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EVEN BEFORE HE COULD KICK a ball, Edson Buddle was destined to do great things. Winston Buddle, a former pro player, put a small, orange soccer ball in his son's crib and decided to name the child after the sport's greatest player--Edson Arantes do Nascimento--a.k.a. Pele.

"It was always a dream of mine to name my first kid after Pele," says Winston. "It's important to have a good name. It gives you a kind of luck.

"What I really wanted to do was to name him Pele, but that would have been too much pressure."

For most soccer players, even the name Edson might have been too much pressure, but not for Buddle. "It wasn't a burden on me," says Edson. "It wasn't on my shoulders."

While it isn't fair to compare anyone to the Brazilian great, Edson has begun to cast a shadow of his own. Buddle already has become one of the biggest bargains in MLS draft history. Ignored in the early part of the 2001 draft, he was finally selected by the Columbus Crew in the third round, with the 27th overall selection.

Tom Fitzgerald, then the Crew coach, decided to give Buddle a chance, and soon realized that he had found a diamond in the rough, Fitzgerald eventually was fired (he went onto guide UCLA to the 2002 NCAA Division I men's title) and replaced by his assistant, Greg Andrulis. "Edson is everything that we expected," says Andrulis. "He has come into his own. It's just the tip of the iceberg."

That's a strong statement to make about a 22-year-old who has already become an integral part of the Crew attack. (Buddle scored nine goals and five assists in only 1,304 minutes during the 2002 season.)

The 6'1", 170-pound Buddle has forged a reputation as someone who isn't afraid to take on defenders one-on-one with his shifty moves and speed--although he sometimes gets out of control. "I want to make something happen," he says. "I don't want to be timid. You've got to try things. That's the way you're going to learn. You're going to make mistakes."

Andrulis is satisfied. "He has matured and doesn't play recklessly," he says. "And once in a while that incredible flair pops up."

Edson had a different soccer background than most kids growing up in suburbia. He watched his dad play professionally for the New Jersey Eagles of the old American Soccer League, and even visited him when Winston performed overseas in Greece, Cyprus, and Belgium. "One of Edson's biggest assets was that he was around the game at the highest level as a kid," says Winston, who learned his soccer basics growing up in Jamaica before emigrating to the U.S. in 1971. "A lot of kids here see the game through a youth background, not a professional one.

"I coached him and I didn't coach him, if you know what I mean. In the U.S., kids don't watch a lot of soccer. In Jamaica, you go around the park when the big guys play and you pick up something."

No one has to remind Winston--a full-time soccer coach and clinician who operates the Golden Touch Soccer Academy--about what it takes to play the game at high levels. "Whether you're tall or short, small or fat, you have to have skills to play the game," he says. "Size doesn't matter."

Edson did play organized youth soccer, but it was always against players who were two or three years his senior. That challenged him to adapt his game quickly and improve as a player. "I was never on a team where I stood out," says Edson. "We always had a guy who was dominating. I was never cocky."

But he certainly had his moments, scoring four goals in his first organized match, as a seven-year-old for a team in Rye Brook in the New York City suburbs. He went on to play for some top youth teams on Long Island.

OK, many players score goals in their first game. But with Edson, it wasn't always the quantity, but the quality of the goals. Winston videotaped a goal his son, then 12, scored in an indoor game. "The goalkeeper punted the ball toward midfield," he says. "Edson popped it off his chest, juggled it with his head all the way to the penalty box, and then dropped it to his legs and scored. That was when I knew he was special."

An All-American at State Fair (Mo.) Community College, Edson struggled academically and dropped out of school. In 2000, former Eagles player Paul Kitson recommended Edson to Paul Riley, the coach of the Long Island Rough Riders who were then playing in the A-League.

Riley didn't think twice. He knew about Edson's exploits in the Long Island Junior Soccer League, and the fact that Winston played with Riley on the Eagles certainly didn't hut. "I didn't have to look at him," says Riley. "The price was right."

Buddle's early pro career had some bumps. An undisciplined Buddle showed up for practice late three times the first week of the season. Riley didn't want to hear any of the excuses. "This isn't going to cut it," Riley told Edson.

The kid got the message. "He shaped himself up and showed up early to practice," says Riley. "One thing he learned was how to train properly."

Even with that discipline, Riley gave Edson a lot more leeway on the field. "He's very quick," he says. "He's also good in the air. A lot of players are robotic. With Edson, you never know what he will do next. We played him every game, even when he sucked. People asked me: `Why did you play him?' But I really felt he had something special.

"I thought his weakness was his vision. I think he forgot there were 10 other players on the field, but that is part of growing up."

Edson eventually refined his game. As a 19-year-old, he led the Riders with 11 goals and four assists and was a finalist for A-League rookie of the year honors. "I would drive or fly a great distance and pay big money to watch Edson play," says Riley.

Today Riley would have to go to an MLS city to watch Edson in person. Despite Buddle's talent, breaking in with the Crew--a team that featured established attacking players such as World Cup hero Brian McBride, Jeff Cunningham, and Brian West--wasn't easy. "Every day is competitive," says Edson. "These guys are good pros. They pass on their wisdom and experience."

With McBride playing a starring role for the U.S. in Korea last June, Buddle got an opportunity to play on a regular basis. "Edson seized the opportunity," says Andrulis. "After that, it was a question of finding a way of keeping in the lineup."

Buddle was named MLS's August Player of the Month. He scored a goal in the in the opening game of the playoffs and set up McBride's 81st-minute game-winner in a 2-1 triumph over the 2001 champion San Jose Earthquakes that clinched a semifinal spot.

Edson, however, broke a bone in his right foot and missed the Crew's successful run to the U.S. Open Cup crown. It healed quickly enough for him to be a major factor (two goals) in the Crew's 3-0 victory over Deportivo Arabe Unido (Panama) in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match in late March.

Buddle's first goal in that match--scored in the 42nd minute--even impressed McBride. The U.S. international sent a high pass to Edson, who controlled the ball with his chest and shot from inside the penalty area, beating the goalkeeper. "Most people are going to do two things," McBride told the Columbus Dispatch. "They're going to chest the ball too far away so you can't hit it quick or they're going to chest it up in the air and let the defender go for it. He chested it fight to his feet. He didn't hesitate and took it out of the air."

Adds Andrulis: "It was just an awesome display of agility for a kid of his size. Here's this big guy rumbling around the field and yet he looks as graceful as a ballerina."

A few days later Edson found himself in the U.S. national team camp for an international friendly with Venezuela. Already a member of the Under-23 national side, he made his full international debut in the final 10 minutes of a 2-0 victory. "There were a lot of thoughts racing through my head," he says. "I'm glad to be here. Stepping into this game opened up a new chapter in my life. It's something I've worked hard to do."

Edson admitted he was "a little" nervous. "I always have butterflies going into a game, but they go away once you step on the field," says Buddle. "[U.S. coach] Bruce Arena just told me to go in there, be myself, and have fun."

Winston hoped his son did, telling him: "That's the happiest 10 minutes you've ever had in your life."

Father and son talk three or four times a week. "I give him a lot of credit," says Edson. "He's always been there as a mentor. I appreciate what he has done. When I'm on the road, I call him for advice."

During the offseason, Edson worked with the team nutritionist to improve his eating habits and with strength and conditioning specialists to improve his fitness. "He realized that if he wanted to be a star, he had to work hard," says Andrulis.