BOSTON — Jozy Altidore didn’t need much prompting to drop the biggest bombshell of the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s three-day training camp in Boston.
In front of an assembly of reporters Wednesday, Altidore said that he would look to leave Sunderland in January if his playing time at the Premier League club doesn’t increase between now and then.
“I thought I’ve done everything I could this season to come in as fit as possible with the injury and try to make an impact when I’ve played,” Altidore said before the United States’ practice session. “But like I said these four years, I want to be part of the national team. Jurgen makes his message very clear, nobody is different, so if it doesn’t turn around then in January I’ll be looking to start elsewhere and make sure that I’m in his plans going forward.”
Altidore’s comments haven’t made waves in northeast England yet, but they will.
Altidore, 24, has struggled since joining Sunderland in the summer of 2013 in a £6.5 million ($13 million) transfer from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar. There are a number of reasons why, including Paolo Di Canio’s (the manager who signed Altidore) abrupt dismissal and a different style of play under new manger Gus Poyet, exactly one year ago. There also was Altidore’s crisis of confidence in early 2014, Poyet’s apparent lack of faith in the American striker, and an injury-interrupted start to the 2014-15 season.
The combination of factors lead to some grim statistics: Altidore has scored three goals in 45 games (in all competitions) at Sunderland.
Altidore’s form and fitness at club level certainly need improvement, but his standing on the national team doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy. Altidore captained Team USA in its most recent game — a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic on Sept. 3 — and could do the same after Landon Donovan steps aside 30 minutes into Friday’s game against Ecuador. Barring injury, Altidore can expect to be in the United States’ squad for its exhibition game against Ireland on Nov. 18. He’ll probably start, as no other players are ahead of Altidore in head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s pecking order.
The peculiar timing of Altidore’s comments suggests he knows something that the soccer world does not. When was the last time a player issued a public ultimatum over playing time, and a manager relented and selected him for a run of games? On Aug. 20, Poyet said Altidore’s “role in the team” would be that of a substitute “for the next month.” Altidore then started and scored Sunderland’s only goal in a 2-1 loss to Stoke City in the League Cup on Sept. 27. Altidore was an unused substitute in Sunderland’s next two Premier League games before he left for national team duty. Sunderland’s half-decent start to the league campaign (1 win, 5 draws and 1 loss) makes it unlikely that either Poyet is going anywhere or Altidore will overtake strikers whom the manager seems to prefer over him.
We reasonably can conclude that Altidore is in the final months of his time at Sunderland. Dutch giant PSV, French club Lille and at least one Major League Soccer team reportedly have registered interest in signing Altidore at times in 2014.
Perhaps Altidore is setting the stage for an exit from Sunderland, which will happen in January or next summer, with his surprisingly candid comments.
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Photo via Twitter/@naijagood1
