Fearing perhaps the same weight of expectation heaped on the shoulders of Freddy Adu, New York Red Bulls Bruce Arena has consistently downplayed the prospect of young Jozy Altidore becoming a force in Major League Soccer this season. “I’m always careful about making rash predictions about young kids,” Arena said. “It hurts players psychologically in their development and once you lose your confidence it takes a while to build it back up. We want to give him gradual doses of stress, instead of throwing it all out there at once.”
Since last season, when Altidore scored three crucial goals to help the New York Red Bulls into the playoffs and nearly past D.C. United, the 17-year old striker has gained one year, a driver’s license and two inches. Yep, he’s still a growing boy, but one who’s getting ready for his first full season as a professional. In the last year, Altidore said, “I learned that it’s not always going to happen the way you want it sometimes.” After Altidore played poorly during in qualifying for the U.S. U-20s in Panama, Arena noted, “He didn’t look sharp and it’s taken him a while to get his feet on the ground. But he’s doing fine now and I’ve been pretty pleased with him over the last couple of weeks.
Despite the Bulls’ well-publicized search far and wide for another striker, which culminated in the return of veteran MLS and U.S. national team striker Clint Mathis, Altidore is likely to start Saturday night’s season opener against the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium.