Jozy Altidore

Jozy Altidore

Personal information
Full name	Josmer Volmy Altidore
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Villarreal
Number	24
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2008

Josmer "Jozy" Volmy Altidore (born November 6, 1989 in Livingston, New Jersey) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Villarreal and the United States as a striker.

Club career

Red Bull New York

Altidore was taken 17th overall in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, with the MetroStars (now known as Red Bull New York) trading up to receive the selection. Altidore spent the majority of the 2006 season away from the team while working towards his high school diploma in Florida. Altidore made his professional debut on August 23, 2006 as a substitute in a 3-1 U.S. Open Cup loss to D.C. United. He scored his first professional goal at the age of 16, blasting an 83rd minute, 28-yard shot to beat Columbus 1-0 September 16, 2006. Exactly one week later, on September 23, 2006 in a 4-3 loss to rivals D.C. United, Altidore scored again.

Scoring three times in seven appearances, including a crucial goal against the Chicago Fire on September 30 2006, Altidore became a fan favorite. He scored the Red Bulls' only goal of their 2-1 aggregate loss to D.C. United in the Eastern Conference Semifinals Series when he headed in a cross in the second leg. With that goal, he became the youngest player to score in the MLS playoffs at 16 years, 337 days (breaking DaMarcus Beasley's record by almost three years). Altidore was also youngest to start in an MLS playoff match on October 21 against D.C. United (16 years, 349 days). He also scored 2 goals in a 5-4 win over LA Galaxy on August 18, 2007. As of May 30th 2008, Altidore has made seven appearances for Red Bull New York in the 2008 season, scoring three times and registering one assist.

On November 25, 2007, Altidore became the subject of speculation to a January transfer to Premier League sides Newcastle United and Reading as well as La Liga side Real Madrid.

Villarreal

On June 4, 2008, Villarreal of La Liga agreed in principle with Major League Soccer and Red Bull New York to sign Altidore for roughly $10 million or €7.4 million. This transfer fee surpasses Fulham's fee for Clint Dempsey, which was $4 million or roughly £2 million, and is now the largest fee paid for any MLS player. In addition it surpasses the record transfer fee for an American player, previously set when Sunderland bought Claudio Reyna from Rangers before the 2001-02 season for $5.7 million or roughly £4 million. Altidore finalized his personal contract and was unveiled by the club on June 11, 2008. On September 14, 2008, Jozy made his La Liga debut, coming on as a second half substitute against Deportivo la Coruna. Altidore scored his first goal in La Liga on November 1, 2008 against Athletic Bilbao shortly after coming in as a late sub making Altidore the <a href="http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=944077">first American player to score in La Liga</a>.

International career

He has played for the Under-17 United States national team, and was part of the U.S. squad at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship. He appeared as a substitute in the United States' 3-1 win over Italy and 2-0 loss to the Netherlands. He has also played for the U-20 team in their successful qualification to the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. During the group stage of the U-20 World Cup, Altidore tallied three goals, including two in the 2-1 win over Brazil, helping the Americans to advance at the top of group D. In the quarterfinals, Altidore scored a goal in the first half against Austria. With four goals, he was the leading goal scorer for the U.S.

On November 9, 2007, Altidore received his first call up to the senior national team for a friendly game against South Africa just three days after his 18th birthday. He came in as a sub in the 65th minute. In his second match, against Sweden, Altidore was again a second-half substitute, winning a penalty that Landon Donovan converted. On February 6, 2008, in a friendly match versus Mexico, Altidore made his first start for the national team where he also scored his first goal.

In July, 2008 Altidore was named to Piotr Nowak's U.S. roster that competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On August 10, 2008 he scored against the Netherlands to put the U.S. in front after coming on as a substitute.

Altidore scored his second senior international, and first World Cup Qualifier goal on October 11, 2008 in a 6-1 victory over Cuba.

International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2008-02-06	Houston, Texas	Mexico	2-1	2-2	Friendly match
2	2008-10-11	Washington, D.C.	Cuba	5-1	6-1	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying

Personal

Both of Altidore's parents (Joseph and Giselle) were born in Haiti. In November 2006 he, along with teammates Seth Stammler and fellow Haitian-American Jerrod Laventure, went on a six-day service trip to Haiti with Grammy Award winning musician Wyclef Jean and his charitable organization, Yele Haiti. During the halftime show of the Red Bulls home opener, Wyclef wore Altidore's #17 jersey during his performance with Shakira. Altidore is the youngest of four children.

In 2007, Altidore was a candidate for ESPN's Next Award and is one of the stars featured in Adidas' "Impossible is Nothing" advertisements. Altidore is featured on the cover of the North American version of FIFA 08 by EA Sports, alongside Ronaldinho and Guillermo Ochoa.

External links

• Profile on the Red Bulls official site
• SYL to MLS, MLS to 2010 World Cup
• Altidore, U.S. aim to open eyes at Under-20 World Cup