It took a few days, but a video of Jozy Altidore's Carling Cup goal has finally surfaced (thanks to SBI reader Alex).
Here's his 30-yard free-kick blast:
What did you think of the goal? Ready to see Altidore try some free kicks for the U.S. national team?
Share your thoughts below.
Ready to see Altidore try some free kicks for the U.S. national team?
Goodness no, Lil Mikey must play ever game and Mandon must take all free kicks and corners.
Jozy could be a good ‘gimmick’ free kick taker but by no means should be be THE man to take free kicks by default. Even then as the gimmick man blasting the ball he will probably lose out to Jermaine Jones once he is healthy because he can positively HAMMER the ball from distance (and Jozy is no lightweight in that regard mind you) so he would be the man for the job in that respect.
If Adu ever gets his act together he is the man who should do it or Holden. Both of them take excellent free kicks and strike the ball beautifully.
The Free Kick taker should be determined in practice. Jozy must have had a few good cracks in his few trainings.
As well, Hull is way more willing to experiment and throw guys in.
The US should do the same. Let the guy who has been hot in practice take them. Not just hand it to LD every single time. If Jozy is going to hit them like that.. he should be taking at least 1 out of 3.
Landon Donovan scored a free kick against Barbados in the very beginning of south african concacaf qualifying…….to answer the first comment
I always wonder why teams don’t go for low power shots on free kicks more often. I think the US team could certainly use this in their arsenal for FKs just outside the box, as no one on the team can bend the ball well enough consistently other than maybe Lewis and Adu. For that matter, I also think we could use more planned plays on set pieces.
ummmm, 1 word: Great Goal.
Roberto Carlos rarely scored on free kicks, but he blasted them all the time. That creates havoc with the defense because it is unpredictable where the ball will end up. If we don’t have anyone reliable to bend the ball, why not let Jozy use his power to blast away a few times and see what happens? The result couldn’t be worse than it already is, right?
No worries, Ives. I still like you and what not. I think we can agree that 1) the U.S. doesn’t have someone who is reliably dangerous on free kicks and 2) Jozy’s free kick was nice.
(SBI-No, you’re wrong (kidding). Yes, we can agree.)
thank you Alex
To the people who say it wasn’t a blast – the video is very low quality and might not really show it’s power. Jozy hits them hard…really hard. Going back up to the top though, LD should still take most of the free kicks. Jozy’s heading ability is more important.
Jozy knows were the goal is, that’s for sure. Even with all his fitness problems he’s made an immediate positive inmpact for Hull.
It’s great that Brown realizes Jozy needs match time. Just going 90 minutes should help him going forward.
That said, Jozy has many things to improve upon, but at 19 at in the EPL the sky’s the limit for this kid.
Jozy’s the man! Anything else you hear is just pissing and hating.
Thanks for the video.
I love Jozy, but let’s be fair. That was hardly a blast. More like it dribbled into the net.
Dont forget, FKs have many factors. LD is not the answer for all of them. Besides, what do you do when he is not connecting. Keep going with him?
This will never get a look with the Nats. BB is so set in his ways, change takes too long. This is why we will never get any different looks in the middle. It will always be MB and someone else or Boca/Chewy. No movement forward.
I could be in love 🙂
Let him take some FKs.
I could see letting Altidore take a FK on goal if that kind of situation arised, but not consistently. Donovan will be the guy of choice for most FKs and Dempsey has gotten noticeably better over the last year or so.
This goal and others from Davies, Cooper, Donovan, and others will be in my next H Series video that will be out on September 1st with music by Ronald Jenkees. Look for it here.
It’s a nice goal. The earlier strike was rather impressive as well. As for Jozy taking free kicks, um, no. He probably wouldn’t have even taken this one if Hull was fielding a full 1st team squad. That being said, it depends on where the kick is taken, but usually I would prefer LD’s accuracy on free kicks because a well-placed ball is often more dangerous than a well-struck one. But that doesn’t detract from the fact that Jozy did a great job.
CBR,
Easy there, chief. You must have missed out on my own sarcasm: Sasha, Freddy, and Eddie. I think that is highly concerning, considering, as Ives so eloquently noted, those games meant NOTHING. A goal against a B/C Sweden team by a guy who needs a long break from National team duty; a goal in a home game in Colorado in a qualifier that meant nothing to us by a guy that can’t get 2 minutes for his club team; and a goal by a guy that is no longer in the national team picture in a meaningless friendly.
Forgive my own sarcasm.
And Ives, come on–I sensed a little passive aggression with your parenthetical. You’re right. I don’t remember the last meaningful game in which the U.S. scored on a free kick. But if you are suggesting that Jozy’s goal, which came against Southend United’s first-team, is somehow more relevant or important, I would have to disagree. Yes, it was a Carling Cup game, but that isn’t even the most important English tournament (FA Cup). And it was the second round. Go Shrimpers.
Don’t read this as hating on Jozy. I believe that my first post was too ambiguous in conveying sarcasm. I think it is bad when Sasha, Freddy, and Eddie were the last free-kick goal scorers. I reserve comment on Jozy’s free kick role, mainly because I have seen him take one…ever.
(SBI-Not sure why any time I comment it has to be taken as passively aggressive. I never said this Jozy goal was in a “big” game, nor did I ever say that I thought he should take them. I thought the discussion had veered toward the lack of qualify free kicks for the USMNT, which is what I was chiming in about. You got that! (sarcasm alert on the faux aggressiveness))
Tomas:
http://www.hull.vitalfootball.co.uk/forum/category-view.asp
There are already some Americans on board…
As soccerjohn said, Hull’s team included a lot of youth/fringe players. Its really not that crazy that Jozy was involved in taking a set piece, as I am pretty sure no one else in the side had scored a goal in the Confederation Cup before…
Tomas:
To find Hull fan sites, search Google for “Google UK,” get into Google’s UK version, then search in the UK sites for “Hull City” and you’ll find what you’re looking for. Also, Sky Sports is a good source for player ratings on EPL matches.
I think LD is very streaky on re-starts. He’s definitely improved as a ball striker, but it’s hard to tell exactly how much. IMO, Holden, Feilhaber, and Adu are probably better bets to produce consistently in that regard if they’re on the field.
The British match reports said that Jozy was one of the few first-team level players on the field for Hull. It may be that the manager simply wanted to see what Jozy could do and figured he had little to lose by letting him take the kick.
As for wanting Altidore to take FK’s for the USMNT, a sample of one does not make him a great option. I’m not saying he wouldn’t be, but I don’t know that I’m ready to throw Donovan to the side for FK’s because of one seeing-eye, two-bounce effort that beat a screened keeper. Brilliant or lucky? Who knows at this point.
Finally, let’s not forget that until very recently the US couldn’t score in the run of play to save its life. They weren’t scoring off of direct free kicks, but the goals were coming from indirect FK’s from the wings. Also, as a counter-attacking team that can’t buy calls even when the opposition is wringing our guys’ necks, it may be that we haven’t gotten a whole lot of FK’s in positions where shots should be taken.
Posted by: SoccerJohn | August 27, 2009 at 11:30 AM
This is exactly right.
@cjbrown
google is a wonderful thing.
Kyle Nakazawa is going to be a senior at UCLA after playing for the last three years. Last year he had a back injury but started the year on the Hermann trophy watch list. Should make it to some pro level next year.
The British match reports said that Jozy was one of the few first-team level players on the field for Hull. It may be that the manager simply wanted to see what Jozy could do and figured he had little to lose by letting him take the kick.
As for wanting Altidore to take FK’s for the USMNT, a sample of one does not make him a great option. I’m not saying he wouldn’t be, but I don’t know that I’m ready to throw Donovan to the side for FK’s because of one seeing-eye, two-bounce effort that beat a screened keeper. Brilliant or lucky? Who knows at this point.
Finally, let’s not forget that until very recently the US couldn’t score in the run of play to save its life. They weren’t scoring off of direct free kicks, but the goals were coming from indirect FK’s from the wings. Also, as a counter-attacking team that can’t buy calls even when the opposition is wringing our guys’ necks, it may be that we haven’t gotten a whole lot of FK’s in positions where shots should be taken.
Some nice goals in that match. Thanks for the post Alex (Ives).
No freekicks for Jozy. Landon should be on the ball. Jozy should be in the mix.
Yeh yeah Out The Door! Thanks Ives.
Sean,
That’s how you’re supposed to hit a shot – low and driven. Ignorant Americans have unfortunately fallen in love with popping the ball up in the air, when the most effective shot is actually to get your knee over the ball and blast it low. It’s so frustrating watching American soccer sometimes as guys lean back to kick field goals time after time when there’s no conceivable reason to pop it up in the air. The best weapon for a striker to have is a hard, low, driven shot.
Kind of a cagey stike – low. Anyone know the Hull City fan sites? I hear Jozy’s causing quite a stir among the supporters.
I started racking my brain on US free-kick goals in big, competitive games. All I could come up with Agoos, in the 02 Gold Cup final vs. Costa Rica. (That was just months after Mathis in 01 qualifier against Hondurans.)
I wouldn’t short-sell the Adu goal. It was well-taken and in a game that mattered to Guatemala. He also scored at least one, maybe 2 free kick goals, in qualifying for the Beijing Olympics last year. Klejstan goal vs. Sweden B in friendly was from a good 35 yards, no?
At youth level, there was a kid named Kyle Nakazawa, I think, who scored a bomb at a U-17 World Cup. What happened to him, I don’t know.
Truth is, we need someone who is expert at this, who can really bend it up over a wall and under the bar. A guy who will force the other teams to think twice before fouling around the perimeter of the box, and who will make them scared when they do get whistled in a bad spot.
(SBI-A game that mattered to Guatemala? They were already toast in qualifying, rested several key players and fielded a several Under-20/23 players under a new coach who wanted to see some fresh blood. That said, it was a great free kick by Adu.)
It also helps he was playing with a bunch of teenie-boppers and Tiger Beat readers…Hull didn’t exactly have all their senior players for the match, so why not let him have a crack.
Starting Davies and Altidore is a must for the upcoming WC qualifiers. We can’t have Ching reprising the role of the invisible man as he did in DF…go back to Hawaii and take Casey with you, Brian. Chingate Ching!
love how any of these goals would win goal of the week in MLS more often than not…
Come on, Ives… a BLAST? Let’s get real.
It’s a good goal, a good strike. But, not a ‘blast’.
Again… it’s a low driven goal, the same as too many goals from American players.
Good for him. Very good goal, though it seemed a tad lucky. Thought the keeper reacted late.
(SBI-Are you really arguing “blast”? Must be a slow day. He hit a free kick from 30 into the low corner and beat the keeper. That’s a blast my friend.)
Lovely goal! But I have to agree with Radi0head. We can use his heading ability in the box on free kicks.
@aristotle
That is a little strange. I didn’t even know he could do that. I can’t remember a single time Jozy has ever taken a free kick… Nats or club. He’s there for a week and all of a sudden, he’s one of their free kick guys? I suppose it’s good; being on a smaller club gives him more responsibility.
Yeah, give the kid some free kicks. I doubt Bradley will let it happen, though.
Ko’d congrats on being the first person to win a sarcasim detector!!….stay on the line while we get it out to you
Interesting. We don’t even let Altidore take free kicks, but Hull City, a premier league team, thought he should take a free kick?
Has he been practicing taking free kicks? Why would they even ask him? Are Hull that bad off for someone to take a free kick? This is NOT a knock on Jozy, but doesn’t it seem a little strange?
on the 3rd hull goal he was in perfect position for a square ball across the middle
Last time we scored a free kick goal? Sasha Kljestan’s first goal against Sweden this year. Freddy Adu vs. Guatemala last year in Colorado. Eddie Lewis also scored one against Poland in Poland, if I recall. There may be others, but those just off the top of my head.
(SBI-So in other words, in a game with real meaning against an opponent’s first-choice squad, it has been a good while. I doubt it’s as far back as Clint Mathis in Honduras circa 20001, but it’s been a while. Anybody?)
I thought he had scored during the run of play. Anyway, it’s good that they let the new kid take the shot. He’s doing well so far
andrewaw – It takes Bradley forever (too long) to make changes. For him to start Jozy over Ching would be a departure from past practices.
Look at the defense for example. We had Spector, and Demerit looking very good over the summer and he goes back to Boca and Dolo against Mexico. Jozy should be starting, I just don’t see it happening
I wouldn’t mind seeing Jozy get teed up for more FKs, or just more shots on goal from FKs in general.
Anyone else think the announcer sounded like the host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous or is it just me? Either way, nice work Jozy!
good shot! However, I would still feel better with Landy taking free kicks 🙂
plus, then jozy has a chance to get a header in
great goal. ANY chance that Davies and Altidore will start for the USMNT, and we WONT see Ching….PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!! We do NOT “need” ching to be a holding striker, we did just fine with Altidore and Davies in the Confederations cup, and both of them are getting “in form” now!
good strike
SWEET! good work ives
why not, i cant even remember the last time the US scored a FK goal. I think it was Wynalda back in 94