Young U.S. striker Altidore can handle inevitable hype

[Zeppo]

Altidore can handle inevitable hype

Bruce Arena had to cringe just a little bit when the question was asked.

Following the Red Bulls' thrilling 1-0 victory against the defending champion Houston Dynamo, a reporter asked Arena if he was worried that teenage sensation Jozy Altidore just might become the target of Europe's biggest club if he kept up his recent goal-scoring exploits. Arena probably thought he had a few months before he would hear that one, but as he already knows, young American soccer players who show flashes of greatness don't have to wait long for the glare of expectations to come beaming down.

Altidore is squarely at center stage right now, having delivered his latest game-winning goal and drawing rave reviews despite being just 17 years old. At 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds (and still growing), Altidore is a super-sized goal-scoring prospect unlike any other young MLS player or American striker before him. It is tough to believe he has played just 12 matches as a professional (including playoffs), tough because in that short amount of time he has already scored six goals, including four game-winning goals and a score in the postseason.

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[Tilla]

This youth is going to terrorize CONCACAF! Remember I said it in this post.

[Mosiah]

I will just advise us to not go overboard just yet. Freddy was supposed to be ruling the world by now.

And then there was this other fellow whose name I can't even remember.

Let's see what happens!

[Zeppo]

Sounds like Mosiah is already terrorized just thinking about the possibility!

[Mosiah]

Yes! Right!

[Naminirt]

Doh worry Zeppo Mosiah sey JA HAVE bout 45 adu and 23 altidore

[Zeppo]

Bidding to avoid mistakes of Adu
Altidore, 17, gives MLS a 2nd chance

Some believe teenager Josmer Altidore is ready to be the next big thing in Major League Soccer. He has the skills to be an All-Star and his age is almost unheard-of in professional sports.

Sound familiar?

That's because it was only a few years ago people were saying the same thing about Freddy Adu. But unlike Adu, who was featured in Sports Illustrated at 13, the 17-year-old Altidore began his MLS career under the radar last season with the New York Red Bulls.

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[Zeppo]

Adu Offers Advice To Altidore

Real Salt Lake playmaker Freddy Adu has warned fellow teen phenom Josmer Altidore not to get caught up in his press clippings.

The U.S. Under-20 captain says the New York striker could possibly avoid some of the troubles he’s had.

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[Zeppo]

Former Boca Prep soccer player a rising star

Ultimately, this is a story of one man. A boy, actually, because soccer player Jozy Altidore is only 17, as easy as that is to forget. But to tell the story of Jozy Altidore is to tell the story of many.

There's the young orphan in Haiti who needs spinal surgery to save her life. Altidore has joined efforts to bring her to the United States for the operation.

There's his family, which despite their hometown of Boca Raton, Altidore quickly points out, is making it not on wealth, but sacrifice.

There's the company he keeps: Grammy winner Wyclef Jean, who was impressed enough with Altidore during a charitable trip they made to Haiti that Jean wore Altidore's jersey during a concert. There's also a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model. And adidas, which is featuring him in an "Impossible is Nothing" commercial.

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[Redz]

You are crazy

[Redz]

You are creating false hype it will only hurt you in the furture

[Redz]

Stop the hype he is a very good player & he learned all he knows among Jamaican's & Haitian's

[Mosiah]

Nyamdirt, yuh deh yah?!?!

[Mosiah]

What the US Hype Machine murder di yute prospects and career.

[Zeppo]

Meet U.S. Soccer's New Poster Boy

Jozy Altidore is a man-child. Just 17 years old, the American-born soccer phenom stands more than 6 feet tall and weighs no less than 175 pounds. As a boy playing a man's game-- professional soccer with New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer-- he needs every ounce.

Altidore missed a game last May so he could take his girlfriend to her prom, and when he's not enjoying a mid-afternoon nap at his mom's house in New Jersey, the recent high school graduate just might be busy updating his blog on The New York Times Web site.

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