Adedeji's Goal Spree Paces Booters

When Captain Charlie Thomas was asked to describe sophomore Felix Adedeji before the soccer season began, he said. "Felix has the strength of a Bogovitch, the ball control of a Kydes, the gusto of a Gomez, and a little something of his own besides."

Adedeji has lived up to his advance billing by scoring 11 goals in the first six games, ten of them in the last four. He leads the Ivy League in scoring with seven goals and two assists in three contests.

When Harvard plays against Penn tonight, the Quakers will be keying their defense on Adedeji, and that's just the way he likes it.

"It's a great psychological advantage to have the other team thinking about your reputation." Adedeji explained. "When I come down on the goalie he thinks. "This is the guy who scores all the goals. What am I going to do?' Already his attention has been divided, and it makes it that much easier to score."

16-Year-Old Olympian

Adedeji's recent scoring feats are eclipsed by his achievements in his home country of Nigeria. He was an inside forward on the 1968 Olympic team at the age of sixteen, and he scored in each of the qualifying matches until Brazil beat Nigeria, 2-0, to gain a berth in the quarterfinals at Mexico City.

Since Nigeria has no professional leagues. Adedeji was playing with the best players in the country, and the knowledge he developed encompasses dimensions of soccer which the average American player is completely unaware of.

"When I was playing in Nigeria. I was always conscious of the particular pattern of moves I was making. I had three or four completely different styles of play, and I used the one which was most effective against the type of team I was playing against. Now I do whatever comes into my head first. So far this season I have for the most part relied on only one or two tricks," Adedeji said.

Pleasantly Surprised

Adedeji has been pleasantly surprised at how well this limited arsenal has been working. "These backs get involved with the slightest fake, and I have to smile when I think what would happen if I tried the same things back in Nigeria," he said.

According to Adedeji the key to dribbling is to keep your body between the ball and the defender. This enables you to block the defender with one leg while making the play with the other. It also forces the defender to follow your body rather than the ball--which sets him up for body fakes.

Despite his highly stylized individual play. Adedeji is very conscious of the teamwork required for a successful attack. "We get together and tell each other where we want to get the ball in certain situations. If I am coming down with Charlie. I know that he'll want the ball on the left. I fake my man to the right, drop the ball to the left, and then go towards the right goalpoast for the header," Adedeji said.

Linkmen

Adedeji considers the linkmen the backbone of Harvard's scoring machine. They are responsible for getting the ball up to the line, and if they trail the play properly, they give the foward an additional passing option--if Adedeji should be bottled up on in the left corner, he can pass back to linkman Norie Harrower who will switch the ball over to the other side.

Several of Adedeji's goals have come on shots from seemingly impossible angles. The quickness with which he delivers his shot is one important factor, but what sets Adedeji apart from most fowards is his ability to keep his eyes on the goalie.

"When I am dribbling I always know where the ball is, and so I am able to watch the goalie's movements. When I come towards him I wave from side to side, and if he picks up his right foot in anticipation of a shot to the left, I shoot to the right," he said.

Captain Charlie Thomas feels that Adedeji is much more than just a goal scorer. "Felix is an easy going guy, and he is always smiling and laughing. He contributes a great deal to the team's morale. And of course he helps us out on the field as well," Thomas said.

When Adedeji was sixteen his ambition was to be a professional soccer player in Britain. He now wants to be a doctor, and this summer he worked as a lab assistant at Boston University.