About a month ago, FC Dallas rookie forward Abdus Ibrahim turned 16. At an age when most of his peers are focused on their first car, Ibrahim, a Generation adidas player and second-round pick in the 2007 MLS Super Draft, is instead getting acclimated to life in MLS.
The native of Ethiopia spent about a week with FCD earlier this year before having to leave to prepare for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. He returned to Frisco this week, will be training with the Hoops for the rest of the season and in the near future, will see time in a number of reserve games.
"We're glad to have him," FCD head coach Steve Morrow said. "He had a decent time with the U-17s and enjoyed that experience. He's looked sharp and lively in practice. We've been impressed with him so far but it will take a little time for him to get settled in.
"We want to try to make some progress with him between now and the end of the season by getting him some games in the reserves. We just want to get him fit and into the environment. He's looking more towards next season as far as making progress."
Ibrahim, better known as "Ibee," got his learner's permit in Minnesota in late July, but per state law, has to wait six months before receiving his driver's license. So, at least for right now, he rides to and from training with teammates Chris and Sandy Gbandi, whom is he is living with. He is looking forward to getting adjusted to his new surroundings.
"Right now, I feel comfortable and am getting to know everybody," he said. "Before, it was right before the U-17s and was different and I knew I wouldn't be here long. Now, I'm done with the U-17s and am here full-time. I look forward to working hard and to playing."
But the young striker called his experience at the U-17 World Cup something he thoroughly enjoyed, despite the U.S. team scraping through to the knockout rounds before being eliminated by Germany.
"It was really good," Ibrahim said. "They had some good teams over there. It was really nice and everything was really good except for the final result. We didn't have a good tournament but I had a good time."
Ibrahim was just 15 when drafted, making him the second-youngest draft selection in league history, after Freddy Adu, who was 14 when D.C. United drafted him in 2004. Ibrahim has been a member of the U.S. Soccer residency program since last year and in the past, played for both the under-14 and under-15 national teams. The experience he gained from those teams also helped him get to know a few of his current FCD teammates before they were in MLS.
"I knew Anthony (Wallace), Dax (McCarty) and Blake (Wagner) from the residency program," he said. "I was close with Anthony (Wallace) because he was in residency for one semester when I was there. So, he and I became close. I just talked to him the day before I got here and asked him about everything. He's helped me out so far."
Wallace agreed with Morrow that it's great to have Ibrahim in for training but even he couldn't anticipate a nice fringe benefit of his arrival.
"I am really excited to see him. I haven't given him any pointers, yet. But maybe I will in the future," Wallace said. "It looks like he has some potential in ping pong but I won't give him any pointers on that because I want to beat him."
After each training session, it falls to one of the FCD rookies to bring in the trainer's cart that holds the water coolers and water bottles. Wallace has done that for much of the season. So, imagine his surprise after Wednesday's session when he looked back and saw Ibrahim handling the cart in sort of a passing of the torch.
"I guess somebody else got to that before me," Wallace said. "I looked back and saw him taking the water and thought hey, this guy is learning already."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
