Too much too young? Beware the hype around teen soccer prodigy Cavan Sullivan

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Too much too young? Beware the hype around teen soccer prodigy Cavan Sullivan
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The 14-year-old Philadelphia Union star is being loudly tipped for greatness, but no one seems to recall the cautionary tale of Freddy Adu

The 14-year-old Philadelphia Union star is being loudly tipped for greatness, but who is listening to the cautionary tale of Freddy Adu?Cavan Sullivan signed to Philadelphia Union for $500,000 a year, and is set to be signed to Manchester City when he turns 18

Over the following two decades, we saw Adu’s career get quickly shunted into the sidings, all the early promise gone from his game by his early 20s. One minute he was making television commercials with Pele and training with Manchester United, the next he was scratching around for trials all over the planet, flaming out in too many countries to mention. A tough watch, especially for those of us who had met the callow adolescent in South Carolina that evening.

The Union introduced the hometown kid to delighted fans at Subaru Park last Saturday night by having him pound the club’s ceremonial prematch drum. Then they lost to Orlando City, and their winless streak of five games might explain them hinting his first-team debut could come sooner rather than later. Everybody seems fine with that possibility. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing. Apparently. Not when there’s a lot of “if he’s good enough, he’s old enough” vibes about the place.

Nobody seems unduly bothered by the fate of the last kid to be spun through the MLS hype machine in this manner at such a ridiculous age. Adu’s name has scarcely featured in dispatches, not even as a cautionary tale to offer some much-needed perspective. The Union seem more concerned with whether Sullivan’s selection for a night game might fall foul of Pennsylvania’s child labour laws than his long-term welfare.

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