 Jozy Altidore of Villarreal |
"There's speed combined with his physical qualities and a very good sense for goal. When he's facing a defender, he's very good going at him, which is kind of unusual for a player that size. You don't see those kind of qualities often"
Bruce Arena, former USA coach
"He's gonna be unbelievable"
Mo Johnston, former Red Bulls coach
"He's still a kid. He has an enormous amount of talent. He can be as good as he wants. He's a big asset for MLS and American soccer"
Juan Pablo Ángel, Red Bulls player
A veteran of every level of his country's youth national team, Jozy Altidore is considered one of the hottest properties in U.S. football.
The Jersey-born powerhouse has bags of pace, power and a killer's eye for important goals.
Critics reel off the names of onetime MLS starlets who faded after making a good first impression. But there is reason to believe Altidore is different, for he has a lot more going for him than that instinctive scoring touch.
It's no secret that the best players in any sport are the ones who are strongest mentally. And despite his early success, Altidore apparently operates with a complete absence of ego.
His coach at Red Bulls, Bruce Arena, is understandably protective of the Haitian-American phenom as the club have a vested interest in keeping the young star grounded.
It is precisely this combination of skill, size, youth and attitude that makes Altidore such an alluring prospect for wealthy European clubs.
Altidore, who was attended the Adidas Elite Soccer Program in 2005 in order to further develop his playing skills, was drafted in the second round by MetroStars - the previous name of Red Bulls - with the 17th overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft.
He first stepped into an MLS match as a 16-year-old at New England on September 2006, coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute, while working towards his high school diploma in Florida.
A week later, just 18 minutes into his career, he scored his first professional goal in brilliant fashion, blasting a 30-yard match-winning screamer that sailed into the top right corner of stunned Columbus Crew goalkeeper Bill Gaudette's net.
He was the youngest player to start in an MLS playoff match on October 2006, against D.C. United in the Eastern Conference Semifinals Series at 16 years, 349 days. Eight days later, he scored Red Bulls' only goal of their 2-1 aggregate loss to D.C. United, making him the youngest player to score in the MLS playoffs at 16 years, 357 days - breaking DaMarcus Beasley's record by almost three years.
In the span of just nine months of his career, Altidore has emerged from intriguing prospect to the most talked-about U.S. football teenager not named Freddy Adu.
He helped pick up the struggling Red Bulls team and carry it to the playoffs. In all, he scored four times in just nine appearances.
Altidore started his international career with the United States U-17 team, and was part of the squad it the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship.
He has also participated in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, where he scored four goals in three games, including two in a 2-1 win over Brazil - leading the U.S. to a quarterfinals berth. There they were defeated by Austria 2-1 after extra time with Altidore scoring a goal in the first half.
In 2007, Altidore was a candidate for ESPN The Magazine's 2007 NEXT issue, which highlights some of the top up-and-coming athletes across the nation. He is one of the stars featured in Adidas' Impossible is Nothing advertisements, and was also featured on the cover of the North American version of the EA Sports hit, FIFA 08, along with Brazilian star Ronaldinho and Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. Taking in this scene, it's hard to believe that a year earlier he hadn't played a minute of professional football.
Altidore received his first call up to the senior national team for a friendly game against South Africa on November 2007, just three days after his 18th birthday. He came in as a substitute for Clint Dempsey in the 65th minute. On February 2008, he made his first start for the national team in a friendly against Mexico, where he also scored his first goal in the 2-2 draw.
On June 4, 2008, La Liga outfit Villarreal splashed out $10 million to sign Altidore, who scored 15 times in 37 games for Red Bulls. The deal surpasses Fulham's $4 million fee for Clint Dempsey, and is now the largest fee paid for any MLS player.
But before he lines up for the Yellow Submarine, the teenager joined Piotr Nowak's U.S. roster that competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where they were eliminated in the first round.
Young Jozy made his La Liga debut when he came on as a second half substitute against Deportivo La Coruña on September 2008. He then became the first American international to score in La Liga when he scored against Athletic Bilbao on November 2008.
Football experts all agree that Jozy has everything a player needs to succeed on the highest level of football. He's a quality finisher, with immense size and strength for a kid his age. But he still has plenty of room to grow.
Full name: Josmer Volmy Altidore
Date of birth: November 6, 1989
Birthplace: Livingston, New Jersey, United States
Nationality: American
2nd nationality: Haitian
Height: 1.77 m
Weight: 79 kg
Club: Villarreal
Position: Striker
Number: 24
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Technorati tags: United States Villarreal Jozy Altidore
The Jersey-born powerhouse has bags of pace, power and a killer's eye for important goals.
Critics reel off the names of onetime MLS starlets who faded after making a good first impression. But there is reason to believe Altidore is different, for he has a lot more going for him than that instinctive scoring touch.
It's no secret that the best players in any sport are the ones who are strongest mentally. And despite his early success, Altidore apparently operates with a complete absence of ego.
It is precisely this combination of skill, size, youth and attitude that makes Altidore such an alluring prospect for wealthy European clubs.
Altidore, who was attended the Adidas Elite Soccer Program in 2005 in order to further develop his playing skills, was drafted in the second round by MetroStars - the previous name of Red Bulls - with the 17th overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft.
He first stepped into an MLS match as a 16-year-old at New England on September 2006, coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute, while working towards his high school diploma in Florida.
A week later, just 18 minutes into his career, he scored his first professional goal in brilliant fashion, blasting a 30-yard match-winning screamer that sailed into the top right corner of stunned Columbus Crew goalkeeper Bill Gaudette's net.
He was the youngest player to start in an MLS playoff match on October 2006, against D.C. United in the Eastern Conference Semifinals Series at 16 years, 349 days. Eight days later, he scored Red Bulls' only goal of their 2-1 aggregate loss to D.C. United, making him the youngest player to score in the MLS playoffs at 16 years, 357 days - breaking DaMarcus Beasley's record by almost three years.
He helped pick up the struggling Red Bulls team and carry it to the playoffs. In all, he scored four times in just nine appearances.
Altidore started his international career with the United States U-17 team, and was part of the squad it the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship.
He has also participated in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, where he scored four goals in three games, including two in a 2-1 win over Brazil - leading the U.S. to a quarterfinals berth. There they were defeated by Austria 2-1 after extra time with Altidore scoring a goal in the first half.
In 2007, Altidore was a candidate for ESPN The Magazine's 2007 NEXT issue, which highlights some of the top up-and-coming athletes across the nation. He is one of the stars featured in Adidas' Impossible is Nothing advertisements, and was also featured on the cover of the North American version of the EA Sports hit, FIFA 08, along with Brazilian star Ronaldinho and Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. Taking in this scene, it's hard to believe that a year earlier he hadn't played a minute of professional football.
On June 4, 2008, La Liga outfit Villarreal splashed out $10 million to sign Altidore, who scored 15 times in 37 games for Red Bulls. The deal surpasses Fulham's $4 million fee for Clint Dempsey, and is now the largest fee paid for any MLS player.
But before he lines up for the Yellow Submarine, the teenager joined Piotr Nowak's U.S. roster that competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where they were eliminated in the first round.
Young Jozy made his La Liga debut when he came on as a second half substitute against Deportivo La Coruña on September 2008. He then became the first American international to score in La Liga when he scored against Athletic Bilbao on November 2008.
Football experts all agree that Jozy has everything a player needs to succeed on the highest level of football. He's a quality finisher, with immense size and strength for a kid his age. But he still has plenty of room to grow.
Full name: Josmer Volmy Altidore
Date of birth: November 6, 1989
Birthplace: Livingston, New Jersey, United States
Nationality: American
2nd nationality: Haitian
Height: 1.77 m
Weight: 79 kg
Club: Villarreal
Position: Striker
Number: 24
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