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Altidore joining AZ Alkmaar

Jozy Altidore (ISIPhotos.com)

Jozy Altidore has played in three different countries since leaving MLS for Europe back in 2008, and he's about to make it four.

Altidore has agreed to terms with Dutch power AZ Alkmaar for the upcoming Eredivisie season, sources told Fox Soccer on Thursday evening. Details on the move have yet to become available, but Altidore is expected to make the announcement official on Friday morning in Florida.

Altidore was last season scoring two goals for the U.S. men's national team during this summer's Gold Cup before a hamstring ended his tournament early. The 21-year-old striker had been rumored to be considering a move to the Netherlands, but only recently reached an agreement to make the move.

What do you think of this news? Like the idea of Altidore playing in the Dutch League? How many goals can you see him scoring this season?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. im actually glad jozy moved to the netherlands cause to be honest americans have a good track record in netherlands. micheal bradley excelled in heereven. oguchi onewyu got a good bit of time in his loan spell at twente and demarcus beasley also excelled at PSV. so this move to netherlands was a good one for him to really establish himself in a top level european club. fingers crossed for some european time soon

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  2. Michael Bradley scored 16 goals in the Dutch league a few years back. Goal numbers tend to be a bit inflated in that league… just a bit… Having said that, it IS a good place for a striker to develop, and I think he has every opportunity to develop and do well.

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  3. Agree. A lot of what he lacks is technical ability, which really is learned at an early age. His first touch, specifically, which is key for a forward.

    He could improve on his positioning and reading the game, which is something I think he can improve on with age. But for me, he lacks that touch to really do anything significant on a long-term basis.

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  4. I don’t mind his embellishment, or “diving.” If it wins the Nats a penalty in Brazil, then I’m all for it.

    It’s cynical, but now I’m at the point where I’d rather win than have moral victories that we “played the game the way it should be played.”

    I’m sure many will disagree with me. I agree completely that his fitness needs to improve.

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  5. I wouldn’t say USMNT call ups were the main factor behind many players European club careers but certainly played a significant role in them being considered by European clubs. MB, Jozy, Holden, Adu, Edu, and Clark all moved up clubs lists because of their play and exposure from the USMNT. To say it played no role is silly and Bob should be given some credit.

    Yes, it my not be the responsibility of the NT to help players club careers but I think Bob and US Soccer did a good job of recognizing that they needed to get more players in better leagues to improve the overall level of play from the Nats. By promoting young players onto the Nats early on last cycle they were able get them exposure and playing time in better leagues.

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  6. People forget Jozy is only 21! He left MLS as a RAW talent. He has not gotten the right instruction since then which is absolutely necessary to teach him how to use the tools he has in top flight world soccer. Going to Holland is a great move for his education as a player. And if he shows something there, bigger leagues may lay ahead! He needs to go wherever he can go to better his skill and be an improved all-round striker for qualifying and our trip to Brasil 2014.

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  7. imagine if MLS had that kind of money:

    –Henry-Altidore-Agudelo-
    -Lindpere-McCarty-Richards
    -Miller-Ream-Marquez-Solli
    ——–Rost———-

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  8. Unfortunately, speaking in broad vague language (i.e. “He has put a LOT of US players in a position to get noticed and picked up by clubs overseas.”) does not really indicate a deep understanding of how soccer really works or exactly how the USMNT has been used for player advancement at the club level. So, CG, could you please gives us the list of those players who owe their overseas’ careers to Bob Bradley? And while you are at it, do you really think it is in the best interest of the national team for the coach to be using his roster selections to help out the club careers of certain players? Just curious.

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  9. On surface it appears to be a good move. It may be Jozy’s last chance to show and improve his striking skills at a good club. He and others say, no, he’s still very young, but in sport if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backwards. Time is not on his side in soccer, (see Adu).

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  10. Ives’ twitter says it’s a permanent 4 year deal, so Jozy’s time in Spain seems to be at an end.

    Good to hear. He was never going to get anywhere by playing with a different squad every year.

    AZ seems to be in desperate need of Forwards, so if Jozy can’t get PT here, then he never will.

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  11. Villarreal and Garrido don’t want him — Pelligrini wanted him. Even though they are going to sell Rossi (most likely), they don’t see Jozy working with their squad.

    There was a CL qualifier on the road last year that didn’t help his cause…he had chances with them but really didn’t show that he could replace Rossi.

    They even shipped off Jozy and Jefferson Montero, leaving them with 3 forwards for last spring, and they were still in the CL. That’s telling.

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  12. Well, he’s striving *and* thriving. And hugging the turns. And thinking of someone for whom he. . .still. . . burns.

    CAUSE HE’S GOING THE DISTANCE!

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  13. That was the implicit point. I’m not with Ives on this one. Bouncing around is not a good thing, especially when a club like Villareal, a good club but without the unlimited resources of the elite, is admitting to a mistake in buying him. It isn’t just that they don’t see him helping now, but they can’t see it it in the future either. I think loans for young players are complicated and tend to be a bit overrated.

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  14. Can’t learn at Team A when you’re on loan to Teams B and C. Being under Villareal’s ownership doesn’t help if he’s not there, and based on the pattern and their depth, he’d probably be loaned again :

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  15. Dude, while his rights belong to Villiareal, Altidore is moving from playing in the Turkish league last season to playing in the Dutch league. There’s no shame in playing in the Dutch league – they play open, attacking, free-flowing soccer. The Dutch league is solid funamendtally and has produced scores of great players. It’s a great league for a striker to develop. Plus he is on a very good team that will be playing in Europa league – this beat playing for dreadful Hull and chasing inaccurate long balls or sitting on the bench in La Liga behind really good strikers, such as Rossi and Nilmar. For a young player, it a great opportunity – he will get playing time and develop in the Dutch league. Just look at how well Suarez developed before his move to Liverpool. Playing in the Dutch league did not hamper his but prepared him well for the EPL. Altidore is a talented young player and needs time to develop. People, who label him as a bust, forget that he is actually younger than Chicharito.

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  16. Hopefully they condemn laziness and diving, because those are very bad traits that Jozy needs to drop to improve. He’s a big, fast player who needs to utilize his physical tools, while improving his technical ability, to become a complete striker.

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  17. AZ are in the third round of qualifying in the Europa League, which just had its draw this morning. AZ will be playing either KS Flamurtari (Albania) or FK Jablonec (Czech Rep). Two legs July 28 and August 4. Would he be suiting up by then?

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  18. Remember…Jozy’s only 22. Many young players (20 and under) don’t do well when they travel to England or Spain and it takes them a while to come back around.

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  19. Let me give you some perspective about soccer, the mexican coach, Jose Manuel De La Torre is the equivalent to a Jason Kreis MLS coach, so he is not a world class coach but he knows soccer and player development is certainly one of the coaching habilities you got to have as a world class coach period…

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  20. GREAT move. Teams are more attack oriented in the Dutch League and are often exposed in the back. His size and strength will be a burden for most Dutch League defenders.

    However, Jozy NEEDS to be a true pro. His fitness is, in a word, horrible. It comes down to desire. The next year is a BIG opportunity for Jozy. Let’s see what he makes of it.

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  21. I think John Harvey meant would have loved to see him play with Hector Moreno because Moreno was at AZ, before being bought by Espanyol.

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  22. Unfortunately, Matt, never. Liking soccer and understanding how it works are totally different.

    Just look at Mexico — good thing they hired a world-class coach to turn their national team fortunes around, right?

    I have concerns about Bradley for sure, but player development isn’t one of them. In fact, given that it’s not one of his jobs, I’d say it’s probably been one of his strengths over the years. He has put a LOT of US players in a position to get noticed and picked up by clubs overseas.

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  23. Everybody knows that Jozy’s first touch is horrible because of Bradley. A “world class coach” would be able to go back in time and make sure he learns the basics at the right time.

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  24. Agreed that this is a great move for Altidore and that he will get more playing time. Still, I’d rather see our players moving from the Dutch league to the Spanish league. Jozy has been demoted to a less powerful league.

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  25. Not just related to Bradley as coach, but when we will stop thinking that the national team has anything to do with player development.

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  26. This needs to be a transfer because the annual yo-yo thin is doing him and Freddy no good. If they were to find a suitable club (Caykur, AK), they might not even stay put, they get yanked back and loaned somewhere else. Or worse they sit on the shelf a year.

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