Onyewu and Adu feel right at home in Africa during US run to Confederations Cup final

US players Onyewu, Adu feel at home in Africa

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa — Being in Africa is an entirely new experience for most soccer players. For United States teammates Oguchi Onyewu and Freddy Adu, the continent is a second home.

Onyewu was born in Washington after his parents emigrated from Nigeria, and Adu left Ghana as an 8-year-old when his family won a green card lottery.

“This isn’t the first or second time I’ve been in Africa, so this isn’t too much of a big deal coming to the continent,” Onyewu said during the United States surprising run to the Confederations Cup final.

“I try to put aside the fact that I’m Nigerian because I’m playing with the U.S. team, but obviously it’s a big deal for a lot of my family members who still live in Africa and see me play,” he said. “It’s a sense of pride to see one of their family members playing in this sort of tournament.

“But, with all that said, I’m in the red, white and blue and I’m representing the United States of America, so all that’s out on the side.”

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Onyewu has stood out in central defense at this tournament, and not only for being bigger than most soccer players. He earned praise from Italy coach Marcello Lippi after the Americans opened the tournament with a 3-1 loss — a game largely shaped by the ejection of United States midfielder Ricardo Clark.

Nicknamed “Gooch” by his teammates, Onyewu’s given name, Oguchialu, means “God fights for me.”

Onyewu has been a part of the United States national team’s system since his early teens. His father Pete played soccer in Nigeria before moving to the United States and attending Howard University.

“I’ve visited Nigeria a couple of times,” Onyewu said. “I have family there, but I’ve never lived there for any extended period of time.”

Once a child prodigy, the 20-year-old Adu grew up in the Ghanaian port city of Tema before settling in Maryland with his mother and younger brother Fro. He became an American citizen in 2003.

“It is great to be back here and to be a part of something like this,” Adu said before recalling his early childhood on the continent.

“I have little bits and pieces of that. It was great,” he said. “We used to go out and play football with our bare feet all the time. Every day that’s all we did, play football and go to school. All I thought about was football 24-7.”

Another African connection for the United States team lies in goalkeeper coach Zak Abdel, a former member of Egypt’s national team who lives in California. Abdel’s advice was instrumental in helping the Americans turn their fortunes around by beating Egypt 3-0 in their final group game.

United States coach Bob Bradley is a New Jersey guy, but he, too, has noticed how comfortable the Americans feel in South Africa, going back to a 1-0 victory over Bafana Bafana in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup two years ago.

“Every time we go into a stadium, the people, the passion just lifts us,” Bradley said after his team upset European champion Spain 2-0 Wednesday. “Our experience in 2007 with the Mandela Challenge was a start, but this Confederations Cup has really been special in every way.

“Every time we move around we meet new people and we are made to feel like they appreciate our team, appreciate the way we play. We’ve made so many friends. It’s been a great experience all the way around.”

As far as Onyewu is concerned, the biggest difference between Nigeria and South Africa is that the weather is colder here.

“Aside from that, I think everyone is the same everywhere in the world,” Onyewu said. “I don’t really see too much differences in people besides the language.”