Photo by ISIphotos.com

Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan and Tim Howard have been named finalists for the 2009 Honda Player of the Year award, given each year to the U.

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                                                                     Photo by ISIphotos.com

Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan and Tim Howard have been named finalists for the 2009 Honda Player of the Year award, given each year to the U.

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Jozy Altidore could be forgiven for feeling a little pleased with his Hull City FC debut on Saturday - his first touch of the ball in the EPL was an effective if perhaps fortuitous assist for the...

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Hull City expect to open talks with Villarreal striker Jozy Altidore today. The Hull Daily Mail says the US international cost the Spanish giants £6m last summer - a record fee received by a Major League Soccer side. Altidore has since found his opportunities limited and keen to blood him in regular European football, Villarreal are ready to accept the Tigers' approach of a year-long loan.

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Reports in Spain have linked young Villarreal striker Jozy Alitdore with a loan move to Malaga. The 19-year old American international signed with Villarreal in June 2008 and has also spent time on loan with Segunda Division club Xerez. It is believed the Andalusia club are interested in signing Altidore on loan.

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Remember that report from SI.com courtesy of Goal.com that said Jozy Altidore was on his way to Greek champs Olympiakos? Not so fast on that, according to Jason Davis from MatchfitUSA apparently. Not only did a Spanish paper report that Jozy has Mexican interest on Friday, new reports today have Jozy linked to La Liga side Málaga.

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This must make the front page in the United States even if soccer is not their number one sports, as USA knocked European Champions, Spain, out of the Confederations Cup at the Free State Stadium.

The Gold Cup winners proved to be the first real test for Spain in the tournament as they began the game in blistering fashion.

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Since it's the eve of our clash with Brazil, it only seems right to throw out our ideal line-up. If for no other reason, it will give us the right to say "I told you so" in the event of a loss tomorrow. If we win, on the other hand, we will obviously never speak of this again. Ever.

Altidore Davies

Donovan Dempsey

Torres -Bradley

Bocanegra -DeMerit Onyewu -Spector

Howard

Some thoughts on the lineup:

-Carlos Bocanegra enjoyed a successful season at Rennes as a left back.

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Italia se impuso a Estados Unidos en el encuentro que cerró la primera jornada de la Copa Confederaciones. La victoria de la azzurra, gracias en buena parte a la gran actuación de Giuseppe Rossi, se suma a las de Brasil y España y completa el pleno de triunfos de las tres selecciones candidatas al título.

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When Sports Illustrated Senior Editor Mark Mravic, 46, interviewed for an job at the magazine in 1996, they asked him what he was interested in. He said "soccer," to which the reply came: "Well, we really don't do a lot of soccer."

More than a decade later he's finally the soccer editor. Now will the coverage improve?

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Jozy Altidore, delantero estadounidense que llegó al Villarreal de España desde la Major League Soccer durante el 2008 con el cartel de gran promesa del fútbol norteamericano (y por el cual el Villarreal pagó más de $10 millones de dólares), fue enviado a préstamo al Xerez de la segunda división española por lo que resta de la temporada. Click to continue reading...

As reported in the New York Times, Jozy Altidore has been loaned from Villareal to Deportivo Xerez, a team in Spain's Second Division. It seems as if this was always the plan for Villareal, to loan Altidore out to a smaller Spanish club in order to give him more playing time and experience.
There really is nothing wrong with this as its something that is commonly done. Click to continue reading...

Jozy Altidore nació hace apenas 19 años con el don de jugar bien al fútbol y el ex-delantero del New York Red Bulls –nacido en Estados Unidos pero de padres haitianos- lo ha sabido aprovechar. Y con creces.
Altidore posee el récord como el goleador más joven de la historia de la Major League Soccer, además de ser uno de los traspasos más caro en la historia de la liga cuando el Villarreal decidió ficharlo a principios de la temporada 2008. Click to continue reading...

No fue un partido espectacular, ni mucho menos. Aun así, al Sevilla no le hizo falta imprimir ese gran ritmo al juego, como suele hacer en sus partidos de casa. Los de Jiménez fueron superiores a un desconocido Villarreal, que pareció más bien un equipo de segunda mitad de la tabla antes que uno de [. Click to continue reading...

We ran into a high quality download of the full USA vs Trinidad and Tobago game from last Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 on Megaupload. So, in case you missed this game, here's a link to it. DISCLAIMER: We DID NOT upload this video to the Megaupload. It was found via a web search. Here are the current [. Click to continue reading...

The Spanish press isn't easy to please, but they seem to like what they see so far from Jozy Altidore. Myself, I'd have liked for him to score, but I was actually happier to see his passing touch. Nothing increases popularity with teammates more than dishing off sweet assists, even if the other players are so surprised to get the ball that they hash up the shot. Click to continue reading...

I have to hand it to Bob Bradley and the U.S. National Team, they really came through and took care of business with the 3-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago. We even got to see a goal from Brian Ching so you know it was a terrific night. Clint Dempsey got his 4th goal in 4 matches. The defense looked really solid and Michael Bradley took his European success and showed what the hype was all about with a nice goal. Click to continue reading...

No Cooper.  No Adu.  No Altidore.  Really?  To the disappointment of many American fans (myself included), Bob Bradley continues to call up players like Brian Ching, Eddie Johnson, Frankie Hejduk, and Eddie Lewis over younger players.  The most common excuse given by supporters of Bradley's strategy is the experience argument. Click to continue reading...

Here's a link to an article that contains the U.S. National Team's squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago. The squad looks very similar to the recent one that was called up for the Guatemala game and I still would like to see some different players included. I don't really know what is accomplished by including Brian Ching, Eddie Lewis, and Frankie Hejduk. Click to continue reading...

Here is a link to an interesting article that Jozy Altidore has written for the New York Times. It describes the whirlwind of experiences that he is having going from playing in the recent Olympic games to playing for his new club Villareal. Jozy is trying to secure a place within the team as a regular forward and I wish him well. Click to continue reading...

Here is Jack Bell's article from the New York Times that reviews each player's performance in the game with a rating scale of 1-10, which is commonly done in soccer. To begin, I believe that Jack's ratings vary a bit too much. Its usually pretty rare that players on the same team get a score of 3 and also 8. Click to continue reading...

Bob Bradley named the squad that is going to face Guatemala in the upcoming World Cup qualifier and while looking through the roster the question that comes to my mind is - don't we have a better team then this? Hasn't the time for Eddie Lewis, Frankie Hejduk, and Pablo Mastroeni come and gone? Who is being looked to as the main goalscorer - Landon Donovan? Click to continue reading...

Grant Wahl from Sports Illustrated wrote an excellent analysis of the U.S. - Holland game in this article. I have to say though that I still can't believe that GERALD SIBON of all people is the Dutch player to beat that U.S. team. This is the same Gerald Sibon who has bounced around Europe playing for Sheffield Wednesday, Nurenburg, and various teams in the Dutch Eredivise. Click to continue reading...

Just thought I'd include a link to an item that Jozy Altidore contributed to the New York Times blog. Its an interesting first hand account from him on his early time with his new club Villarreal. Click to continue reading...

Shaka sits down with Jozy and it might just be me, but the teenager seems more composed and articulate than the former goalkeeper.
Plus, Shaka, Thomas Rongen was Jozy's U20 coach and guided that team to victories over the likes of Brazil. Peter Nowak is the Olympic team coach and that team didn't win the qualifying tournament. Click to continue reading...

Jozy kicks ass in a farewell post to New York - and he even promises to continue contributing to the GOAL blog at various times. Go well, young man. Click to continue reading...

A lovely day for mellow yellow.

They spelled it right.

AP's take.

Interesting news - Villa is looking at keeping Jozy on the team proper, rather than loaning him out.

I'll bet Jozy got translated into Spanish and then back into English here. Click to continue reading...

Yep, there it is on Marca's futbol page, Ronaldo is going to Real Madrid, Gio Santos is going to Spurs, and Jozy to Villareal.
Readers commenting on the story seem quite positive, though one admits never having seen him play, while another is basing his analysis on Football Manager.
One also believes Izzy Sesay is a good prospect from that same game. Click to continue reading...

I read today in the Toronto Star that Ronaldo was named after Ronald Reagan, not so much for the late ex president's strange blend of down-home populism and ruthless neoconservatism, but more for his old terrible cowboy movies. But in light of the tomfoolery going on between Madrid and Manchester, let's take a look at our crisco-haired friend for a second and compare him to that old forgetful Click to continue reading...

It's a little crude at times and some strange song selections (Phil Collins?!?) but here's a compilation of Jozy Altidore's goals. Yes, there is actual video once you get past the beginning. Since this is mostly MLS stuff, perhaps Villarreal scouts saw this same video. This doesn't include, though, Jozy's goal against Mexico. Click to continue reading...

Succeed with Villareal? Play in Olympics? What is in store? Speculate away.
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No, not for the match today, but permanently, for Villareal.
Can I just say how excited I am to have young American talent going to La Liga again?
I've known Jozy since he was fifteen and playing ping-pong with Dan Kelly at the U17 World Cup in Peru. What struck me at the time was that his parents weren't along for the trip - although he was the youngest one there. Click to continue reading...

I really enjoyed watching the US team emerge with a convincing victory against Canada tonight to earn their way into the Olympics this summer. The team has definitely shown improvement in each match. Makes you wonder how well we'll actually do in Beijing against the top world powers, because right now, a pretty good run certainly looks possible. Click to continue reading...

Good afternoon folks. Apologies for the light posting today but I'm still recovering from the trip to Houston. I had a good time in Texas but am definitely glad to be back in Jersey.

Before we get to the weekend I thought it would be a good time for another You Write the Caption. When I saw this photo I knew American soccer fans could have a field day with it, so here goes.

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Photo by ISI Photos

Good morning everybody. If you are still talking about or thinking about the USA-Mexico game, don't fret. You are not alone.

There is so much to talk about from that game but one thing I wanted to say is that while there are some issues raised from that game I really don't think there is reason to be in panic mode about any particular aspect of the U.

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