Tweet
November 22, 2007, 10:24 am Jozy Altidore: Home for the Holiday
By Jozy Altidore
Tags: Jozy Altidore, MLS, red bulls
It’s nice to be home for the holiday, back in Florida. It should be interesting with everyone coming down — friends and family — it should be nice and relaxing. Just take a load off and ease my mind and relax. There will be six of us, with my brothers and sisters, and we’re probably going to be going somewhere.
It’s been a nice couple of weeks, what with the game in South Africa and me getting my first cap with the senior national team, but now I’m finally going to have some time to relax. Then I’ll start working again and try to get back to top fitness. I’m still waiting to hear if I’ll be part of the camp for the next couple of national team games in the New Year.
The trip to South Africa was really good over all, it really opened my eyes up to a lot of things. Just soccer, the whole thing. I still have a lot to learn and the older guys with the national team told me a lot of things. It was like two different worlds in what I’ve been used to.
The guys who play in Europe have a different take on a lot of things. I’m not saying that their approach is right and ours in the U.S. is wrong, but it’s just a different way of doing stuff. After all, it’s really all the same game.
It’s really about the way they communicated, they are passionate and in a way, it surprised me. They take it very seriously in each camp and in each practice. It was really nice and a bit educational to see their approach to training and to see how they performed under pressure in South Africa.
I was really impressed with all the guys. I see them a lot on TV but you don’t really know what type of people they are until you meet them. They know when to chill and they know when not to be joking around. They know when it’s time to get down to business, and it’s good to see.
I’m glad I got into the game, even though we were hanging on when South Africa really started playing hard in the second half. I felt like I played fine, I played within the team and we kept the lead. I just went into the game as another helper, kept it simple with the ball. The coach congratulated all the guys. It was my first game. It was great to be part of the win, because it’s all about the team, not an individual performance. Bob was great.
I had been waiting a long time for my first cap. It felt really good in tough conditions. These are games I can learn from. Over all, it was a good experience.
I know a lot of you out there heard about me and Real Madrid last week. I did, too.
It’s funny, because [DeMarcus] Beasley mentioned it to me in the airport in South Africa. That was the first I’d heard about it. I just laughed. And heard about it again when I got home. Going to a team like that has always interested me, but I can’t help but smile about it right now. I’ve just got to keep moving on until something real happens, if it does.
Right now, I don’t think it’s something to get serious about. I want to keep my focus and not let these things be too much of a distraction. I want to approach it in a professional manner. Right now, there’s nothing going on.
Do I want to play for a big team? Of course, but it’s more important for me to be playing right now and not be with a high-profile team on a reserve team or something like that. At my age, things will come if I keep playing. But if I’m not playing it won’t really matter. For a young player, if you’re able to play on a big team so be it, but the idea is to play all the time. I’m still young and I’ve still got a lot to learn. That’s just my opinion on it.
Playing in Europe is definitely a goal of mine. But as I’ve said before, I’m comfortable now with the Red Bulls and I want to win a championship next year. Europe? It’s not a secret to anybody. I love Europe and European soccer. It’s a dream of mine to player there, one day.
So Happy Thanksgiving to all. Keep reading and I’ll keep writing during the off-season.
By Jozy Altidore
Tags: Jozy Altidore, MLS, red bulls
It’s nice to be home for the holiday, back in Florida. It should be interesting with everyone coming down — friends and family — it should be nice and relaxing. Just take a load off and ease my mind and relax. There will be six of us, with my brothers and sisters, and we’re probably going to be going somewhere.
It’s been a nice couple of weeks, what with the game in South Africa and me getting my first cap with the senior national team, but now I’m finally going to have some time to relax. Then I’ll start working again and try to get back to top fitness. I’m still waiting to hear if I’ll be part of the camp for the next couple of national team games in the New Year.
The trip to South Africa was really good over all, it really opened my eyes up to a lot of things. Just soccer, the whole thing. I still have a lot to learn and the older guys with the national team told me a lot of things. It was like two different worlds in what I’ve been used to.
The guys who play in Europe have a different take on a lot of things. I’m not saying that their approach is right and ours in the U.S. is wrong, but it’s just a different way of doing stuff. After all, it’s really all the same game.
It’s really about the way they communicated, they are passionate and in a way, it surprised me. They take it very seriously in each camp and in each practice. It was really nice and a bit educational to see their approach to training and to see how they performed under pressure in South Africa.
I was really impressed with all the guys. I see them a lot on TV but you don’t really know what type of people they are until you meet them. They know when to chill and they know when not to be joking around. They know when it’s time to get down to business, and it’s good to see.
I’m glad I got into the game, even though we were hanging on when South Africa really started playing hard in the second half. I felt like I played fine, I played within the team and we kept the lead. I just went into the game as another helper, kept it simple with the ball. The coach congratulated all the guys. It was my first game. It was great to be part of the win, because it’s all about the team, not an individual performance. Bob was great.
I had been waiting a long time for my first cap. It felt really good in tough conditions. These are games I can learn from. Over all, it was a good experience.
I know a lot of you out there heard about me and Real Madrid last week. I did, too.
It’s funny, because [DeMarcus] Beasley mentioned it to me in the airport in South Africa. That was the first I’d heard about it. I just laughed. And heard about it again when I got home. Going to a team like that has always interested me, but I can’t help but smile about it right now. I’ve just got to keep moving on until something real happens, if it does.
Right now, I don’t think it’s something to get serious about. I want to keep my focus and not let these things be too much of a distraction. I want to approach it in a professional manner. Right now, there’s nothing going on.
Do I want to play for a big team? Of course, but it’s more important for me to be playing right now and not be with a high-profile team on a reserve team or something like that. At my age, things will come if I keep playing. But if I’m not playing it won’t really matter. For a young player, if you’re able to play on a big team so be it, but the idea is to play all the time. I’m still young and I’ve still got a lot to learn. That’s just my opinion on it.
Playing in Europe is definitely a goal of mine. But as I’ve said before, I’m comfortable now with the Red Bulls and I want to win a championship next year. Europe? It’s not a secret to anybody. I love Europe and European soccer. It’s a dream of mine to player there, one day.
So Happy Thanksgiving to all. Keep reading and I’ll keep writing during the off-season.