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Altidore: I'm a hungry player
With 30 minutes to go in El Salvador on 28 March, USA were down by two and in desperate need of a spark. Up stepped 19-year-old substitute Jozy Altidore to score the first goal in an eventual 2-2 draw. Four days later, at home against Trinidad and Tobago in his first start of the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, the muscular striker went a step further, hammering all three goals in a comprehensive win.
It was a defining four-day stretch for the former youth standout, who , after becoming the first American scorer in La Liga when he moved to Villarreal at the start of the season, now finds himself out of favour on loan at second division leaders Xerez. FIFA.com sat down for an exclusive interview with the American poacher to chat about his ups and downs in Spain and his meteoric rise for the Stars and Stripes.
FIFA.com: How did it feel to come on as a sub late in El Salvador, down 2-0 and knowing goals were needed?
Jozy Altidore:
I was pretty excited when the coach tapped me and told me I was going in. At that point I felt we still had the game in our hands. It was ours to win or lose, so I was ready to go in there and do what I could to help get some goals and get the result going our way.
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With 30 minutes to go in El Salvador on 28 March, USA were down by two and in desperate need of a spark. Up stepped 19-year-old substitute Jozy Altidore to score the first goal in an eventual 2-2 draw. Four days later, at home against Trinidad and Tobago in his first start of the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, the muscular striker went a step further, hammering all three goals in a comprehensive win.
It was a defining four-day stretch for the former youth standout, who , after becoming the first American scorer in La Liga when he moved to Villarreal at the start of the season, now finds himself out of favour on loan at second division leaders Xerez. FIFA.com sat down for an exclusive interview with the American poacher to chat about his ups and downs in Spain and his meteoric rise for the Stars and Stripes.
FIFA.com: How did it feel to come on as a sub late in El Salvador, down 2-0 and knowing goals were needed?
Jozy Altidore:
I was pretty excited when the coach tapped me and told me I was going in. At that point I felt we still had the game in our hands. It was ours to win or lose, so I was ready to go in there and do what I could to help get some goals and get the result going our way.
(continue)