Canales Daily: Altidore Ascends On Lessons Learned

The forward knows all about the pitfalls of hype, the vulnerabilities of injuries and the importance of playing time from his own experience and the travails of other USA hopefuls.

Sep 7, 2009 1:55:21 PM

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By Andrea Canales

In 2005, Jozy Altidore was the youngest player on the U.S. U17 World Cup roster. That feat drew little attention, however, since two years before, at only 13, Freddy Adu had captured the world's attention by performing as a standout player in the 2003 competition.

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Given that Adu was still age-eligible for the 2005 competition in Peru, even though he didn't participate, a few fans at the tournament craned their necks and called for him whenever the U.S. players departed the team bus for practices. They would look right past Altidore, though, because even at 15, Altidore's strapping size ruled him out as ever being mistaken for the pocket dynamo that was Adu.

Though used only as a substitute, Altidore gained valuable experience in his first FIFA tournament, and his game continued to develop along with his size. By the time he joined Major League Soccer a year later, he was over six feet tall and bursting with athletic potential.

Jozy Altidore | Altidore progressed quickly in NY

In some ways, Altidore was bearing down on the trajectory of his hero at the time, Eddie Johnson. The tall, speedy Johnson had a stunning debut on the international scene, averaging better than a goal a game in the early going of his national team career. He seemed destined to be a top U.S. performer for many years to come.

But injuries stunted Johnson's impact, while Altidore continued to progress, ultimately eclipsing the older forward when a stunning transfer offer from Villarreal came in that made the fee for Altidore the highest ever paid for an American player.

Following in the footsteps of Adu and Johnson was an ideal path for Altidore. Their accomplishments, and later, their falls from grace, deflected a certain amount of attention away from Altidore's own ascent, sparing him from too much buildup.

The Villarreal transfer made flying under the radar impossible for Altidore. It was too large a sum for him not to draw scrutiny.

Things were not sailing smoothly in Spain, though, as playing time was hard to come by at Villarreal. "Wherever I am, I have to play," said Altidore in July of 2009. "That's so important."

After a loan to Xerez failed to gain him any playing time, an undaunted Altidore manged to sign in England with Hull City. The uniforms might be a hideous shade of orange, but the precious playing time he'd been hunting for finally arrived.

The cautionary tale of both Johnson, a player Altidore admired, and Adu, who Altidore respects as a talented contemporary, has shaped the big striker. From the hype surrounding Adu, Altidore learned to downplay expectations.

Even as a few media outlets labeled him a transfer bust for his lack of impact at Villarreal relative to his cost, most saw the price as a down payment on Altidore's potential and realized he was a project player.

Jozy Altidore | Villarreal investment

Sure, Altidore had an "Impossible is Nothing" commercial of his own, and an EA Sports FIFA cover, but the media hoopla was minuscule compared to that of Adu. Thus, the bumps on Altidore's developmental road were ridden out more easily.

"Some people have bad luck when it comes to playing time at clubs," Altidore observed earlier this summer, when the subject of Adu came up.

On the surface, the parallels between recent moves are obvious -- both Adu and Altidore didn't get much time with the first team at their quality clubs, Benfica and Villarreal. Both had loan deals that were busts as far as gaining more playing minutes, at Monaco and Xerez, respectively. Then both secured deals at more obscure clubs, Hull City and Belenenses, where they are expected to see more of the field.

Yet Adu's national team obituary seems to be written almost as often as Altidore is hailed as the future.

Freddy Adu | Struggling to make USA national team impact

Unlike the logjam Adu has encountered in the U.S. midfield pecking order, however, Altidore has pushed through a transitional era at forward. With the international retirement of Brian McBride, and with Johnson failing to regain top form, Altidore was given more opportunities with the national team than is usually allotted a player not receiving regular club minutes.

Recognizing how precious those chances were, Altidore made the most of them, scoring crucial goals in World Cup qualifying and at the Confederations Cup, where he tallied a goal in the Americans' upset of Spain.

In addition to fading from matches on occasion, Altidore still lacks the holding and link-up qualities of the much-maligned Brian Ching, but he has a knack for putting the ball in the net. Much is forgiven of players who can score.

Beyond that, Altidore has a strong sense of the team concept, going out of his way to refer to the collective objectives of Team USA.

"We now know what it takes to bounce back in these types of games and we have the fight within us to get three points," Altidore said after the most recent win over El Salvador, where he earned a starting spot and scored the winning goal.

Such quotes are another example of Altidore shrugging off the "Designated U.S. Soccer Savior" mantle some want to throw on the latest player with potential and talent.

World Cup qualifying is simply too much of a burden for any player to bear alone. Even the superlative gifts of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi cannot save their own national squads from danger.

As the fight for the top three spots in CONCACAF intensifies, Altidore may again be the youngest player in the U.S. effort, but he's outgrown the boy wonder labels. Yet he rightly pushes away any designation of being "the man" for the U.S. It's enough, apparently, to be an important contributor to the cause.

Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com North America

For more on American players in Europe visit Goal.com's Americans Abroad page.