Alex Freeman on Radar of USMNT
Orlando City right back Alex Freeman could have easily felt under pressure to walk in his father’s footsteps.
No doubt that Antonio Freeman, the former All-Pro wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, envisioned himself instructing his son in the intricacies of route-running in the backyard.
In a phone interview with The Athletic, Antonio Freeman said, “Every dad, of course, as a former athlete, dreams that I’m going to have my hands on him, I’m going to teach him, I’m going to show him the nuances and the tricks of the trade.”
However, Alex Freeman’s goal was to kick every ball that surrounded him. Rochelle Hinkle, his mother, enrolled him in every sport. At one point, tennis actually appeared to be a possible course for him. But in the end, the trend of placing the ball at his feet won out.
The correct route was football.
Freeman is having a breakthrough season with Orlando City. His impact this year was further strengthened by another solid performance Sunday night in a 3-0 victory against Inter Miami, during which he generated four opportunities, including two significant ones, had 0.8 expected goals, and had 0.34 expected assists. The 20-year-old right back has earned the starting position under Óscar Pareja, and his skill at keeping possession of the ball, advancing up the field, and making a contribution in the attacking third has caught the attention of the U.S. men’s national team.
Freeman, who has three goals and one assist this year, was a surprise inclusion in Mauricio Pochettino’s 60-man preliminary squad for the Concacaf Gold Cup next month. His addition to the list is evidence of his growth and makes him a fascinating candidate for a position that is currently in demand in the United States.
For Freeman, it’s proof that the course he’s carving out for himself is the correct one.
“It’s sort of beneficial to make my own story,” Freeman stated last week. “To be able to maybe distance myself from the fact that my dad was a professional football player and simply try to create my own narrative.”
The Freemans always made certain that their son never experienced any paternal pressure. They considered naming him Antonio Freeman Jr., but they decided against it to avoid any parallels to the Packers Hall of Famer and Super Bowl XXXI champion.
Alex excelled in the majority of the sports he attempted. Rochelle claimed that tennis instructors also suggested that Alex could pursue a professional career in basketball, and that she believed it to be the way forward. Ultimately, he began to favor soccer, the sport in which Jake Hinkle, his stepfather, served as his first coach.
At the young fields, where they established themselves as regulars, the entire family began to be inducted into soccer culture. Alex is now known as “my little Trent Alexander-Arnold,” according to Rochelle, a Liverpool supporter.
When he was a youngster in Maryland, Antonio Freeman attended a camp operated by John Murdock, a renowned soccer coach and mentor in East Baltimore, where he first learned about the sport. He chuckled that his career ended when he was 12 years old, when he quit attending Murdock’s camps. He added that he felt like he had picked things up when he finally grasped the offside rule while watching his son at a competition in Dallas.
“They keep trying to tell me things the more they watch it,” Alex Freeman said with a chuckle. “And I’m like, come on.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the moment of complete commitment arrived.
Alex auditioned for the Inter Miami academy but was not selected for the squad. Javier Carrillo, his former coach at Weston FC, persuaded him to join the Orlando City academy. In the middle of the epidemic, Rochelle was reluctant to send her 15-year-old son three hours away, but in the end, in 2020, she let him stay with another player on the team’s family.
Alex started his change to right back in Orlando after having primarily played as a winger and forward. After winning an MLS Next Cup U-17 title in 2021, he signed a homegrown contract in 2022. Freeman earned a starting position with the first team this season after playing three seasons with the club’s reserve team, Orlando City B, and making three MLS regular-season first-team appearances between 2023 and 2024.
He stated, “I feel like everyone has a different path.” I wanted to be a professional soccer player, and I was given the chance to do so at a young age. Although I knew I might not be able to play right away, I was confident that I would eventually get the chance to play for the first squad.
“After three years of playing with OCB, I made significant progress. … Now that I’ve reached the point where I want to be, it’s about not taking anything for granted and always giving 100 percent.”
The young right back for Orlando has captured your attention at several points during the campaign.
Freeman used his right foot to keep the ball away from Philadelphia Union defender Nathan Harriel in the 75th minute of a tie in April. Freeman then executed a Cruyff turn between himself and midfielder Jovan Lukić, who was approaching from the other side, to break free before sprinting toward the Union back line and positioning forward Luis Muriel for a shot.
Freeman understood a few weeks earlier, when facing the Galaxy, how he might make room for himself by bringing the ball inside and then playing it wide. He maintained his run inside the channel and sped past an opponent to create room for a risky cross.
He maintained his position and alertness against NYCFC, and following a Pedro Gallese stop, he was able to clear the ball off the goal line with an overhead kick.
Then there are his aims, of course, such as scoring his first career goal in his first career start.
Freeman didn’t inform his parents about his start until the day of the game. According to Rochelle, she is always late, and Alex advised her to make an effort to arrive on time for this one. Antonio missed the first two minutes of the game after making the error of parking close to the Citrus Bowl for a car show rather than next to Orlando City Stadium. He ran through the neighborhood in an attempt to reach the stadium, but he missed the walk-out, which was the most important event in his head.
Alex then scored, and Antonio triumphantly posted the moment on social media.
It was payback for his parents for the effort they saw him making to reach that first-team level.
“He is very enthusiastic, he has always put in a lot of effort off the field, even when he is not training he would be in the gym, working out, or viewing other games,” Rochelle Hinkle said. “He’s just so focused. It’s incredible. He has reached this point after a minute, but he seems prepared. I am not surprised by what I have seen of him these past few games; he has really stepped up.
Freeman still has a lot of work to do, especially on the defensive end. However, in almost every match for Orlando City, his confidence and potential are evident.
Pareja, who routinely developed young homegrown talent at FC Dallas, said he wouldn’t have included Freeman in the starting lineup if he didn’t believe he was prepared for the next stage.
“Alex is figuring things out,” Pareja said. “He is playing very defensively and responsibly.”
“He has the intuition, the intelligence to (come inside to play). I like that he’s not forcing it.” It comes naturally. He arrives specifically as a fake winger, with a very organic approach. He gives us the freedom to execute a few maneuvers that transform Alex into a highly effective player. His talent for blending in with the players around him immediately drew my attention.
Freeman’s profile will undoubtedly be appealing at greater levels if he keeps improving as a defender. And even as he carves out his own route, he made it clear that he is really proud of contributing to his father’s and family’s heritage.
“He has had a great influence on my life by always being there for me,” he stated. “It simply demonstrates how he came from so little and was able to accomplish so much for his family and give back to them. Furthermore, he was successful. He overcame the odds.
“I feel like life will present you with obstacles. You must work hard and attempt to defeat them. There will be things you will need to overcome. He’s done that a lot in his life, not only as a parent but as a person. In this way, he’s someone I really admire every day.
