Jozy Altidore has evolved as a player from the fresh-faced 16-year-old on the podium at the 2006 MLS SuperDraft as the 17th overall pick to the New York Red Bulls.
Now he’s a 32-year-old with 16 years of professional experience in a carer that has spanned Spain, the Netherlands, England and back to Major League Soccer. And after being signed by the New England Revolution Monday following a buyout with Toronto FC, he’s back with Bruce Arena, his first professional coach, who also led him with the US men’s national team.
While Altidore has changed a lot during that time, the veteran forward said in an Extratime exclusive interview that Arena has not.
“The demands are the same. That's what I noticed is really cool about him, he hasn’t changed," Altidore told host Andrew Wiebe. "He just wants to get on the field, he wants things to be clean, he wants you to be professional, he wants you to push yourself. It’s the same now.
“In that regard, it's easy to work with people like that because they have a certain way of doing things that, if you’re serious at your craft and what you want to do, you have no problem being around people like that.”
One thing that has changed for Altidore is his role with the Revs. After being the alpha male with Toronto FC for several years, he understands he’ll be the No. 3 forward on a team with Designated Players Adam Buksa and Gustavo Bou, who tallied a combined 31 goals a year ago for a team that set an MLS points record (73) and won a club-first Supporters' Shield title.
“Quality, huge quality. Both of these guys, just training with them, being around them, incredibly serious, winners. You don't want to disrupt that," Altidore said. “What you want to do is add something. I spoke to Bruce about my role and obviously with where I am in my career, I was very open to coming here and understanding you have to compete for a place. Not only that, if these guys are playing, what you could add when you play to help take the load off these guys. I welcome that.”
Still, with the possibility of Buksa being transferred to Europe in the summer, as has been reported, Altidore could see added minutes as the season goes on. And if not, he embraces this new role.
“I still want to be playing and challenging for minutes, but I understand if I have to take a step back, I have no issue with that at all,” Altidore said. "These are very, very good strikers with Carles \[Gil\] in behind so I just look to add to it whenever I can, to help the team get more goals, to take pressure off these guys and help us be more effective.”
Altidore’s value is also in the locker room and on the training ground as a proven winner, helping lead Toronto FC to the Supporters' Shield, Canadian Championship and MLS Cup treble in 2017.
“What I want to do is try to bring that experience in and help them get over that hump," Altidore said. “That’s what we're all obsessed with, what we're all thinking about, which is winning an MLS Cup.”
Check out Altidore’s entire Extratime interview here.
