Posts Tagged ‘Jozy Altidore’

News in brief

FRI Sept. 16 (AM): Europa, Jozy, EPL, and Sapong

Americans were in action Thursday afternoon for Europa League. Jozy Altidore scored yet again with a vicious strike. Oguchi Onyewu went 90 in Sporting Lisbon’s 2-0 win over Zurich. Sacha Kljestan went the distance in a 4-1 victory, as did Clint Dempsey and Steve Cherundolo, whose sides both drew. Jonathan Spector played the entire match, although Birmingham fell 3-1 to Braga.

Another potential suitor has stepped forward in the chase for David Beckham’s signature. The Galaxy midfielder will be a free man come November.

A reeling Red Bulls side could find their push for the playoffs made even more difficult with news that Tim Ream may be sidelined.

Ahead of some exciting fixtures in England, particularly Chelsea v. Manchester United at Old Trafford (Sunday, 11:00 AM ET) Sir Alex Ferguson is cautioning his side not to overlook Chelsea. It will be Andres Villas-Boas’ first big test at the helm of the Blues. The New York Times has a piece on Manchester’s ageless wonder.

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10 Kit Essay, Featured, United States

Finding Your Place In The Soccer World

NOAH DAVIS – Eric Lichaj netted the game winner for Aston Villa in Tuesday’s Carling Cup action. Robbie Findley banged home another goal for Nottingham Forest. Over the weekend, Jozy Altidore found the back of the net two more times.

Americans are scoring in bunches all across Europe.

Now, of course, they are not scoring at the biggest clubs – leave that to Chicharito and young Mr. Rossi – nor are they finding the net in the biggest of competitions. But they are scoring.

And you know what that means? They are seeing the field.

After all, you can’t score if you’re not on the playing surface. (Tiger Woods joke here, I guess?) (more…)

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10 Kit Essay, United States

Five Wishes for the USMNT this European Season

ANTHONY MANNINO-The first wish for most US fans has been granted with Bob Bradley getting the axe and some famous German fellow named Jürgen “I love the umlaut” Klinsmann. Next up would be Claudio Renya and Klinsmann’s plans to fix the US youth system actually being follwed, and I would have to add actually working. But still that wish is for the furture and what is now is the beginning of the European football. Finally, it is here and now here are a few wishes that will hopefully happen for the USMNT.   (more…)

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10 Kit Essay

THURS. July 20 (PM): Jozy, Bedoya, Roma, MLS, and Rossi

Finally, it is official and Jozy Altidore has signed with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. The move should mean more playing time for Altidore, who has yet to find his feet in Europe. Altidore’s contract runs with Alkmaar for the next four years.

Alejandro Bedoya was expected to move away from his current club Orebro, but the winger may have to wait until his contract runs out in the winter transfer window. Scottish club Rangers, who seems to love to have Americans on their squad, had their bid for Bedoya denied. However, it is not all bad news for Bedoya with a few other clubs still interested in signing the USMNT player.   (more…)

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United States

2011-2012 Is The Season of Jozy Altidore

NOAH DAVIS – Jozy Altidore is on his way to AZ Alkmaar, the striker’s fifth club since leaving the New York Red Bulls in 2008.

It will be the place where the striker breaks out.

The Dutch club finished 4th in the Eredivisie, good enough for a spot in the third round of Europa qualifying. Gertjan Verbee will once again manage the squad in the 2011-2012 season, but his boss is a bigger reason why the young American striker will flourish.

Ernie Stewart – yes, that Ernie Stewart – is the club’s technical director. He will ensure his newest acquisition (assuming it all goes through okay) gets a chance, especially with last year’s high scorer Kolbeinn Sigþórsson departing for Ajax.

And a chance, perhaps, is all Jozy needs. (more…)

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News in brief

FRI. July 15 (PM): Jozy, McBean, Brent, Rules, and Man City

The transfer sage for Jozy Altidore is over after announcing on his twitter account that he will officially be a member of AZ Alkmaar. A very good news for Altidore and hopefully with hard work and a new club the goals will come. It was always likely that Altidore would leave Villarreal after he was unable to earn significant playing time with the club.

Norwich manager Paul Lambert is looking to sign defender Zak Whitbread to a long term deal. The American defender will play in the Premier League next year and has yet to receive a cap with the US Senior squad. He was called up for friendlies against Paraguay and Argentina back in March, but was unable to play because of an injury. (more…)

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United States

Much Ado About Jozy

NOAH DAVIS – People sure are excited about Jozy Altidore, huh?

It’s funny. One game, and the forward goes from being underrated to being overrated.

He didn’t score during the World Cup, and the people complained about his lack of production… ignoring the fact that he drew plenty of free kicks in dangerous locations — Landon Donovan’s weak service isn’t Altidore’s fault — and constantly troubled backlines. How many yellow cards were shown to defenders as a result of his efforts?

(Not to mention the fact that, um, who else was going to play up top in South Africa?)

On Monday, Altidore tallied a goal, should have scored a second, and basically got an assist on Clint Dempsey’s tally. Suddenly, he’s everyone’s favorite player… expect that he really didn’t do much else. He rarely ran hard, he gummed up Dempsey’s attacks, he was consistently stonewalled when he took the ball at Canadian defenders.

I tackled the Altidore conundrum for MLSsoccer.com. The conclusion: He’s not as bad as people said before Monday, and he’s not as good as people think after the performance against Canada. He’s a talented young player with plenty to fix.

Let’s just let the kid play, you know?

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10 Kit Essay

Analysis of my Gold Cup Roster

ANTHONY MANNINO- Just a heads up before you read this article check out my Gold Cup roster. As usually this roster continues to show off the strength that the US national team has in the midfield. I have left a couple key players home to watch the Gold Cup like Johnathan Spector, Edinson Buddle, Sacha Kljestan, Jonathan Bornstien, Jay Demerit, and Marcus Hahnemann. Spector will be left home because with the emergence of Chandler and Lichaj, he is our best right back. Also midfield, the position he has started to play for West Ham is our deepest position and having him on the roster does not improve the team. Edson Buddle has been unlucky with his chances with the US national team. His lack of experience at the International level and his age do not help the American Forward. Also, quiet frankly two goals in ten appearences in the second league in German does not merit a roster spot for a player his age. I have never been a Jonathan Bornstein fan. For me he is not good enough and I would rather give a young left back the chance to shine behind Bocanegra. To many mistakes and not a beneficial going forward in attack is what will keep Bornstein home. (more…)

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United States

Davies Needed for the Gold Cup

ANTHONY MANNINO- After one and a half years of working to get to the moment when Charlie Davies could step onto the field following his horrific accident, Davies was introduced for DC United in the 53rd minute. That was one huge step for the American striker to get on the pitch, but it is not all that Davies wanted. He wanted to come back and show Coach Bob Bradley, his club Sochaux, American soccer fans, and the world that he could impact games once again.

This past Saturday Davies did just that by scoring two goals in his first professional game since the accident. The first goal was a penalty and would have been a nice way for Davies to start his return, but it does little to prove naysayers that Davies is still talented. I do like that he approached the penalty area and requested to take the penalty, because it shows his desire to score. (more…)

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United States

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

ANTHONY MANNINO- The influx of young talent in Men’s National team pool with the likes of Sebastian Lletget, Juan Agudelo, Tim Ream, and Gale Agbossoumonde poses the question: what is the best way for American players to develop? Should they stay in the MLS for a few extra years or should they make the jump over the pond for European football?

This is a hard decision for a young athlete; on the one hand, moving to Europe means an increase in pay, but a move could also mean a decrease in playing time. The key for a young player to develop is playing time; a player sitting on the bench for a year is not going to improve. Also, there is the added pressure that comes with playing in Europe that can affect young players. (more…)

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