The Best XI Who Played With Freddy Adu

TL;DR

A comedic selection of the best XI teammates of cult American footballer Freddy Adu, dominated by his Benfica colleagues.

Key Points

• 1.Tim Howard is the starting goalkeeper. Capped 121 times by the USA, Howard spent nine years and 400+ appearances at Everton and shared 300 minutes across eight matches with Adu, including a 0-0 draw against Messi's Argentina.
• 2.The backline is stacked with Benfica alumni. Maxi Pereira (125 Uruguay caps) at right back, David Luiz and Luís Boa Morte's replacement Luiz Zhao as center backs, and Fábio Coentrão — sold to Real Madrid for €30M — at left back, all played alongside Adu in Lisbon.
• 3.Costis Katsouranis anchors defensive midfield. The 116-cap Greek international and Euro 2004 winner joined Benfica in 2006, played 13 games alongside Adu without a single defeat, and could operate anywhere from sweeper to number 10.
• 4.Ángel Di María plays in central midfield despite being a winger. A summer 2007 Benfica signing who played 11 games with Adu, Di María excelled in a central role under Ancelotti at Real Madrid, winning the Champions League and finishing 10th in the 2014 Ballon d'Or.
• 5.Rui Costa partners Di María in midfield. The Portuguese playmaker, a three-time Ballon d'Or nominee who won the Champions League with AC Milan in 2003, played alongside Adu 15 times in his final 2007–08 season before retiring aged 36.
• 6.Joe Cole and Clint Dempsey fill the wide roles. Cole (56 England caps, 3 PL titles) played just 27 minutes with Adu at Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2016; Dempsey, a joint US record scorer with 57 international goals, played 10 games alongside Adu including an 8-0 win over Barbados.
• 7.Oscar Cardozo leads the attack as center forward. The Paraguayan striker scored 172 goals in 292 Benfica games over seven seasons and was signed — alongside Luiz, Di María, and Coentrão — in the busy summer of 2007, making him a natural partner for Adu.