Canales Daily: Are You Feeling Lucky, Player?

Freddy Adu | Belenenses loan could be beneficial

It's a tricky concept for players, to find the club which will not only have faith enough in them to sign them, but to put them on the field to do what their careers are all about - playing soccer.

In some ways, advancement through the ranks of soccer is akin to the Peter Principle in business, which holds that in a hierarchy, members are promoted so long as they work competently, until sooner or later they are promoted to a position at which they are no longer competent. In the soccer version of this young, talented players search for the best club they can play for. However, as they leave clubs for a higher level, the margin for any lapse or weakness in their game becomes progressively smaller and unforgiving. They may find themselves stuck at a club that in fact doesn't need them.

In Beasley's case, the two-time World Cup veteran has seen his lack of playing time rob him of elements of his game with were never especially strong - his touch and control on the ball, not to mention his tactical game awareness.

The tradition for many teams is to rely on loan deals to develop players, and this was no doubt the logic that went into the season-long loan of Adu to Belenenses. Yet teams are often less willing to loan out older players - as they won't return with enough time left in their for the club to profit off any improvement. Plus, there's also the fact that an older player is unlikely to improve that much, even after regaining game form.

Seven years separate Beasley and Adu. While Beasley never starred in any commercials with Pele, he was a youth soccer star in his own right, the youngest US player in the 2002 World Cup and one of the few Americans to be signed by a squad in the prestigious Dutch league.

Though a few consider Adu a bust already, even at age 20, his loan could see him make the most of his new opportunity. Beasley has a tougher row to hoe at Rangers, as his chances for playing time there seem very low. Even a move in the next transfer window could come too late to really challenge for the World Cup roster.

Sports is a gamble - a player takes a chance with every move made, every decision. Injuries are a constant risk and a coach's whims and particular preferences can change careers forever.

So it's fitting, somehow, in a game that can be decided by whichever way the ball bounces - that the trajectory of a player's future can come down to who gets lucky on deadline day.

Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com North America

For more on American players in Europe visit Goal.com's Americans Abroad page.