Rumor: Jozy Altidore - New European Interest

Good move to go abroad if he seriously wants to win some fans back.

 

Serie A transfer market closes today, believe it's something like 5 hours left.

 

Im all for him leaving MLS and wasting away in Europe when he cant see the field so I dont have to ever see him wear a US jersey again.

 

Light 1 or seri e A; i,d love to see him in either.

 

the jozy hate is so stupid tbh.

 

He would waste away in Serie A, not good enough as a solo outlet and doesn't have the work rate to thrive there. Ligue 1 I don't really follow enough. Jozy should stay where he is, doubtful he can find a better place for his skills.

 

He can certainly play at a higher level. I think he would do fine in France for instance. May as well go for it while you have the opportunity. He surely won't pull in the same annual pay however. Doubt anyone is one is going to match his inflated wages

 

He's in a good spot right now and really producing, so I'm a little surprised he's interested in a move (if he really is). However, he's only 28- I am always surprised by how young he really is. Time is right for a move abroad if he wants to give it another shot. He's more mature now- a very seasoned pro. Perhaps he sees it as a mountain he wants to climb. He's got money in the bank- can afford to take a pay cut to pursue a dream.

He's also dating a woman who is making pretty good money herself- if they are going to get hitched, he will have even less to worry about financially.

 

If there was any truth to that report - if - it would have been a winter window move.

I'm doubtful that Toronto would let a key player go in mid-season without a big-name replacement lined up unless the playoffs are totally out of reach, and any European club would want to give him some time to rest after the season and to integrate him into their setup. Maybe some teams are looking at a winter loan?

 

The French team might have been Bourdeaux; they just sold their main striker without getting a replacement in and without telling the coach (one Gus Poyet), who blew a gasket at the news and called the owners "a disgrace". The owners were not impressed and suspended him, whereupon the players went on strike. It's unlikely that Poyet will return, and they have no replacement lined up. A complete shitshow all-round.

It's not an implausible scenario: Poyet was reported to be trying to sign Lee Cattermole on a season-long loan three days ago. Maybe he wanted Jozy as well.

You might think that trying to sign Lee Cattermole and Jozy was what prompted the club to sell the striker, hoping that Poyet would resign as a result, but I like to believe the best of people

 

Yeah, I'm on the fence with regard to whether or not I'd want him back with the USMNT, but the guy is only 28 and has 41 international goals. It's conceivable, if he were to feature prominently this cycle, that he'd pushing Dempsey and Donovan for the all-time goals record (57). He also had 39 goals in 67 games in the Eredivisie. We haven't had many strikers in the same ballpark in terms of productivity with the USMNT and in Europe...pretty much just Wynalda and McBride.

 

I'd be curious. He was poor in England, but was good in Holland. Sometimes a specific league doesn't work for a player. Would be interesting to see him get some games in a solid league outside of England and see how it works out. But, curious if his contract is close to the end or something generating this story. Kind of hard to figure how many teams are really interested in a late 20s striker with a patchy history or scoring in lesser leagues and bombing out of England. But, would be fun to watch if true.

 

When I heard Ligue 1, I thought of Nice.

 

I doubt anything happens on the Italy end.

I could see him going to France but both seem unlikely.

 

That would be, ahem, "Nice"

 

Those two seasons at AZ were 5 and 6 years ago. "The Eredivisie Heroes" are where they belong, eh.

 

Yea, I've even wondered if there's a racial element to it. I say that because it's irrational. He's been the best ST we've had in the past 7-8 years when you look at staying power and production.

His scoring record for the USA is very good. He has bad games sometimes, usually when the whole team is struggling and there's no service.

I really don't understand the vitriol or the people who think he single-handedly cost us the 2018 World Cup. Even if you blame him for the T&T game (many players were awful in that match), he was outstanding a few days before in the Panama match, which was thought to be much more vital.

I don't think he's a top player, but I think he could be useful in Europe. Serie A isn't what it used to be and Ligue One isn't loaded with powerhouses either. If Bedoya is good enough to be a regular in Ligue One for years then I'm sure Jozy can help some clubs there.

 

So you're that guy.

 

I'm really not that guy in general, but when the mostly white/hispanic USMNT fan base constantly rips the guy and calls him "lazy" at every opportunity when there's little truth to it, I try to find some sort of explanation.

 

But that same crowd seems to rip Bradley even more.

 

well there's not plenty not to like about Jozy....where to begin, really.

1. his attitude. He often pouts and gets cards for no reason. he is not in consideration for captain of the usmnt and for good reason...his attitude is often piss-poor on the field...entitled and soft, imo.
2. he's been injured for like every tournament in the past few cycles.
3. his style of play. he got bulked up with muscle and cant seem to play a full 90 without getting gassed at about 60 minutes....and for what? just so he can walk around in his daily life with a lot of muscles? its not helping his soccer game.
4. lack of hustle - the team basically cannot play a high press with him leading the line.
5. his mentality- physically he has everything it takes to be world class, imo....he came on to the scene with so much promise - smashing the MLS transfer record to a CL team in Spain - and what has he done since? did he do anything in Brazil? in South africa? copa america? in wcq he was MIA....

I like the guy and would call him up for my 23 but....his problems seem to be between the ears and for me that's the toughest to sympathize with.....

(that said, i have often wondered if there is a bit of a racial element involved as which players are the "chosen ones" in ussoccer and usmnt and which ones arent...a lot of WTF players that stay on the team have seemed to be the white ones, imo...im thinking especially of MB90...i think his demographic profile is a big reason he stayed in his status for so long)

 

Bradley got a lot of heat around the time of the T&T match, but generally over his USMNT tenure he hasn't been exposed to the same degree of criticism. A lot of USMNT "fans" have had a passionate dislike for Jozy for many years now.

 

Why? Because we shouldn't expect the guy who has been our first choice striker to score in the most important games internationally, or be able to produce in a top professional league like strikers for most international teams worth their salt have? Please don't bring up his MLS stats. Also please don't bring up his goals against CONCACAF teams not named Mexico or Costa Rica.

 

The USMNT as a whole typically struggles in big games and, recently, against Mexico and Costa Rica. It's an 11v11 game and you can't lay that all on one player. It's also hard for Jozy to score in "important games internationally" when he was injured for the 2014 WC. He has scored against many WC teams like Nigeria, Honduras, Germany, Bosnia, and Spain. He scored a brace against Panama earlier this year in a must-win WCQ match, yet the fanatics never mention that when they foam at the mouth about the T&T result. He's the third leading scorer in USA history and it's not really his fault that we haven't had anyone better to push him aside at ST. You might as well waste your anger on Eddie Johnson, Aron Johansson, and Juan Agudelo since they've accomplished far less.