16 January 2004 - It Looked Like A Good Idea At The Time

On 16 January 2004, DC United selected 14-year old Freddy Adu with the first pick of the MLS SuperDraft.

The pick was a formality, as DC has already signed Adu to a contract the previous November and acquired the first pick in a trade with the Dallas Burn. The deal was brokered by MLS in effort to keep Adu close to his hometown in Maryland. He became the youngest player drafted in MLS history, breaking the previous record set by Bobby Convey and Santino Quaranta, both drafted by DC United at sixteen.

Adu remained with DC for only three seasons before moving to Real Salt Lake in 2007, starting a journey that saw him play for another seven clubs over the next six years.

Other players drafted that year included future international stars Clint Dempsey (USA), taken eighth by New England, and Ramón Núñez (Honduras), picked sixth by Dallas.