<P> While playing with the U.S. Olympic Development Program in an under - 14 tournament against the youth squads of such traditionally strong Italian teams as Lazio and Juventus, Adu's team won the competition, he led the tournament in scoring, and he was named MVP . </P> <P> At the age of 14, Adu became the youngest American ever to sign a major league professional contract in any team sport when he was chosen by D.C. United as the number one overall pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft . In order to allow Adu to play close to home, MLS assigned him to D.C. United on November 18, 2003, working a deal with the Dallas Burn, who owned the top pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft . Dallas was compensated with a player allocation . Having already signed with D.C. United, Adu effectively became the first player selected in that draft, two months before it officially took place . D.C. United had previously signed American youngsters Bobby Convey in 2000, and Santino Quaranta in 2001--both aged 16 and the youngest player in MLS at the times of being drafted . </P> <P> On April 3, Adu came on in United's first game of the 2004 season against the San Jose Earthquakes as a second - half substitute, making him the youngest player ever to appear in United States professional sports . On April 17, at the age of fourteen, Adu scored his first professional goal in the 75th minute of a 3--2 away loss against the MetroStars . In doing so, he became the youngest player in MLS history to score a goal . </P> <P> In his first season as a pro, Adu finished the year with five goals and three assists, while playing in all 30 regular season games . Although briefly a starter, Adu was relegated to a substitute when D.C. United acquired central midfielder Christian Gómez mid-season, and it was in this role that he appeared in United's MLS Cup victory . He played in three of four playoff games by D.C. United, assisting in one goal during that time . </P>

Who is the youngest player in the mls