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Jozy Altidore issues Twitter statement following USMNT elimination

 

Jozy Altidore became the first U.S. Men’s National Team player to take to social media following Tuesday’s debacle.

The USMNT forward issued a statement on Twitter on Wednesday night, apologizing to the fans and U.S. Soccer community for the USMNT’s failure to book a spot to Russia. In addition, Altidore called for fans to continue to support the national team as it looks to bounce back heading towards next cycle.

Read Altidore’s statement below:

 

Comments

  1. Comparing Jozys results for goals and assists per game vs Deuce and Donovan is ridiculous.
    Jozy became our starting striker as a teenager because we had nobody else at the time.
    Deuce and Donovan played an entire cycle as outside mids in Bradley’s empty bucket.. and frankly that entire time Deuce should have been deployed up top. Landon was a better 2 way player and enjoyed the role… Deuce has the mentality of a ruthless finisher.
    Can you imagine what his numbers would have looked like if he’d been switched to playing up top earlier in his Nat Team career??
    The guy finished 3rd in the EPL voting for player of the year, 23 goals in all competitions and to the semifinal in the Europa league…. vs Jozy’s one goal & one penalty kick drawn…

    Don’t ever compare Jozy to Clint Dempsey ever again…

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  2. I have never been a Jozy fan and think he’s very overrated by many. Im sure he thinks he had to write that tweet but I dont want to read any of that. I saw an overall lack of effort from most and no letter is going to undo that. Its not the first time either.

    It will be very interesting to see the role that Jozy, and most of the others that played on Tuesday will play going forward or if theyre phased out for younger players. I think the friendlies in November will answer that. I see zero reason to use many of the current pool and that we should use players that will be around in 4.5 years. I put Jozy in that phase out group. Politically, it would be a disaster to call in the same guys that failed under JK and Arena. I can hear the screaming now

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  3. Bottom line: With fresh legs, Jozy was absolutely a top two forward for the USMNT in qualifying and should remain with the MNT until someone proves they are better. I’ll gladly side with Brian Straus over you nuts any day:

    “There’s a third set of vets who will remain useful during the transition but likely will be a bit past their peak by 2022. There’s no reason to say an immediate goodbye to Brad Guzan, Michael Bradley, Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron, Matt Besler, Jozy Altidore, Jorge Villafaña and others of that ilk. They’re still good players with something to contribute (or prove), and they’ll be helpful both on the training field and in 2019-2020 once meaningful matches return. They all may have just wasted their last chance at a World Cup, however.”

    https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/10/12/usmnt-future-world-cup-failure-bruce-arena-gulati-players-matches

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  4. Wow, so it seems everybody is just going to ignore that everybody (other than the CP goal) stunk against TnT and not just Jozy? Let’s just ignore that Jozy played well against Panama and the TnT loss had a lot more to do with Arena’s tactics and tired legs. Let’s just ignore that I said I’m fine with Jozy being replaced on the Nats if we can find somebody better (which we should definitely try and figure out in the next 4 years). If you legitimately think Jozy should just be discarded going forward and not given an opportunity to compete, you are truly a special kind of Muppet

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  5. Regarding Jozy, someone on this site said it well. He’s a big man who plays like a small man (I’d add albeit without speed). He’s good at flickons to other players and he’ll score some sitters with an occasional good turn and shoot. His hold up play is not very good and for a big man he’s woefully poor in the air. He’s just so damn inactive that when it comes to a game against a superior opponent (sometimes not even a superior opponent) he offers minimal defensive pressure allowing defenders to move the ball up the field without concern. Offensively the ball repeatedly clangs off him. To me, Wood seems significantly better. I cringe when I see Jozy in the lineup (also Omar for that matter).

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  6. I have never been an Altidore basher, but you are missing the point. He was horrible vs. T&T and too often he lacks hustle and desire when it’s needed. Contrast him with Pulisic who plays hard all the time and leaves it all out on the field. Same with Jermaine Jones, whose presence was sorely missed. We need more players like that–real warriors.

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    • @AzTeXan
      “For those of you you continue to insist Jozy is trash…” …..let me stop you right there HE IS TRASH. Pure Garbage. A striker who only scored 2 regular season goals in the EPL (and listed as one of the worst strikers to play in England) only to come to MLS and get soft. What do you call bad food that goes soft? Trash. Garbage. If you leave ANY PLAYER long enough on the forward line on any team he will EVENTUALLY PRODUCE SOMETHING (Wondolowski – San Jose Earthquakes), but can he produce when it counts? When it matters? When the game is on the line? When the pressure has mounted? when the stakes are at it’s highest? The answer is no……Your stats show Altidore currently better than Pulisic….IN WHAT UNIVERSE?!!!!! He doesn’t have creativity, he doesn’t have skill to get by defenders, he doesn’t have speed, SO WHAT EVEN MAKES YOU SAY THAT???? HOLD UP PLAY AND DRAWING FOULS? HE COULDN’T EVEN DO THAT!!!! If anyone is ignorant here is you….

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  7. Jozy had a horrible game. Missed an open net by about 5 yards too high, had a free header about 3 yards too high, along the back line with two teammates at the back post he kicks a soft shot right to the keeper at the near post. Also, I saw the old lazy Altidore too often. A notable lack of hustle. Yet, he carefully avoids taking any personal responsibility in his statement. He is obviously a big part of the problem and this statement is basically a waste of everyone’s time.

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  8. let me show you what hungry looks like
    let me show you what fighting for every inch looks like
    let me show you what no ENTITLEMENT looks like
    imagine
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNKzN7wysj8
    ———–
    GOAL FROM ROMAN TORRES (31), A SEATTLE SOUNDERS DEFENDER. DID NOT EVEN MAKE THE MLS ALLSTAR ROSTER!!!!!……look at him overlapping in grand fashion to push his team into the world cup. The captain, the leader of the team, takes matters into his own hands…A DEFENDER. HEAR IT IN THE VOICES OF THE ANNOUNCERS WHAT IT MEANS TO THEM. THAT’S PASSION
    Our player had no leadership
    No passion
    No hunger
    No urgency
    Thinking that they will be handed the qualification like they are handed their spots on the team and everything else.
    VERY HONORABLE from Altidore……but save your apologies for those who need it. Why USSoccer felt like they needed to keep Altidore, Bradley, Howard and Dempsey the face of America soccer only time will tell, especially since they were only shadows of their former selves. You all let down a nation because you all felt entitled, felt like the wolf on top of the hill, rather than the Panamas and Costa Ricas feeling like the hungry wolf trying to take the hill.

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    • bizzy, as I pointed out at least a month ago, MLS players in other CONCACAF countries lift their game in qualifying and our players seem to decrease their game. One of the bad things about this loss is you have sports writers who don’t know jack about the sport now weighing in on what’s wrong with US soccer. I read one this morning about how too many of our players play in MLS, which he called Minor League Soccer. Yet most of the players in 3 of the teams above us get the majority of their players from the same place. And T&T only had a couple of MLS players when they beat us, using a lot of lower division players. We have more European based players than anyone but Mexico and I think we have more in a top 5 league than Mexico has (of course Arena didn’t play all that he could have). So desire and effort make a big difference only too many of our players seemed to forget that.

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  9. Arriola is playing at his level right now. Hes just not very good and is probably happy to be slamming crosses into defenders every week as an auto starter. Morris could have tried at Bremen but when you look at how his season has gone you have to wonder if he would have flopped and MLS might be his level too. Not sure on Acosta but he had a pretty rough summer trying to play up to par internationally.

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  10. Pulisic would never do that. His mom told him he could come home at 16 when he couldn’t understand German at school and he flatly told her no. The only one on that list who might take the easy MLS route would be Green. I am hopeful this young group is smart enough to understand they need to emulate our best player (pulisic) and stay in Europe.

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    • Bryan, Agree, I think Pulisic is too savy for that too. But MLS will need new poster boys soon and they will splash cash at someone. Pulisic has to be out of their reach at the moment but really none of these guys should be playing in MLS and this cycle proves that out for us. Making them MLS poster boy turns them into auto starters at club and also in some cases NT and we need our best competing against the highest levels possible.

      Half my family is Brazilian, when I told them our manager calls in players from MLS over guys who start in Germany or England, they laugh. They immediately say something like who’s the technico why is he not fired? Its pretty obvious to non Americans with out a US bias what our problems are.

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      • @Joe Dirt it seems that we are the few that understand that concept. Like seriously how can that be hard to see?!!!

      • @ Bizzy, I know right. Its okay I don’t mind getting called a conspiracy theory lunatic with a tin foil hat. I didn’t mind getting call an idiot back in Nov when I said firing JK was a mistake and hiring BA would be a return to route 1 over the top balls to know one in space and a rigid 442. I said all those things back then too and got flamed as well.

        I said more recently after the roster was announce at beginning of last window not calling in Chandler while Yedlin was injured was fireable in of itself because is shows a lack of understanding current form and an unwillingness to take the best talent and as manager making it work rather then trotting out his guys. I said at the end of last window given that we got lucky with Wood’s goal in the 85′ that BA should have been fired then based on the teams performance, his roster call ups, and his lineup selections, remember he benched Cameron after the CR game.

        People here call me crazy then too. They won’t listen and are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. Johnny will never admit it but he knows what I posted last window about our predicament was right and he know that I never wanted to be right and hate it to my core.

        The same mistakes will take place as some point in the future. MLS/SUM is a business and they need to make money. TV rights and tickets, eyeballs and butts. Once the next crop of marketable national team players emerge who are challenging and making progress both in Europe and for USMNT MLS/SUM will gladly overpay their transfer value to bring them back to MLS so they can market them stateside. Meanwhile, they will become penciled into the USMNT roster and lineup and whoever the next manager will be will be forced to use tactics and lineups that are built around these next MLS poster boys regardless of their current form.

        One more thing and those who read my post already know it, but just remember I’m also a big believer in Julian Green. Been putting that out there for over a year. Just remember when he moves up. Nobody wants to hear that too, its like Green is a boogeyman and he creates and emotional response from most fans because they believe he took Landon’s spot or something and by extension JK as well for not bring an overweight Mahi Tai drinking sabbatical hangovered Donovan to last WC, although I would have taken him over Wondo or Davis, Green proved his spot was worth it.

  11. Jozy is not good enough. He was even cramping up or strained before kickoff. And if he is not good enough now, he won’t be good enough when he is 32/33. With no competitive games until 2019 there is no reason to ever call him in again. But i’m certain him and Bradley will still be around and that is a shame.

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    • @Bryan, the MLS poster boys will always be brought in because it pays MLS to have stars. Knowing this generation is finished MLS will now have to lure other Americans playing in Europe back to the States and create an next generation of poster boy auto starters for the national team, its the playbook. These new poster boys will never have their roster spot challenged and start every game and the USMNT lineup will adjust for these specific players because they have to be on the field regardless of form. I would look for this to start after Russia however since they don’t really have any targets yet on who to bring back who is young enough to play in 2022. If any of the talent we have now pushing for time in Europe such as McKennie, Gooch, Hyndman, Green, Miazga, CCV, EPB, or Gonzolez in Mx start to see the bench instead of the field look for MLS to pay overpriced transfer fees to get these guys into MLS. Of course, Pulisic is no doubt out of their reach but if he somehow loses his spot and doesn’t see minutes it might embolded MLS to through stupid money at his club and him. God I hope not thought it would be another diaseter all over again for the young generation to come back early to MLS like this recent one did.

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  12. This is the type of ho hum pr machine type comment that makes him sound good in the media but is really full of sh-t because it doesn’t address any of the real issues.

    I’m waiting to hear some substance from one of our veterans about the manager and his poor callups and tactics, about higher ups within Ussf and some of the cronyism at that level. That would be courageous, not, “I’m so sorry…”.

    We need an insider who is brave enough to blow the whistle on the MLS/SUM money machine.

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    • Thinking about it further. That’s really the only way any of our veterans can restore any semblance of their legacy on the USMNT. As of now they will always be remember as the team that didn’t make it. With the exception of Dempsey, Howard and the younger guys, it overshadows their entire USMNT career.

      What to get some good graces back. Veterans who know the program and are inside that group need to talk, real talk. No PC mumbo jumbo, tell the fans whats really happened. That’s at least a start on the way to getting their legacy somewhat back. IMO.

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    • Is it brave to throw everyone else under the bus and pass blame to others?? The players are saying they are sorry and they let us down. They are taking ownership of their own mistakes and poor performances. This is exactly what we needed to hear during the qualifying cycle. Ownership of mistakes. Unfortunately its too little too late. You are encouraging them to blame the big bad boogeyman at USSF they have 0 control over. I strongly believe thats the wrong approach

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  13. The real shame is the players, coach etc as a whole did not realize they were in trouble until the second Trinidad goal flew into the net. They all seemed to think everything was going to work out for them as long as they kept doing what they were doing. Complacency, overconfidence arrogance. Whatever you want to call it. They missed the World Cup, because they could not imagine losing. No one seemed to accept they were in a desperate situation, but still had it all in their own hands. They were drowning in the water waiting for someone to throw them a life jacket when all they had to do was kick their legs and swim to the boat.

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    • @ Ronaldinho, I blame the BA’s immense arrogance for their overconfidence. Its like the players and the whole program never even thought a loss could happen. They win 4-0 and think they are hot stuff and manager is trolling media with stuff about Euro teams not making it in Concacaf then his team gets blasted by TnT’s U23 team. Ridiculous.

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