Fans Bid Adu a Hello at Carson

Edward Dugbartey Jr. was lost.

And then he was found.

All it took was a brief sighting of Freddy Adu, D.C. United’s 14-year-old soccer phenom from Ghana by way of Maryland.

Dugbartey, a student at UC Riverside who had never attended a professional soccer match, was strolling aimlessly about the Home Depot Center concourse Saturday evening, the ticket to his seat for the Galaxy’s eventual 1-1 draw with D.C. United in one hand, a flag of his parents’ native Ghana in the other.

“To see Ghanian people in sports in general is exciting,” Dugbartey said. “We’ve had [boxers] Ike Quartey and Azumah Nelson but when I heard Freddy was coming, I jumped on it.

“And then to see the home team, the Galaxy, that’s just double fun for me.”

Dugbartey was exactly the type of fan Galaxy officials hoped to draw to Carson when the Major League Soccer schedule was announced and the lone visit for the $500,000-a-year Adu to the Southland was set.

The MLS and Galaxy marketing blitz over Adu, whose skills have been compared to those of a young Pele, was such that a sign next to Staples Center at the Harbor Freeway proudly proclaimed, “Freddy Adu Does Hollywood.” And lest the Galaxy’s sizable Latino fan base feels left out, the marquee in Carson announced in Spanish, “No boletos,” no tickets remaining for the 27,000-seat soccer-specific stadium.

So the Galaxy sold tickets to fans wanting to brave the steep incline to sit on the north end grassy slope. It also sold tickets for the area on a few occasions last year, and about 2,000 took advantage.

That’s where David Santizo and his son Anthony, 9, sat.

“I’m Guatemalan and I’m not going to lie,” said David, “we’re here to support the Fish [Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz]. But we want to see Freddy too.

“The thing is, they’re not marketing him to the kids. It’s about the shoes and the contract. The kids don’t really know who he is.”

Not entirely true.

Ondrea Ortega, 10, knew enough of him that she convinced her father, Lawrence, to shell out $25 for an Adu No. 9 D.C. United T-shirt.

And Ondrea’s sister Taylor, 13, was flabbergasted that Adu was only one year older and that she could never imagine playing professional soccer in a year’s time. “That would be cool,” she said.

“I think that’s the main interest -- his age,” said the girls’ father, a youth soccer coach in Fountain Valley. “Through him and what he’s doing they can all see that there’s hope for the future.”

After Adu languished on the bench for the first 60 minutes of D.C. United’s nationally televised season opener last weekend -- infuriating fans and journalists in the nation’s capital -- there was little hope that Adu would start against the Galaxy.

Yet the slight sense of disappointment that enveloped the crowd at the start of the game turned to one of relief when Adu took the field to start the second half, his presence eliciting cheers and scattered standing ovations from the crowd, which included such celebrities as Robert Duvall, Will Ferrell and Mischa Barton.

“His age is amazing,” said Christian Ojogho, 39, who was representing his home country by wearing a Nigerian Football Assn. warm-up. “To see him live is memorable. I compare it to seeing Magic Johnson.

“My country is full of Ghanian football. A lot of kids have gone through the youth programs. To see a young Ghanian doing it here in America, that’s a must-see for me.”