It was a siliky smooth finish too, after a great diagonal run into the box and a perfect pass from Santi Cazorla, Jozy slotted it into the bottom left corner.

I am not big on his celebration, but his 9 year old in a candy shop smile was worth at least this $10mn transfer fee.

Congratulations kid, and we hope to see a whole bunch more.

The goal is here at 2:32

Below is a video of his debut with Villareal. My favorite moment is at 2:03 when he runs by two defenders and then muscles one of them off the ball (shouldnt have been a foul).

Enjoy:

First of all, I want to start by informing you that Jozy will not be taking part in the Champions League group stages. He was not submitted by Villarreal for UEFA registration. I figure they probably thought the youngster wouldn’t be ready, and were not counting on the slew of injuries to their starting strikers. I will look into it some more and see if they cannot register him at a later date.

Since Jozy will be sitting out today’s CL clash against Manchester United, I decided to take the time off to discuss some lighter fare.

I was chatting with my friend Rami from the Tunisia WCB, the other day, in one of many intellectually stimulating futbol conversations we have had lately.

He brought up the subject of Jozy’s strength, and then gushed for twenty minutes about his bulging muscles. It got me asking the questions: Is Jozy stronger now? Is Rami maybe not completely hetero? There is no way to really find out, unless we ask the men themselves. I can ask Rami, but am working on getting in touch with Jozy.

What do you all think? Does Jozy look stronger or is it the tighter fitting European garb? Feel free to leave a comment.

Here is the transcript in its orginal form, so sorry for the sub-par grammar:

Rami: i saw the villareal highlights last night
on ole la liga

me: and?

Rami: woulda been nice if that reaction shot bounced in

me: very

Rami: but he looks strong as hell
he always did

me: keeper should ahve handled it tho man
i know

Rami: but in europe he looks even stronger for some reason

me: prolly been working on his strength

Rami: smaller jersey i guess

me: prolly is stronger
gurantee he is

Rami: i seen him with his shirt off
live
in front of me
at dc united game
when he was still with redbull
he was preparing to come on in the second half
so he was out there with a few trainers
he took his training jersey off
dude is ripped as fuck

me: yea

Rami: looks like his muscles were going to burst out of his skin

me: that might be a good post topic
i need a shirtless pictures of him to compare to old ones
or u can just give me a good description of his bulging muscles
that u seem so enchanted with

Rami: its not so much that they’re bulging. he’s not a bodybuilder obviously
but his skin is just tight against his muscles
so they look big
he’s just ripped
and his abs looks crazy

me: did u pop wood?

Rami: i just remember cuz i was watching him warm up and when he took his shirt off he was like glistening

me: sounds like it

Rami: lol
i dont know, guy looked pretty strong. but you can tell he couldn’t hurt anyone
in his interviews. he’s like a little kid

Yesterday, Josmer Volmy Altidore became the first American to take the pitch in a La Liga regular season game for the Yellow Submarine of Villarreal, sporting the #24 kit. Villarreal defeated Deportivo La Coruña 1-0 in the match, but dominated both play and possesion for most of the game. After a wasteful first half, Altigol came on for Guillermo Franco, who did not threaten Depor’s defense much, and certainly deserved a seat on the pine.

Not only did Altidore make history, he also made an impression, and not only on this blogger. Altidore looked supremely confident form the second he stepped on the pitch, immediately outpacing Deportivo La Coruña back Laure to collect a loose ball, cutting behind Alberto Lopo and setting up Santo Cazorla whose one time shot went straight at Deportivo’s keeper Daniel Aranzubía.

Altidore nearly struck later with a 25-yard blast that the keeper spilled, but mercifully rolled by the far post.

My favorite moment came in the 75th minute, when Altidore received a post at the top-right corner of the box and took the ball straight at Laure and Lopo once again. Blowing by Laure, Altidore then muscled Lopo off the ball before a foul was called on the striker. The announcers, both with heavy Argentine accents, talked about the call:

“I did not see a foul there.”
“No, me neither, that wasn’t a foul, that was a clear case of superior strength.”

Jozy, at age 18, in his first game in La Liga, muscled a seasoned, 28-year old career starter off the ball in front of his own goal. Johnny Cochran (RIP) could not have thought up a better opening statement.

On a side note, injuries to Nihat Kahveci and Guiseppe Rossi, Villarreal’s primary strikers are largely responsible for Altidore seeing the field today, and possibly even his presence of the first squad. Upon their return (Rossi Wednesday, Nihat ???), the young striker will certainly see himself move back down the depth chart.

However, if Altidore can see the field and build on Sunday’s performance, he could see himself leapfrog the 31-year old Franco and Llorente on the depth chart, possibly finding a spot as a super sub in the Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini’s preferred 4-4-2 line up.

The Ratings:
(Ratings on a 1-10 scale, 10 being the best)

Confidence: 10
Jozy had no fear. He took on defenders, went 100% for loose balls, and had no problems mixing it up with the big boys of La Liga. I am sure he was getting all kinds of “Yanqui de mierda” comments, but he clearly did not let that faze him. The long range blast from 25-yards out erased any doubts that the young man might be shy around the goal.

Athletically: 10
If there were any doubts about the American’s pace and strength being adequate for La Liga, they were definitively dispelled within his first 5 minutes on the pitch.

Positioning: 7
Jozy moved well off the ball in the attack. He put himself in good positions on the near post twice in the final 10 minutes, and found himself wide open at the far-post again in the 88th. All three situations created pressure on the defense and forced a corner. He was dangerous making runs and creating chances as a RF.

Altidore also seemed to be very aware and alert about being caught offside, a reflection of the head on his shoulders, and also being under the auspices of a truly excellent manager.

One area I found Jozy to be very weak was in defensive support in the middle third of the field. Perhaps this has to do with something the coach said, but Altidore seemed all too stagnant to me in many cases, standing around watching instead of providing defensive support to his teammates

Technically: 5.5
We aren’t in New York anymore, Altidorthy. Jozy has the speed and strength, but he needs to realize that he is no longer facing MLS defenders. Many times, he tried to go straight by opposing players or simply muscle his way past. It worked for about 10-15 minutes, before Depor’s defenders started to figure him out.

While his imposing figure worked well against the scrubs back home, veteran players in one of the world’s top leagues are used to playing against world-class athletes everyday. He must improve his arsenal of moves and footwork in order to become more effective when running at defenders.

Altidore’s final touch and finishing also proved to be a bit lacking. His lay-off in the opening moments of the second half to Cazorla was perfect. However, the long range effort would have been easily handled by most keepers in the world. Aranzubía made the strike look much more difficult to handle than he should have.

In addition, in the 82nd minute, Altidore broke down a defender on the touch-line, and had both Robert Pires and Cazorla waiting in front of the goal. He looked indecisive with his final touch, and his pass arrived about half way to his teammate’s feet, squandering a great opportunity to bury a perfectly capable home side in Deportivo.

One positive thing I took away was that he can hold the ball, a decent accomplishment in an elite league. Overall, the signs were encouraging. Altidore must and will continue to develop in this very important area.

Overall: 7.5
Josemire Altidore is the real deal. This is one game, but a game that showed he has what it takes. Before anyone gets too critical about that comment, remember the context: Altidore is 18 years old.

Goal.com rating:
Altidore 8 – Really impressed when coming on and certainly caused Depor’s defence more problems than Guille Franco had.

Quotables:
“After the interval, Altidore was introduced and the American forward showed that he has strenghth, pace and skill and could be one of the finds of the season, even if there were occasional touches of naivety.” -Goal.com

“This win leaves me feel calm and satisfied. The team was strong and I am pleased with the way that all my players performed” -Pelligrini

“Jozy with a near assist and a near goal, as well as some good touches in the last 18 mins. He’s definitely making a strong case for more playing time.” -Dale Murphy on www.soccerbyives.net running commentary

If anyone caught the game or has another take on his performance, feel free to leave a comment!

Saturday morning, the US olympic team was on the verge of a historical 2-1 victory against Holland, before Gerald Sibon got lucky with a free kick he put under the wall, skipping it past Guzan for the tie.

Beckham always says that the laziest approach to a free kick it to blast it under a jumping wall’s feet, but I am sure Sibon could care less what Beckham thinks in this case. Holland dealt a gut blow to the US team, who were seconds away from a quarterfinal berth but now must tie or win against a tough Nigerian side to move on.

The team will be without Adu and Bradley, as both recieved their second yellow card in as many games. Danny Szeltza and Benny Feilhaber will most likely step in to start.

Altidore came on as a sub and scored with his knee off a blistering cross from Michael Orozco who was once again impressive on both sides of the field. It was such a hard cross that Jozy simply had to get in its way to put it in.

“It happened so fast. It stared with a throw-in from Marvell, and it was pinging around the box and I got it to Orozco,” said Altidore. “I just put myself in a spot where I thought the ball was going to end up, and luckily for me it actually took a deflection off the defender and came right to me and I just tapped it in.”

As for those concerned about Jozy not starting, it seems that an ankle injury he sustained in Red Bulls training when he ran into Juan Pablo Angel is still giving him trouble. Both Nowak, the coach and the player himself insist that his use as a sub is a tactical choice, but the young striker has admitted that his left ankle is bothering him more than people realize:

“It’s still bothering me,” Altidore said. “I get it looked at every day, just trying to get it better and better, but it seems to be something that when I get back to my club maybe I need to have someone else look at it.”

Let’s hope it is not anything too serious.

You have to love the swagger off this team. They have a world-beater attitude and may still surprise in the tournament.

Check out highlights of the game by clicking this LINK.

On the even of the Olympic games, the US team finished the ING tournament with no goals, 2 ties and a 1-0 loss to Cameroon. The lack of goals may be disconcerting heading into the Olympic games.

The Olympic Tournament will begin Thursday morning, bright and early. My alarm will be set.

A couple weeks back, I predicted to my friends that this would be the games that the US would medal. I have rethought that prediction a bit, and now would like to officially recant it.

Sure, this is the most talented US team ever sent to the Olympics and the 2014 World Cup Team could look fairly similar. However, it could all amount to nothing with a recycled, tactically clueless and inept coach in Peter Nowak.

I respect the guy as a player and his history, but come on, was anyone watching Toulin? That was an embarrassing showing, whether our top players were there or not. Before I get into criticizing the USSF, let me just say it would not hurt to add some new blood.

Hopefully, my previous prediction was correct and I’ll end up with egg on my face. At the very least it will be interesting to see how Nowak will react now that he HAS TO start Adu in a game.

On the eve of the Olympics, Altidore took some time to sit down and talk with USSoccer.com about the ING tournament and the upcoming Olympic tournament.

On the team’s lack of scoring at the ING Cup:
“I wouldn’t say we’re concerned about it. We used the last two games to prepare for this tournament. It’s going to be very difficult and it’s going to take a lot of work from all of us to control our destiny. We have a lot of firepower on this team and a bunch of players who have the ability to score. There are no concerns with our scoring, I think we’re going to be fine.”

I have to agree with Jozy here. The team does have a lot of fire power and you cannot put too much stock in a 4 team tournament. If anything, the games helped the team get a little closer to playing fluid attacking football, if not pouring on goals. There are just too many attacking options for the team not to score.

On his comfort level playing alongside Brian McBride:
“First of all, Brian is a great player and he’s arguably one of the best forwards to ever play for the National Team so it’s more motivation for me to step onto the field to play alongside him. So far in the two games that I’ve been fortunate enough to play with him in, it’s been a little bit of a learning curve, but at the same time I’ve definitely become comfortable with him and the way he plays and how he likes to play. I think we’re doing well as of late and I think whoever ends up playing up there alongside him is going to be successful because he’s a very easy player to play with.”

Whoever ends up playing up there alongside him? Jozy, I appreciate your modesty, but are you really thinking that you won’t start? Very professional of all, but this is one blogger you are not fooling.

However, I guess it could go back to the whole Nowak thing. Would he sit Altidore in favor of Rogers or Davies? He seems to hold a deep-seeded hatred for young, rising and hyped-up stars.
Your thoughts?

Any prediction on how many goals Jozy will have in the tournament?
My guess is 3.

USA, USA, USA!!!

Soon after the game, Jozy took off to join the Olympic squad. The US Olympic mens team will face off against Japan in group B play on Thursday, August 5 at 5:00AM EST.

Altidore will miss team training as well as the upcoming Villareal match against Liverpool, a sure chance to show his Chilean coach a thing or two. Hopefully Jozy can make up for lost time by shining at the Olympics.

As for the number issue, Jozy will be sporting #24 at Villareal. Javi Venta currently wears the #17 jersey. Good luck prying it off the veteran, kid.

Here at the Altidore Offside page, I will try to keep up to date with the news coming in from the main sources here in the US and abroad, but also the dailies in Spain that cover La Liga and may have better insight into the day-to-day development of the striker.

This page is for any Villareal fan, US fan, just plain Altidore fan, or dejected Red Bulls fans who want to follow their lost starlet.

Good luck to our boy Altidore, repping Jerzey, and thanks for stopping by.