Doha, Qatar — Jessie Marsh knew Tyler Adams This was at the age of 15. Dave Sarachan and alejandro bedoya Saw it during Adams’ first national team camp in portugal In 2017. and Adams’ United States of america Teammates have seen it here in Qatar during this World Cup.
What is “it” you may ask? OK, it’s hard to count. Some might call it charisma, others would call it leadership or emotional intelligence, but the meaning is much deeper than “it”. There’s an aura about Adams that suggests he’ll not only do his job, but also relieve some of the pressure of making you do yours. These days, that can mean covering for teammates on the field or deftly handling some spicy news conference questions.
All those features were displayed during a 30-hour period earlier this week. started during monday’s news conference In which an Iranian reporter reprimanded Adams for mispronouncing the country’s name and then asked how he felt representing the United States because the country has a long history of racism against black people. Adams took the sting out of the question by apologizing for the mispronunciation, and then asserted that he thinks progress is being made in America “every day”.
The temperature decreased.
It was a moment that impressed his teammates, and validated manager Greg Berhalter’s decision to name leeds united Midfielder captain before the tournament. Other players in this squad have served as captains, but the role is a perfect fit for Adams.
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“I thought it was fantastic,” said the centre-back Tim Ream Read more about Adams’ shrewd handling of Monday’s news conference. “It is what it is. That’s the world we live in now, and for him to handle it with the grace that he did and the integrity that he did, I think for a 23-year-old, that was fantastic.”
Adams then followed that up with the kind of dominant performance for the US that has become the norm, turning in his usual strong innings in the center of midfield, leading the Americans to a 1–0 victory. Iran who entered the knockout stage. Now a Round-of-16 matchup Netherlands is waiting.
“Tyler’s a Beast, Man,” US Right-Back Shaq Moore Told. “He sets the tone for us with his burst of intensity, with the ball, without the ball. He’s a huge part of our team. I’m delighted to have him.”
Leaders are made, not born, or so it is said. Certainly Adams’ parents, Melissa Russo and Daryl Sullivan, played a big role in molding him into the person he is, but he also played against older players during his youth career, and more so when he was in New York City. When he reached Red Bulls, he took inspiration from them. The captains he had.
“I think going back to when I was young, I was very competitive,” Adams said Friday. “I didn’t really care who I was playing against. I think the old guys probably hated playing against me, and to some extent, I ended up on their teams a lot of the time, so they didn’t get to play.” There was no need against me so we made good relations.
In my early professional career at the Red Bulls, I was fortunate enough to have a lot of good captains to learn from: Dax McCarty, Sacha Clujsten, Luis Robles – all guys you can take different qualities from. And I always thought about myself how I can relate to different people. So when I’m having a conversation with Tim Ream, it’s probably going to be very different than a conversation with Brendan Aaronson, who I spend a lot of time with.
“So yeah, it’s definitely evolved in a lot of different ways, but when I’m on the field, I’ll do anything to win. So, I just figure out that I get the best out of all of my players.” How can I get and just relate to them in different ways.”
Leeds boss Marsh noticed Adams’ aptitude for the game – and for life – from the moment he met him as a teenager. Marsh was the manager of the company at the time New York Red Bulls While Adams, of Wappingers Falls, New York, was making his way through the team’s academy.
Marsh said of Adams, “When I first met him at age 15, he had many leadership qualities.” “He had the face of a child, but he looked you straight in the eye, said what he thought, laughed when the conversation was light and showed intensity when the conversation was about important football topics.”
There was also selflessness. John Wolyniak, who managed Adams when he played with the Red Bulls reserves, recalled how the player returned to Red Bulls II from the 2015 U17 World Cup, Wolyniak was in a jam and needed someone to play left-back. he asked Adams.
“He looked at one of them and said, ‘Okay, no problem. I’ll be fine,'” Wolyniak said with a laugh. “He’s just that type of guy, right? He’ll tell you when he’s not happy and when he’s frustrated, but at the end of the day, whatever he’s asked, whether it’s the coach, the team, the game , he just does.”
At 18, Adams showed similar potential when he was first called up to the US men’s national team in November 2017. This was a period when the team was at its lowest ebb, just a month away from failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
It was more than tempting to think that the whole program should be baffling. Sarachan, the interim manager, called for a more balanced approach. they performed for the first time for people like Adams and Weston McKenney during that international window which included a friendly match against Portugal. He also brought in veterans like Bedoya and Reem.
Adams had already earned Bedoya’s respect for his competitiveness and unwillingness to back down during bouts. mls,
“I would make a pass and try to get a one-two, he would be there, trying to kick me,” Bedoya said. “And I remember one time he put his hand up and actually bit me in the face. I was just like, ‘Who do you think you are?’ I had to tell you, man, after the game, the guy I walked over to and I said, ‘Hey, man. I have so much respect for you for the way you approach things. Is.'”
Training closely with Adams gave Bedoya an even greater appreciation for the young midfielder. It was his work ethic that showed Bedoya that he was something special.
,[Adams] “I’ve already seen enough of him to see that he will at least certainly be a leader as an example,” Bedoya said.
Sarachan recalled that during the team’s first training session, he had to restrain Adams.
“He covered more ground in 10 minutes than I’ve seen many of my players cover in one training session,” Sarachan said. “It’s like when you go to buy a car and the salesman gets in the car with you, usually you start out easy and he tells you to get on the highway. Tyler just swam it.”
Sarachan stops by saying that he knew Adams would captain the U.S. team, but observed that Bedoya had the same building blocks in terms of work ethic and preparation. Over time, those traits took on an even greater impact.
“When you think about leadership qualities, there are a few mines that need to be checked,” Sarachan said. “You have to have confidence, you have to be humble, you have to have a work ethic, there’s a lot more to it. And being a little kid, I had no idea how it was going to work. But once We met in 2018. It didn’t take me long to figure out, ‘Well, what does this kid have to be a leader other than his youth.’ i look back and think that portugal weekThe signs were definitely there.”
Now Adams is fully human. He was reunited with Marsh when he transferred to Leeds last summer RB Leipzig, and immediately endeared himself to the club’s faithful. Now the rest of the world is looking to Adams’ contributions, both on and off the field.
“We were excited at the prospect of meeting him for the first time,” Marsh said. “However, he has turned out to be much bigger than I thought.”
The USMNT feels the same way.
