commercials, no more flashy, ineffective performances. Now this left footed 17 year old (his birthday was last week) is playing regularly at right midfield for DC United, and playing well. A stint in national team camp earlier this year (and a brief international debut in which he was booked for diving) seems to have opened Freddy's eyes to just how much he needed to improve to play at the top level.

Freddy said "My fitness when I got there was terrible. Oh my god! These guys, I mean, look, somebody like Landon? And Hejduk! They're freaks, man. The least fit guy on the team was fitter than I was. That was a reality check. I went to Bradenton and I worked with a personal trainer to get my fitness up."

"I worked on my [running] form and I worked on stretching my hamstrings, and that's gotten much better and my fitness has gotten much better. That's why this year, as opposed to last year and the first year, now I can play the wing much better because my fitness level has gotten much better. First two years, no chance."

I've been watching Freddy for DC United this year (my local tv station shows every DC game) and he's put in a string of mature performances. He doesn't attempt flashy dribbles until he's in attacking areas, he positionally disciplined and he works hard to track back and defend. He's part of the reason for DC having the best record in MLS this year.

While Freddy was overhyped by MLS back in 2004, probably in a desperate bid to attract attention to the league, he is slowly but surely maturing into one very talented player. Expect to see him make the step up to regular international football post-World Cup.