My argument is that you can practice heading in much the same way you practice dribbling, shooting, and moving off the ball. I coach a high school team and we practice it regularly and it has helped my players improve. My argument is that Jozy is in a unique position to be a threat in multiple ways. Remember, he plays for Villareal AND the US national team (or will regularly soon). Not all crosses from Villareal (or the US team) will be played at the exact same height. When you add in corners and set plays i'm sure he'll have the chance to score with his head. Ignoring what could be a major part of his game is stupid. Practicing heading is not mutually exclusive to practicing all the other things which he can also excel at. I didn't say Villareal picked him because of this skill or that Villareal should make a particular change in tactics. He should work hard on the things that Villareal (and he does well). He should also work on heading because it could become an important part of his game.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand... Jozy had a really encouraging and exciting start to his European career. I hope he continues to get minutes as he progresses although it looks like he'll get more opportunities before the other guys come back from injuries.
You brought up a good point. It was obvious that Jozy was very dissapointed with the final pass, however the support that he received from his teammates was a great sign to see. If he continues to have that kind of support, it won't be long before he really shine for them.
There are however a finite number of minutes you can spend practicing. It seems possible to me that practicing headers simply won't be much a part of the training at Villareal. I would also point out that as more of our players are in Continental European leagues, the way they play together will evolve considerably. His teammates on the national team may not be using much the traditional high-cross from the wings, either. Damarcus Beasley for one rarely delivers this type of cross, at least effectively. He prefers to pinch in, go to the endline and play it back low, at an angle across goal. To me this is perfect for multiple players to attack goal and have a chance to latch on; but it doesn't produce many headers.
I agree that there are finite minutes. I just don't think it should be totally ignored purely because Villareal doesn't often play that style most of the time. If they come up against a team with fast and small central defenders that should be a style they try at least somewhat. Eddie Lewis however delivers a great cross as do guys like Landon. Again... not to belabor the point you've been ignoring, but free kicks and corners are both great chances to head the ball and the US certainly DOES do a lot of that and is quite successful at it. Jozy himself will win a lot of free kicks with the exact skills you've been mentioning. I don't know enough about Villareal to know if they always play short corners or if they play them in the air a lot, but they certainly do it sometimes.
He played very well for a debut. Although he mis-hit that pass that would have been a sitter, previously he made the same run on the left and perfectly laid the ball back for a teammate on the penalty spot who managed to fluff the chance. The only thing I noticed is that his "megs" were just cutbacks that defenders will read if that is all that he does and his wasn't always exactly sure where to go when a Villareal player was surging up the middle with the ball. Easy enough to work on. He is so much better than EJ it hurts to see EJ getting a spot on the National team.
Bruce, all the SFS bashing is getting really old. REALLY old. While you obviously exist just to bash him, at least SFS contributes in a worthwhile manner to this board, with whatever views he may have. And I happen to agree with a decent amount (not all) of what SFS says. Even when I disagree with SFS I can be respectful in doing so, and I wish you would do the same instead of stalking him around just to bash him.
I agree. The video quality was very good. For us marginal Spanish speakers, what, if anything, did the commentators say about Jozy?
For all you non-Spanish speakers, here's what I got. Their praise of Jozy is so unbelievable........I didn't finish watching the whole video. They are praising Jozy as the best player on the field in the second half. They also have a new segment this year where they select the highest quality "detail"-play- of the game and for this instance they selected Jozy's nutmeg of the defender near the end line. They kept praising his willingness to attack and go at defenders. They are amazed at this physical strength and expect for him to do even better as the season goes along.
Man this is huge. An American kid shining on his debut with one of the top teams in La Liga.... This is the biggest thing in the Yanks Abroad world since when? Since Dempsey saving Fulham from relegation? Since Convey helping send Reading to the Premiership? Since Howard playing in the Champions League with Man U?
I believe this is bigger than the above combined. 1 - Jozy is 18 2 - This is his first match Imagine how MAJOR he can be 5 years from now. Wonder what Adu must be thinking. He better keep working his ass off.
I saw the game and was impressed with his play. He's a lot stronger than I thought. He did not look 18 playing against men. He looked GREAT!! Let's hope he can get 45 minutes a game this year. Villareal is a great place for him to go. I am glad he was able to avoid England. I'd like to see more US players going to Spain vs. England. As good as Reyna was, Jozy and Freddy are arguably the first US field players who might be world class players. I just can't get over how comfortable he looked with the ball and how aggressive he was going by defenders. If he can get by Depo defenders, he can get by CONCACAF defenders...something the USMNT has not had for at least a decade. Think not? When was the last time a USMNT forward went around defenders multiple times a game and was a serious threat?...Yep. Let's just hope BB calls them in NOW so that they will be fully integrated into the team for the tough spring WC hexagonal and eventually the WC. I just hope Jozy can resist the urge to go to the EPL. Spain would be a great place to build a career and the Yellow Submarine would be a great team to grow into a top striker...and he's only 18!!!! He looks great in yellow.
Jozy was fantastic in this game, but let's keep this in perspective. (My effort in futility for the day.) How many times has a forward burst on to the scene only to fizzle out quietly once defenders figure out his game? For the record, I think Jozy has all the qualities needed to avoid the fizzle. His speed was ridiculous this weekend - I haven't seen Jozy move like that in a while. His touch was on. His aggressiveness was there. I'd like to see him read and move a little bit more quickly with his teammates in combination play, but that will come. It was an eye-opening display of what he can do, and a notice to La Liga that he'll be around. I think he gets a lot more play based on this weekend's performance. The next measure is consistency, and I'd rather he score sooner rather than later. Finally, as a Depor fan, Bravo sucks.
So how long do I have to wait to buy my yellow Altidore jersey? I don't want to jump the gun or see him get sold to another team right away, or be embarrassed by having a jersey of a wash out at 18.
The key to not "getting figured out" is not being a one trick pony.... if they shut one thing down, what do you do? For example, if they simply lay off of you and cover your defender, you are not going to beat people for pace... the question then is: can you launch one if they lay off (Josy can)... or slip a ball though the hole that you have created by drawing covering defenders (jury is still out on this)... if they play you tight and cover with other defenders (i.e., try to mark you out of the game) are you strong and controlled enough, with good enough vision to hold up the ball and get it to the inevitably open player in dangerous positions?... although he is clearly strong enough to do this, the jury is still out on his ability to play this way... The good thing is that he is in a league where he will be forced to learn and demonstrate these essential skills.... and will be a more complete player for it... or he will prove to be an Eddie Johnson, whose one trick doesn't really work once you get found out... (for the record, I am NOT suggesting that he is likely to be anything like Eddie)...