Altidore Still Has Lots to Prove

Altidore celebrates a goal versus Mexico/Getty Images

As the excitement of Jozy Altidore’s sale to Villarreal FC begins to fade and we take a longer term view of Altidore’s prospects of developing for the US National Team, questions must be asked. Despite the lofty sale price, the most ever received by Major League Soccer, Altidore has seemingly tailed off in his development since last year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup. While he gave a few credible performances for the senior US National Team earlier this year and scored a goal against Mexico in Houston, his focus seems to be missing. Altidore’s performance in the CONCACAF U-23 Olympic qualifying tournament was below par and quite honestly had Freddy Adu not been so dominant in those matches the US likely would not have qualified for this summer’s Beijing Olympics.

Altidore’s performances with his former MLS club side in New Jersey hasn’t been up to the lofty standards expected either. This season quite honestly he’s been in the bottom tier of starting strikers in the league. But at only 18, he was still by a number of years the youngest starting forward in MLS. Moreover, the tactical setup of Juan Carlos Osorio wasn’t conducive to his talents, and the constant rumors of transfers certainly took its tool on Altidore’s psyche.

Last week, Ives Galarcep wrote a piece for ESPN Soccernet about the loss of focus by Altidore. While I agree with many of the arguments in the piece, I have spoken to a number of people here in Altidore’s home area, south Florida who were involved with Altidore’s development at the youth level. Every single person I have spoken to is of the opinion that he remains a driven individual with a clear understanding what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of the game. I have even been told the thing that most set Altidore apart from the other talented youth players both in south Florida and at the Bradenton Academy was his attitude and his embrace of every bit of teaching and criticism that goes on at the youth level.

But what has become obvious is that Altidore has hit a wall in his development. His performances a year ago at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada while outstanding were simply another example of a young American excelling in a youth tournament. More impressive was Altidore’s performances in MLS beginning in October 2006 when he was still only 16. But now almost two years later MLS seems to have caught up with the young phenomena and Altidore is quite frankly one of just many touted youngsters that heads to Spain as a teenager. But to continue his development Altidore had to leave New Jersey. He didn’t have to necessarily leave MLS as history has taught us Americans who go to Europe at a young age don’t always effectively develop due to various factors, but he had to move somewhere.

Will Europe chew up and spit out Altidore as it has so many hyped American teenagers in the past such as Jovan Kirovski, John Thorrington, Kenny Cooper, Jonathan Spector, Zac Whitebread, Gabe Ferrari and many many other lower profile American players? Or will Altidore join John O’Brien and possibly Michael Bradley as the only true development successes among Americans who went to the continent or British Isles as a teenager? My bet is on the later as Altidore appears more driven and a far more finished product than any of the previous names I mentioned. That’s why Altidore was sold for a fee upwards of $11 million by MLS, almost twice the previous high transfer fee for an MLS player.

Whatever the case Altidore is now behind in his quest to stake a claim to the starting strikers spot for the US National team as qualifying begins. Altidore has also fallen behind fellow teenager Freddy Adu as the great hope for US Soccer. That may be a good thing as the amount of pressure put on Altidore to revive a failing national team was quite frankly unfair for someone so young. If Altidore develops adequately in Spain and the US qualifies for the 2010 World Cup, Jozy Altidore much like Landon Donovan before him in 2002, could at 20 years of age make a big impact on the world’s biggest stage.

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Jozy Altidore to Real Madrid a Bad Idea

Rumors have been hot and heavy the past few days that Jozy Altiodre, the first American teen strikerto ever elicit serious interest from top European clubs is being heavily scouted by Real Madrid. Altidore, whose development has been remarkable to this point in his career could throw it all away by going to a club where his development will be stifled and where his national team service could become less frequent (as it did with Tim Howard once he went to Manchester United).

Altidore has better technical skill than any American has ever had at his age. His confidence on the ball and ability to play with his back to goal are something the National Team has been lacking since the retirements of Eric Wynalda, Earnie Stewart and Joe Max Moore some years ago. Altidore has the potential to take his place alongside the aforementioned names as titan in American Soccer attacking lore, but these next few years are critical. As we have seen with several other national team pool members, going to the wrong club could stifle a players development and in turn hurt US Soccer.

Real Madrid is a super club that deals in finished articles. Altidore would be much better off playing out his MLS contract or going to a league like the Dutch Eredivise where premium is placed on player development. In a place like Holland or Portugal Altidore could develop under the radar with some of the top technical coaches and trainers on the European continent. For me, long term that would be a better deal for US Soccer than the glitz and glamor of Real Madrid.

Coaching Rumors Bizzare and Unrealistic

Steven Cohen of World Soccer Daily seems convinced that Steve McClaren is going to be next manager of the Los Angeles Galaxy. Why would McClaren who has the England job, albeit tenuously and managed Middlesbrough be interested in a second tier Major League Soccer job, a job that was ditched by Frank Yallop in order to take over an expansion team? I can point blank without any sources on the matter dismiss the talk of McClaren, Fabio Capello or any of the other sexy international names associated with the Galaxy job. At the same time I believe Red Bull New York who dismissed Bruce Arena on Monday, (the club was formerly know as the Metrostars) will not only end up with an accomplished international manager, but they could end up with someone whose name will blow your socks off.

These two jobs aren't comparable: The Galaxy face a multi year rebuilding effort and have taken on the persona of a traveling circus since David Beckham's arrival. The Galaxy have traded or in some cases given away the supporting talent that could have made Beckham successful in MLS. The Galaxy's best bet is to hire an accomplished assistant in MLS, a discarded Mexican League manager or let Alexi Lalas (if he has his coaching license) try his hand at the job. Again, the Galaxy are being viewed a joke across the globe, and David Beckham's continued curious behavior has many wondering if his legacy as a footballer and a man are being compromised by his strange and seemingly selfish behavior (thus very un-Beckham like) since moving to Los Angeles.

The Red Bulls on the other hand have a much more attractive situation. A new stadium and training facility opening next year with a marque striker in Juan Pablo Angel, and potentially an open DP slot with the option of dumping Claudio Reyna or engaging in a renegotiation with him into a non-DP type salary. With young starlets Jozy Altidore and Dane Richards as well as several other solid professionals, a new coach could make a run at an MLS Cup title next year with this squad. Besides, New York is the most cosmopolitan and international city in the US, and the second most cosmopolitan city in MLS behind Toronto.

New York has a history of attracting top international managers. Carlos Quieroz and Carlos Alberto Parriera both managed the Metrostars in the its early years and later Bora Milutinovic and Bob Bradley managed the club. Ironically the most successful New York manager has been the unheralded Octavio Zambrano.

But New York is an attractive job. Let me speculate about some possibilities:

Lothar Matthaeus:

The former Metrostars libero is now coaching the Red Bulls sister club in Austria. He loves New York and would fit the job like a glove.

Carlos Quieroz:

The former Metrostars manager is now Alex Ferguson's right hand man at Manchester United. With Fergie's implication that he'd like to manage a few more years, Queiroz may look to bail out and this would be a perfect opportunity


Roberto Donadoni:

The former Metrorstars player could be in trouble as Italy manager if the Azzuri lose to Scotland and do not qualify for Euro 2008.


Raymond Domenech:

France's World Cup finalist coach is in serious jeopardy of losing his job and Red Bull management may have a n easy big name target if he losses his job which is likely to happen even if France qualify for Euro 2008 through the back door.

Fabio Capello:

He's reported to have attracted previous interest from MLS and of course he was caught by the British press meeting with Sunil Gulati in London about consulting for the USSF.

Ricardo LaVolpe:

Former Mexico and Boca Juniors manager is tactically savvy and would probably relish the opportunity. Now managing Velez Sarsfield and is a bit of a long shot, but who knows?

Arena's Demise Long in the Making

Bruce Arena is the only American born coach to reach legendary status. In spite of his many detractors, he is by far the most accomplished manager our nation has ever produced. However since 2003 when the US flamed out of the Confederations Cup with a last place group finish, Bruce Arena has lost his way, his edge so to speak.

The same troubles that ailed Arena's last few years as US National Team manager ailed his short tenure with the Red Bulls. The late Arena years on the National Team were typified by a non merit based system for player selection and a clear bias towards players who played their club football in the domestic league (MLS) or in England. Arena allowed many quality American players to drift off the radar who happened to play their club football in places like Denmark and Norway. While every spot on the national team was open for competition in the 1999 to 2002 time period, including during World Cup 2002 when Arena played all but one field player he took the World Cup, in 2006 Arena took several players to Germany who either weren't fully fit or had no hope of contributing positively to a World Cup campaign. While I would argue that the talent pool of Americans had regressed between 2002 and 2006, no doubt exists Arena bungled the team selection badly.

As Red Bull manager Arena immediately added John Harkes and Jeff Agoos favorites from his time at DC United and the University of Virginia. Neither Harkes nor Agoos were ready for the roles thrust upon them and when New York used their initial designated player spot to sign Claudio Reyna another Arena favorite from UVA and the National Team it was obvious that crony ism was reigning supreme ahead of merit in Arena's eyes.

Much like World Cup 2006, Arena's lack tactical savvy was exposed in MLS 2007. He often times couldn't figure out how to play with Jozy Altidore and Juan Pablo Angel together. This was surprising since Arena found a way to use Raul Diaz Arce/Roy Lassiter and Jaime Moreno together with DC United, but then with the USA was so impressed with what either Landon Donovan or Clint Mathis could provide that he liked to use a withdrawn striker behind Brian McBride. Also Arena didn't seem to understand how to instill an organized defensive system into his backline. Throughout much of the season, it appeared the Red Bulls didn't have a clear structure on the pitch and many of the players did not understand their roles.

MLS is becoming a much more tactically sophisticated league as Juan Carlos Osorio and Preki among others have taught us. Bruce Arena's greatest qualities were his player/talent evaluation and his ability to motivate his team. But from a tactical standpoint, we already see his former Assistant Bob Bradley as more tactically savvy in his year as USA manager. The US National Team is actually running a clear organized system instead of the shambolic mess that Arena's later USA years yielded.

Bruce Arena's contribution to soccer in this country have been invaluable. But what we learned this season is that National Team program and MLS itself have both moved past his abilities. Give Red Bull management credit for recognizing this and cutting their losses after a disappointing season.

Arena Leaves Red Bulls by Mutual Consent

In a shocking move, former DC United and US National Team Manager Bruce Arena has left Red Bull NY "by mutual consent. " Stay tuned to the site for more details.

Red Bull-Galaxy Live Blog

Jonathan Starling keeps us posted:

Pre-Match Thoughts: Well the big matches continue for LA and the big conundrum is will David Beckham get on the pitch? Do you want to mess with the confidence of this side right now by inserting Beckham back into the line up? Sure he's on the bench, but with the run this team is on, why bother? New York is already in the playoffs and the line up on the park looks that of spoiler. New York is playing it wise by keeping Mathis on the bench The one big question I have is why is Abel Xavier on the bench.Pre-Match: Nice to see Kobi Jones honored for his service to the Galaxy and to MLS. Also apologies for getting this up late...the EPL Talk Show started late.Minute 1: LA kick off and Landon Donovan has to do that kissing bit...STOP IT! Kyle Martino sails one well high.Minute 2: Angel denied from Joe Cannon. Angel takes the centering pass but Cannon was right there to deny Angel before he can get the shot off. The ball is out for a corner...Minute 3: That Stammler takes and LA partially clear. Stammler gets the ball on the edge of the eighteen and his ball into the far post is perfectly placed for Angel, but his shot goes just wide of the near post...he didn't miss by much.Minute 4: Richards does well to get by Randolph and his cross into the edge of the six is deflected out for a corner. Stammler takes and Parke misses the open header. The possession ends when Stammler miss touches the pass in.Minute 6: LA with some possession. However Parke prevents Jones from getting to the ball and New York clear. Minute 7: Free kick to New York off a hand ball. Wolyniec does well to force LA into conceding a corner. The corner is wasted when Freeman is baited into fouling Donovan. Minute 8: Parke mis handles Conway's pass. Martino does well to keep it in play, but no one is there to help and Conway safely collects. Minute 9: Richards gets down the wing, but Randolph holds his ground and LA get a goal kick. That match up appears to be the big one tonight.Minute 11: Richards does well to stay onside but he loses the ball and and concedes a free kick after fouling Ange Jazic. A bit of a dive but after the foul was given. Minute 13: Angel cuts through the defense, but it's Chris Klein who is there to stop the attack and clear it out for a throw.Minute 14: Pavon does well to deflect the ball out for a corner. Donovan takes and Altidore clears. Minute 15: GOAL LOS ANGELES. DONOVAN GETS THE BALL AFTER ALITDORE ONLY CLEARS TO THE TOP OF THE ATTACKING THIRD AND HIS CROSS TO THE FAR POS IS SIMPLY DEVINE. CONWAY IS TOO CLOSE TO THE NEAR POST AND IT'S TROY ROBERTS WHO HEADS THE BALL IN AT THE FAR POST. LOS ANGELES 1 NEW YORK 0.Minute 16: AND WE'RE TIED! OFF THE RESTART, VAN DEN BERGH GOES DOWN THE LEFT AND CROSSES IN. WOLYNIEC DOES WELL TO MAKE THE RUN NEAR POST AND IT GIVES JOZY ALTIDORE ALL THE SPACE IN THE WORLD TO HEAD IN FAR POST. LOS ANGELES 1 NEW YORK 1. Minute 17: Donovan off the restart goes just wide of the far post.
Minute 18: Richards tries the centering pass, but Roberts is there to clear it out for a throw in
Minute 19: Note to ESPN2...IF WE'RE WATCHING MLS WE DON'T CARE ABOUT AN UPSET ALERT IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL!
Minute 20: Donovan's shot is deflected out for a corner...that is cleared out from Parke for corner number 2...Minute 21: That corner is just poorly taken from Donovan and New York break...until Angel's pass is cut off . Minute 22: LA try a give an go with Carlos Pavon...the give was good...the go was just too long for Pavon to get to.
Johnathan says: Minute 23: Mendes stops Donovan in his tracks. The back pass fails Mendes and New York is lucky it's only a corner.Minute 24: Conway fists out the corner. Pavon on the ball back in cannot control the ball.
Minute 24: Conway fists out the corner. Pavon on the ball back in cannot control the ball. Off the goal kick, LA tries to break, but Pavon ends up offside.Minute 26: Donovan tries to find Pavon, but the ball is headed out. LA keep possession and Freeman blocks another LA shot towards goal.
Minute 28: New York earns a free kick after Altidore is fouled. Dave van den Bergh takes but Angel's volley isn't hit well and Cannon collects easily. The goal kick ends up out to touch for a New York throw
Minute 30: New York offside. Time to reflect on this first half hour. LA is starting to take control of this game after the first few minutes were controlled by New York.
Minute 32: Well we have to see Don Garber and not the action on the pitch...I know ESPN loves to do this, but it has to stop. If your going to do the interviews, put them up in the booth so we can see the game.
Minute 33: New York needs to stop the back passes, it is going to hurt them in the end. On the other end, New York fail on the cross and LA gets the free kick.
Minute 34: Nights like this make me wish I had a laptop. My head is already getting a knot in it. The ball is stuck in midfield hell right now.
Minute 35: Klein from the byline forces Conway into a parry save. LA keeps possession and until Roberts tries to go though Altidore and New York earns the throw in.
Minute 36: Jones with a couple of touches, but nothing comes from them.
Minute 37: Kyle Martino gives LA a free kick after he is taken to ground. They do nothing with it and now this game is starting to get bogged down in the midfield.
Minute 38: Donovan gets on the open run but the ball just makes it to Conway first. He clears for a throw in. Pavon ends up offsides to end their possession.
Minute 40: Wolyneic gets down the wing and finds Angel. He gets set after putting Randolph to the ground but puts his effort over the crossbar.
Minute 41: Martino gives LA another free kick. Donovan was offside though.
Minute 43: Jones with a good cross, Freeman with a better clearance. Martino ends up over the back and is called for the foul.
Minute 44: QUIT TALKING ABOUT THE DAMN ENGLAND QUALIFER!
Minute 45: Joe Cannon is forced to clear as Angel was rushing in on him. When will teams learn to quit with the back passes?

First half thoughts: Los Angeles survived a shaky opening 10 minutes and are starting to take the game to New York. Los Angeles though have to do a better job marking Angel as he will eventually put one of those chances in. LA will also be kicking themselves in the backside for giving up that equalizer so quickly after getting the opener. LA look poised to win this game in the second half, should they do a better job marking Angel and not leaving him with open chances. I wouldn't play Beckham right now. LA are pushing New York back enough with the 11 on the park right now. If Beckham is subbed, I hope he isn't subbed for Jones, to me that would be disgraceful.


2ND HALF

Minute 46: Conway does well to collect Martino's cross without parring the ball. Leitch is on but they said for whom too fast.

Minute 47: Leitch unable to keep the ball in an LA wins the corner...Donovan takes and takes it short. The far post effort is out for a goal kick

Minute 49: Donovan and Pavon are unable to link up. New York look very shaky right now. When I say that, Roberts has to block Angel's shot off the pass from Richards.

Minute 51: Richards does well to beet Freeman and Klein does better to clear.

Minute 52: Seth Stammler goes well high. Beckham is starting to warm up.

Minute 53: I would gladly trade Coke Zero for a Sobe No Fear right now.

Minute 54: Richards with a drive and Cannon does well to parry the ball out for a corner. The ball was going to end up in the side netting but wise to be sure. Pavon clears the corner.

Minute 55: Kyle Martino booked for his challenge on Hunter Freeman. Challenge was late, but Freeman made that look worse than it was. Cannon gets up and catches the free kick.

Minute 56: Donovan unable to link up with Pavon.

Minute 58: Martino out for Glinton. Wise sub.

Minute 60: Pavon offside...again.

Minute 61: Free kick for New York in a dangerous position. Angel gets the net...the side netting though.

Minute 62: Vagenas takes the ball in the midfield and and they end up getting the free kick when Randolph is fouled by Dane Richards...who rightfully gets the yellow card

Minute 63: The free kick ends up right in the hands of Conway

Minute 64: Oh my...Pavon just unable to get to Donovan's cross across the face of goal. That should have been 2-1 to LA. Conway was in no mans land and Pavon should have done everything to get to that ball. Now he's off for Edson Buddle.

Minute 65: Richards is down in the box and did Cannon get him? The replay shows that should have been a penalty. Horrible call from the referee and all those who will say this game is rigged will be out in full force should LA win this now. Should have been a penalty. Had Richards not gone to ground as easily as he did, the ref would have had no choice.

Minute 66: Conway denies Peter Vagenas. The centering pass was perfect...the save even better. The corner from Donovan is eventually cleared. Buddle was the man who should have got that ball.

Minute 67: Beckham will be LA's final sub...I give Yallop credit for gambling with attacking options, but they could easily be exposed at the back. Beckham coems on FOR PETER VAGENAS? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Minute 69: Beckham gives New York a free kick with his first challenge. Leitch takes the free kick and the ball ends up out for a corner when Altidore shot is blocked by Roberts.

Minute 70: Sinisa Ubiparipovic on John Wolyniec out. The corner ends up in the hands of Cannon.

Minute 71: Chris Klein just offside.

Minute 73: LA free kick and they look content playing the ball forward from the back...Conway gets the ball first though.

Minute 74: Beckham gets possession and Jones keeps the possession alive. Glinton though fails on the cross and New York clear.

Minute 76: Glinton's cross was to no one...but off Leitch for a corner kick

Minute 77: We all know who's taking this one. Beckham plays it to Tudela who's shot is parried out for a corner...that is out for corner number 3

Minute 78: Poor Beckham corner and New York clear...for the moment.

Minute 79: Los Angeles earn another corner kick, Beckham goes near post and his touch fails him. It's all Los Angeles right now.

Minute 80: Beckham finds Jones but Jones tries to do too much and New York end up with possession. Angel nearly got the ball to Richards on the diagonal run.

Minute 81: Jozy Altidore just unable to bend the ball under the crossbar...it bent once it went over the crossbar. This game is on a razor's edge and poised for one hell of a finish

Minute 83: Jones trying to go for one hell of a pass to Klein...and missed him by 5 yards

Minute 83: Troy Roberts denies Angel very well. Beckham unable to link up on the forward run and Conway collects.

Minute 85: Beckham's corner is cleared away and out for a New York throw in.

Minute 86: Pavon cuts away from Randolph. He fails to find Klein and New York counter. Altidore unable to keep the ball.

Minute 88: Buddle called for handball...New York free kick. New York wastes it, but Beckham's cross is blocked and New York clear

Minute 90: Freeman finds Angel. Freeman has a streamer thrown at him as New York earns a throw in.

Minute 90+1: Corner for New York...Ubiparipovic will take it and it's time to put the ball in the corner and keep it there.

Minute 90+2: Jozy oh so close just missing wide of the far post. LA blows it when Jones ended up offside and couldn't play the through ball intended for him. Conway plays it long but LA get it back...until Donovan tries to go over Mendes. Conway kicks it central and that's it.

Final Thoughts: Well LA are in with a shout...but the task just got harder. The mission...win against Blanco in Chicago. LA though had their chances, had the majority of the possession and in the second half closed down Angel extremely well. New York was content to try and counter but they were unable to do much with the ball. While LA had the majority of the possession, New York had the better scoring chances and in the end the 1-1 was a fair result.I would like to thank Kartik for posting this on the US Soccer Spot blog and hopefully soon on the MLS Talk Blog. I would also like to thank those who left comments on this blog tonight. Until we do this again, I'm Johnathan Starling. Thank you, good night, and remember feedback is always welcomed and appreciated!

Cisse "It's a bit early to go to New York."

The signings of David Beckham and Juan Pablo Angel were supposed to change the image of MLS in Europe. To put it quite frankly, they have not. Robbie Fowler has discounted a move to MLS preferring a potential move to Australia's A-league and now Djbril Cisse who is the property of Liverpool but on loan at Marseille has completely dismissed MLS. Cisse stated "It's a bit early to go to New York." At 25, Cisse clearly believes he'd be wasting away the prime of his career in the United States. Whether or not we support MLS, the bottom line is that the perception of the league as a retirement home for aged stars such as Roberto Donadoni, Lothar Matthaeus, Carlos Valderrama and Youri Djorkaeff among others is alive and well in Europe, David Beckham not withstanding. Until MLS makes more effort to change this view, the truly top international stars will continue to view MLS as a step down from the top European leagues.