After Kicking It Awhile in L.A., Adu Heads East

The Great Freddy Adu Road Show switches coasts this week, with the teenager and his D.C. United entourage moving from a successful engagement in Los Angeles to the footlights of New York.

Well not quite New York -- New Jersey, but close enough.

In the aftermath of Saturday night’s 1-1 tie with the Galaxy at the sold-out Home Depot Center, the consensus was that 14-year-old Adu had not quite lived up to the hype but had shown indications that one day he might.

“I thought Freddy did well,” Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid said. “You know, it’s Hollywood, so he’s going to do well here. It’s like a storybook story with him anyway. I was just hoping that he wasn’t going to get a goal against us.”

Peter Nowak, D.C. United’s coach, cut those chances in half by limiting Adu to the second 45 minutes, but that was enough for the youngster to show a glimpse or two of his potential.

“We wanted to give him a taste of what it is to play in Los Angeles in front of what is the toughest crowd in Major League Soccer,” Nowak said.

“I thought he played very well. He was all over the place. He played up front, he played in the middle, left and right, he struck the ball a couple of times. Unfortunately, he didn’t score a goal, but he was very close, so let’s hope that next week he’s going to be better,” against the MetroStars at Giants Stadium on Saturday.

As for Adu, he handled the postgame media with even more ease than he had handled opposing defenders in his first two MLS starts.

“Last weekend I had a lot of pressure on my back and I didn’t play so well,” Adu said of his debut in a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes in Washington. “As I said after the game, I’m glad to get that over with; now I’m back to really thinking about playing soccer. That’s what I went out there and did tonight. I felt like the old me, and hopefully I can keep that going.

“When you get an opportunity to get out there on the field, you’ve got to be aggressive, you’ve got to win balls for your team. Those are the little things that the coaches see that will earn you more minutes, or those are the little things that help your team win.

“I’m feeling very comfortable now, and I’m just glad that I’m back to my old self again.”

His 14-year-old self, that is.

Red-Card Ramiro

It has been a tough eight days for San Jose midfielder Ramiro Corrales.

First, the defending champion Earthquakes lost their season-opening match on the road to D.C. United, 2-1.

Worse, Corrales had to have 30 stitches in his forehead after being struck by a beer bottle in a Washington bar after the game. Details are hazy, but police did arrest a suspect.

On Saturday, the Earthquakes made their 2004 home debut at Spartan Stadium, receiving their championship rings beforehand.

Again, Corrales came to grief. His late and ill-intentioned tackle on the Chicago Fire’s Andy Williams got him ejected from the eventually scoreless match with 27 minutes to play. The retaliatory foul was reckless and blatant, and Corrales could have no complaints.

It was also the second red card earned by the winless Earthquakes in as many matches, defender Craig Waibel having been tossed from the D.C. United game.

In all, the first seven matches of the MLS season produced six red cards. Corrales and Waibel are joined on the list by Chicago’s C.J. Brown, the Kansas City Wizards’ Chris Klein, the Colorado Rapids’ Chris Henderson and D.C. United’s Dema Kovalenko.

Not a promising start for the league and its referees.

Ruiz in Demand

There is no substitute for goals, and Carlos Ruiz has two in two games this season.

That brings his total to 51 goals in 62 MLS regular-season and playoff games since joining the Galaxy in 2002 and makes him the team’s most prolific striker in its history behind Cobi Jones, who has scored 65 goals in eight-plus seasons.

If Ruiz’s salary does not reflect that fact, it should.

On Saturday Ruiz was held in check, sometimes literally, for 85 minutes before escaping and scoring the tying goal.

“It’s the reason you don’t take Carlos off the park,” Schmid said. “He just has that ability every so often and on a pretty regular basis to just create something out of nothing.

“Overall, prior to that, he was not nearly as effective as Carlos can normally be, but he’s the kind of guy you can’t take off the park because you never know when he’s going to strike. He’s very lethal.”

All of which means that Schmid and the Galaxy will miss him all the more when Guatemala’s national team comes calling.

World Cup 2006 qualifying is just around the corner, and Guatemala’s hopes of reaching Germany ’06 will center on Ruiz.

Guatemala last month appointed Ramon “Primitivo” Maradiaga, a former Honduran World Cup player, as its national team coach. Maradiaga was at the Home Depot Center on Friday watching Ruiz train and at the game Saturday night watching him play.

“Of course Carlos is important, but I don’t like to depend on just one player,” Maradiaga said through an interpreter Friday. “Yes, he’s going to play a very vital role, so I want to talk to him and get his views.”

Guatemala plays on the road against Surinam in its first qualifying match in June, but before that, on May 5 and 12, it plays warmup matches against Iran and against Mexico’s Athens-bound Olympic team.

Because the Galaxy is at Dallas on May 8 and at home against Colorado on May 15, either Ruiz will be one tired striker or he will miss one or more of those four matches.

Maradiaga and Schmid are trying to come to an agreement.

Under FIFA rules, the Galaxy is obligated to release Ruiz for World Cup matches, but there is a little more leeway when it comes to friendly games.

An amicable arrangement now could smooth the way when the World Cup schedule gets busier in the fall.