Chalana adresses Adu's absence

Chalana adressed Freddy Adu's absence for the first time since Freddy returned to Portugal, from qualifying the U.S. for this summer's Olympics.
Speaking to the media in the customary pre-game press conference, Chalana was questioned about the absence of Adu from the game roster for this weekend.

Here's the translated quote

Adu participated in a tournament and then was a few days without training, and when he arrived he wasn't in the right condition, and had to recuperate. Players that aren't part of the game roster, have to respect those decisions. It's part of soccer. To my knowledge, there aren't any players that sign a contract which stipulates that they will be starters or part of the game roster. I don't know anyone with such aggreement.

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Chalana finally breaks the silence in regards to Adu, the statement is somewhat vague, as it doesn't fully explain how a player of Adu's caliber is no longer an option. It's not like Freddy hasn't proved himself either, which makes Chalana's choice a bit of a head scratcher. Most fans have shown their indignation towards Freddy's absence, and there were a few speculations made by the fans to justify his sudden absence.

The first one, was that Adu had a clause in his contract which would see him getting a considerable bonus if he reached a certain pre-determined amount of minutes or goals. I don't think Freddy has played enough minutes to turn that speculation into a truth. He has scored 5 goals, but that seems like a very low number to even threaten any type of pre-established plateau.

The second one, was that Adu had gotten in trouble with the club, due to some off the field habits, namely late nights. Not too long ago, I read on a comment box for another blog, 2 different individual comments in which the authors claimed they had seen Freddy at a Lisbon club late at night, one at 1.30am and the other one at 3.30am. Both comments describe Adu sitting at a VIP table with drinks in front of him, in the aforementioned club. It was a Thursday night, Benfica had a game the following day, Freddy was not called for the game, so in essence Freddy had the next day off.
I'm not one to judge his behaviour, and i'm not really sure of the etiquete for a professional, not to mention my unfamiliarity with the club's policies, but i think an incident like this - assuming Freddy was in violation - would have been a good enough motive for disciplinary action by the club, not to mention the media would have been all over it.

The other possibility i had considered was the timing of Freddy's absence.

Let's look at the chronology:
3/2 - VS Sporting (Adu's last appearance on the game roster)
3/3 - Freddy leaves Benfica to join US training camp in Bradenton, FL.
3/6 - Loss to Getafe - Uefa Cup first leg
3/9 - Benfica ties last place Leiria
3/9 - Camacho leaves Benfica, citing that he can no longer motivate the players and that he can't understand why the players show such lack of motivation.
3/9 - Chalana is named interim coach until the end of the season.
3/12 - Benfica is elimnated out of the Uefa Cup by Getafe, following the 1-0 loss in the second leg.
3/16 - Tie vs Maritimo
3/17-3/30 - Benfica enjoyed a period of time off during this time period. A time in which Chalana completed his transition, perhaps a time for bonding between the players and the new coach.
3/27 - Freddy returns to Benfica, Freddy did not play in the final game of the Olympic qualifying tournament(3/23) as he was given extra days to spend with his family during the Easter period. Despite being authorized to be absent until friday 3/28, Freddy reports one day earlier. On the first couple of training sessions Freddy did specific work(fitness mainly), work intended to get him back into playing condition.
3/30 - Benfica beats P.Ferreira at home by the score of 4-1, in what was considered the start of Chalana's reign.

I think the time between 3/17 and 3/30 was a very crucial time for Chalana and the team. Camacho had publicly questioned the team's motivation upon his exit, and Chalana took advantage of the players bruised egos to bond with the team. On one of the first times he adressed the media as head coach, Chalana defended the team and told the media that the players are motivated and united, a statment that contradicted Camacho's exit words.
Those 2 weeks, were very important and seen as a right of passage for the team, with Freddy being out, it's very possible that when he came back, he was on the outside looking into this newly formed group, a group that was eliminated from the Uefa Cup but rebounded with a good performance vs P. Ferreira with a line up in which Chalana's "hand" was evident. The performance against P.Ferreira was a clear improvement from the Camacho era, and seen as a positive change by the fan base. Chalana has used the same nucleous since then, leaving out Freddy.

At this point that is the only logical explanation i can find, for Freddy's absence, i don't believe his work ethic has changed, on the contrary, i think he is working harder than ever. His situation is very common in soccer these days, some players just fall out of favor with certain coaches, for one reason or another.

With 3 games left, and a new coach on the horizon, there's a lot of hope for Freddy. We also can't discount that Freddy is only 18, and the first year in a new country is always chalked up as time taken to adapt.

Benfica made a serious investment in Adu and have big plans for him, i very much doubt he will go anywhere.

Freddy Adu has not put on a game jersey since 3/2, almost 2 months.