CARSON, United States (AFP) - Freddy Adu, the 15-year-old forward who has helped spark D.C. United into the Major League Soccer final, says he is confident but not nervous entering Sunday's MLS final here against Kansas City.
United edged New England 4-3 after penalty kicks to reach the final, a game that helped Adu's attitude after a strong rookie season in the United States league.
"It was great. At 15, not everybody gets the chance to play in a game like that," Adu said. "You learn a lot from it. I just hope the confidence level will carry me through the final.
"Luckily for me, I'm getting to experience this in my first year. It's giving me a lot of experience and hopefully I'll carry that forward through the rest of my career. I get to experience what it's like in a championship game."
United won three of the first four MLS titles but has not been in the final since 1999.
Kansas City's only crown came in 2000 but the Wizrds' were this year's winningest MLS club with 20 victories. They could complete the American double, having claimed the US Open Cup title in September.
Adu began the season as Freddy Phenom, the youngest player in a US team sport in more than a century. The much-hyped teen played every game for United, but often saw little action and spent crucial time watching and learning.
"I'm not nervous," Adu said. "It's more that I just want to get out there and play."
After some early adjustment woes, Adu has been able to contribute to United's bid for a fourth MLS title.
"I didn't think it was going to be easy being one of the youngest," he said. "I thought it was going to be tough to adjust to my own teammates, but that wasn't the case. There were certainly some problems, but they were solved quicker than I expected.
"I was able to concentrate on playing and becoming part of the team. It wasn't always good, but from the halfway point going forward I started playing my game."
Adu credited coach Peter Nowak with helping make his transition smoother, even if it meant less time in matches.
"There were a lot of people giving Peter a lot of crap about, 'Why isn't Freddy playing?' To be honest, I wasn't ready to play," Adu said. "He groomed me, found ways of getting me into position where I could succeed and where the team could succeed. From that, I started to build up a lot of confidence.
I sat down and I thought, 'It's the same game. If I play like it's my team and there's no tomorrow, then I should be fine.' I started playing like that and my teammates started trusting me that much more with the ball.
"Even when I lost the ball I started fighting to get it back. That played a big part because my teammates started trusting me and giving me the ball. My confidence level started growing. That really was a defining moment."
11/12/2004 - 17:44 GMT - AFP