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
Youth career
	IMG Soccer Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2008	New York Red Bulls
2008–	Villarreal
2009	→ Xerez (loan)
International career‡
2007–	United States
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 December 2008 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 June 2009

Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore (born November 6, 1989, in Template:City-state) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Villarreal of Spain's La Liga and the United States national team.

Club career

New York Red Bulls

Altidore was taken seventeenth overall in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, with the MetroStars (now known as the New York Red Bulls) 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 sixteen with an 83rd minute, 28-yard shot to beat the Columbus Crew 1–0 on September 16, 2006. Exactly one week later, on September 23, 2006, in a 4–3 loss to D.C. United, Altidore scored again. Scoring three times in seven appearances, including a crucial goal against 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 a Major League Soccer playoff match on October 21 against D.C. United (16 years, 349 days). He also scored two goals in a 5–4 win over Los Angeles Galaxy on August 18, 2007.

Villarreal

On June 4, 2008, Villarreal of La Liga agreed in principle with Major League Soccer and the New York Red Bulls 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. 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. On November 1, 2008, Jozy became the first American international to score in La Liga when he came on in the 90th minute and scored against Athletic Bilbao. On November 30, 2008, Jozy started his first game in La Liga against Recreativo Huelva.

Xerez

On January 30, 2009, Villarreal agreed to loan Altidore to Xerez, leader of the Segunda División at the time of the transfer, until the end of the 2008–09 season. It was expected that the move would allow Altidore to get more playing time, and also allow him to continue the process of assimilating into the Spanish culture. This second factor was the reason that offers from clubs like Everton were turned down by Villarreal.

On April 16, 2009, Altidore underwent minor surgery on an injured toenail that required more than a month of recovery, resulting in him never making an appearance for Xerez.

International career

He has played for the United States U-17 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 United States U-20 national 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 17, 2007, Altidore received his first call up to the United States national team for a friendly against South Africa just eleven days after his eighteenth 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 to break Rick Zambrana's record of 34 national team goals. On February 6, 2008, in a friendly 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 United States U-23 national team roster that qualified for and 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 Qualifying goal on October 11, 2008, in a 6–1 victory over Cuba. He started in his first World Cup Qualifier on October 15, 2008 against Trinidad and Tobago, and set up Charlie Davies's second half goal, but later fouled a player in the penalty area leading to Dwight Yorke's game winner. He made amends in the next game by assisting Kenny Cooper's goal and drawing the foul that lead to Freddy Adu's first international goal.

On March 28, 2009, Altidore scored his first away goal in World Cup Qualifying in the 2–2 draw with El Salvador. On April 1, 2009, Altidore scored three goals in a 3–0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago, making Altidore the youngest American to score a hat-trick in an international game.

On June 24, 2009, Altidore scored the opening goal in the semi-final of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup against Spain. The U.S. went on to upset the Spanish team, 2–0.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	February 6, 2008	Reliant Stadium	Mexico	2–1	2–2	Friendly
2	Sep 10, 2008	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	Cuba	5–1	6–1	2010 World Cup Qualifying Third Round
3	Mar 28, 2009	Estadio Cuscatlán	El Salvador	1–2	2–2	2010 World Cup Qualifying Fourth Round
4	Apr 1, 2009	LP Field	Trinidad and Tobago	1–0	3–0	2010 World Cup Qualifying Fourth Round
5				2–0
6				3–0
7	Jun 24, 2009	Free State Stadium	Spain	1–0	2–0	2009 Confederations Cup

Personal life

Altidore's parents, Joseph and Giselle, were both born in Haiti. In November 2006 he, along with New York Red Bulls 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.

Records & Accomplishments

Jozy Altidore has set a number of records in his young career:

• Youngest player to score in Major League Soccer Play-offs.
• Youngest American to score in their first international start.
• Youngest American to score in a World Cup Qualifier.
• Youngest American to score a hat trick in World Cup Qualifier.
• First US International to score in Spain's La Liga.

External links

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