Jozy Altidore's hat-trick last night may be the beginning of the future of American soccer. (Credits: Fehim Demir/European Presphoto Agency) |
Somewhere in that 31 goal campaign for Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, everything came together for Jozy. We always knew he had the physical tools to be a special player, but the mental side of his game was in question. A lack of confidence, immaturity, instability, whatever it was Altidore was an incomplete product. At one point early in 2012, when Jurgen Klinsmann was figuring out what pieces he had to work with, we thought that he might have lost it entirely. Boy were we wrong. The 23-year-old striker is now swimming in a lake of confidence, brazen and mature. We might be watching the first "phenom" American actually unfold the way we thought he should and that is a sensational thought.
Wednesday nights' game vs. Bosnia (a seriously underrated team) was a tale of two halves. The Americans didn't play as bad as their 2-0 deficit looked going into halftime, but it was clear that Jozy wasn't being put in the situation to be aggressive. A slight switch of the formation by Klinsmann and Altidore transformed into a threat every time he touched the ball. First was the beautiful touch pass to Eddie Johnson, which gave the veteran an empty net. Then on his first goal (the second of the game) he took a deft touch with multiple defenders around him, turned confidently and fired a ball into the low corner, an unstoppable rip past an unexpecting keeper. I'll be honest, Geoff Cameron's ball was perfect, but Jozy's touch, turn and shot was masterful technique. There was no flare, no luckiness. Just pure goal-getting 101.
I don't even know what to say about his second goal. When's the last time you've seen Altidore take a free kick. Never seen it, but I love the decision by Jurgen. If a guy is hot, a guy is hot. He recognized that Jozy was in the zone and he was rewarded by handing him the keys to that free kcik. You cannot hit a ball better than the way he hit it, a darting shot from right to left into the top corner, just inches away from the crossbar. Even better than the goal was his celebration, where he just lifted his arms up in manner that said, "What can't I do?" Confidence just oozing out of him. It was a moment of realization for him that his time has come.
The third goal was just the icing on the cake. While the play was completely made by Michael Bradley's splendid through pass, Jozy still delivered a perfect finish right between two defenders. A minute or so after scoring that second goal, it was just a moment of "Oh my God, this man is on fire." He knew it. His teammates knew it. His coach knew it. We knew it. The country of Bosnia knew it. Tim Tebow knew it. Brett Favre knew it. LeBron James knew it. That third goal could be the moment we always remember as the start of the most exciting player in American soccer history, or maybe it was five games ago when he started this eight-goal, five-game run. Either way, it's Jozy's world and we're just livin' in it.
Some people are a little nervous about Jozy's second stint in the Premiership as his last one with Hull City a couple years ago was somewhat of a disaster. This is a different Altidore, however. World's different actually. He'll be playing for a much better team in Sunderland, who many think could improve greatly under the tutelage of new head coach (and soccer great) Paolo Di Canio. The club is basically being overturned and will most likely be revitalized under the former Aston Villa star. It's a perfect situation for Altidore in the fact that he'll (barring some disaster) be the starting striker and will be able to compete against the best in the world. Sure, Sunderland isn't going to finish in the top-4 or even in the top-10 but if he can become a instant force for the lower tier club, the big boys will come knocking.
Jozy Altidore is finally living up to the absurd expectations we gave to him as a teenager and that's something we as Americans really have been able to say before.
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