Altidore introduced at Villarreal

American soccer fans will smile at this photo of Jozy Altidore wearing the colors of Villarreal, while some Red Bulls fans might shed a tear or two.

Altidore was introduced today as Villarreal's newest signing. Altidore agreed to terms on a six-year contract with Villarreal.

We all knew this was coming, but seeing Altidore in the colors puts a different sort of stamp on things. Share your thoughts on the image, the signing and Altidore's next step.

Comments

[jdawg]

looking good in yellow, jozy!

[Aguinaga]

Looks so strange... :~(

[Mark]

I miss the kid already. But it's good to see him have the opportunity to play at such a high level. I really hope he rises to the challenge and becomes the striker we need him to be.

No offense to Jovan Kirovski, but he was in the same boat and had his chances at some prestigious clubs and just never became the player his was hyped to be. He was still a productive player, just never lived up to expectations. Don't want to see that happen to Jozy.

[Steve]

Alright Jozy!!!!!!

Now hurry up and settle in. Once we get past Barbados we're gonna need ya!

[CO_Soccer_FAN]

Best of luck to Jozy!!! Personally, I'm not yet sold on that yellow uniform but it's just me and I'll adjust.

[Joamiq]

I'll get used to it once he starts scoring goals and forces Rossi out of the lineup.

[Chuck]

Wow does he look good in Yellow

[sublicon]

Man, that hurts to look at.

[DeLarge]

Okay, I feel like people will lob stuff at me for this...

But since Rossi will likely never break the full Italy team, after he sees what he and Jozy bring to the table together, can he switch allegiances back to the USA?

[David Berger]

Why does it say he was born in Miami?

[nate]

I'll be gutted when Rossi assists Jozy for the game-winner over Real Madrid.

[JustinV]

David, they also have him at 5' 9" and 150 lbs.

[Simona]

It is a bit strange. Good luck Jozy!

[kawa]

i get the feeling he will not be on the bench as much as some people think, this kid does not have nerves i never saw it he was banging from the moment he got his chance with Bruce Arena , he did the same vs a strong mexican team in a packed stadium , I believe this kid can become an impact player for Villareal sooner than later

[NateinSF]

Yeah I want to second that question. Is Rossi now locked into Italy? I assume after the Olympics he will be?

We need forwards

[Bob]

Good to see him in the greatest league in the world. But I don't know when he'll actually get in a game with Villareal.

[VictorM]

I believe Rossi is lacked in to Italy. He turned 21 back in February and had to make a choice. He chose Italy.

But don't quote me unless someone else seconds this info.

[Joe Ginto]

Still on Joe Red? Yes, he can now only play for the Azzurri. I think he will break into the national team roster here soon but I don't see it happening in the next few months...there's too much competition with older established players.

[rmiller]

Hope Jozy knows some spanish. I think he will do well in spain. Maybe Freddy will join him?

[A.S.]

As a RB fan, I'm not that upset. Altidore hardly played for us anyway - what, maybe a season's worth of games total? I'd frankly rather have someone who is less talented but who will play everyday for the next several years. Hopefully with the money they get for this transaction, RB will be able to find that person.

[Will]

Where can I get the kit ;)?

[Will]

Rossi chose Italy (that f--ker).

[Dominghosa]

Wow, it's actually happened. Sooner than a lot of us would have thought.

[brentmcd]

proud of the kid. hope he tears it up. (and permanently relegates rossi to the bench :-)

[Ty]

Hey Lazy Altidore, sucks to see your career fall faster than Kirovski and Conor Casey...Good luck turning it around

[matt]

soooooo glad he went to spain... such a better balance of play... best of luck.... matt @ objectivo

[Bill]

Note:

The "bio" section of the article announcing his presentation on the Villarreal website explicitly states that Jozy "will be a part of the next Olympic Team in Beijing." Now, whether that's something we can take to the bank, or simply the conjecture of Villarreal's website author dude, we'll see.

But it's a glimmer of hope.

[don]

altidore will play in the olympics. clubs can't stop anyone from doing so when they're under 23. even barca can't stop messi, for example

[Nick]

They can't stop you, but at the same time you don't want to piss off the club that just signed you to a six year deal and is probably paying him at least 5 times more a year than he was making in the MLS. Plus he would have a much better shot of getting into the team if he starts training when the rest of the deal does compared to if he is away in China. That said, I REALLY want him in Beijing.

[tedhill]

He looks awesome in the yellow! If he isn't loaned out in the summer transfer window I'm going to pick me up a yellow submarine Altidore shirt.

[Frimp]

good for him, glad it is spain. good for the usmnt too. like our chances in 2014(ha) and yes rbny pleeez buy some peeps. looking forward to catching ray hudson calling his first strike, via con dios jozy!

[ConMan24]

Hey Ives,

Love the blog! Keep up the great work. Yours is the first internet i check when i get home from work everyday!

Great for Jozy, sad to see our best out of TV range, but hell, its all for the better right?

Wondering if you had read into all the rumors abou Brek Shea lately? Supposedly Manchester United's top scout has flown to watch him at FC Dallas. Supposedly he caught Fergie's eye during the Toulon tournament. I'd love to get some more info on that if you could do some digging around?

[Sandro]

I think this will be good for Jozy Altidore and good for US Soccer. Good luck Jozy and keep the goals coming.

[Sandro]

Oh about the Yellow...at first it looked like he had joined the crew...not. Go Red Bulls!

[Ron]

I can not be more happy to see Altidore in La Liga. It gives me goose bumps to see the pictures of him being greeted by the yellow submarine fans. I think it will be very good if he goes to Recreativo Huelva on a loan, as he will have a chance to play more minutes in a league where teams are good from top to bottom. Altidore and Adu seem like they're heading on the right direction, and it really confuses me not to see Altidore in the National Team, this kid is strong, fast and has a high soccer IQ. Why do we start E. Johnson over Altidore? Also, I'm pumped up to see Altodore and Rossi kick it around...hopefuly Rossi will be of great help, and not an egotistic a$$.

[brett]

Ron- >.< b/c Jozy is coming off an ankel injury and there was no need to bring him to LA to play against a team that would just end up hacking him back to injury... with the transfer on the horizon and the physical there was no need to risk injury...

and that includes the past 3 friendlies...

[brett]

im glad Jozy went to Spain... England is not right for his developement... the only other 2 leagues i wouldve also like to have seen him would have been Holland and Italy...

Spain is a good fit, and he should learn alot... i see him getting loaned half way through the season as a positive... he'll have half a season of training with a quality side and assimilated into the spanish culture and lifestyle... after a few months he goes to a weaker side and works for PT.... great news all around

[inkedAG]

I think Mark's comment said it best.

I wish Jozy nothing but the best as we need a stronger forward pool for the Nats.

[nickmustgo]

Thank god he left before the Red Bulls could completely ruin him.

[andacagar]

Being that I'm from Jersey, I hate to see him go but I am also excited to this kid emerge into one of the US's best players. Lets see who we get to replace him on the Bulls.

[Ryan]

Rossi is locked into Italy. He can never play for the US. Thats too bad though b/c i dont think he will ever be a regular in the Italian squad.

[brett]

Ryan- dunno bout you but that kinda makes me smile

[Alex]

Look at that man child in yellow!

[Aljarov]

Amazing how mych better that Yellow looks than Columbus. Is it the blue or just the lack of the Village people logo?

:)

[YakimaShorty]

It's too bad the MLS is still a feeder league after thirteen years. We'd have a pretty formidable league if we could keep our US talent at home.

[brett]

it all comes down to the $$$'s...

anyhow since we dont have several leagues we are opening the door for other up'n'coming talents....

once the MLS can get on par with the NFL/NBA/MLB in forms of pay then we'll be seeing more US talent stay and better foreign talent coming in... but until that point id rather see the likes of Jozy go abroad then see him wear and tear himself down at giant stadium

[RK]

If Villarreal signed Jozy to market to the US...it worked (in Spanish):

http://www.villarrealcf.es/principal.php?nombreModulo=noticiasDetalle&idnoticia=6399&idseccion=7&idmenu=4&idsubmenu=35

[Bobo]

Oh my god, are you people still harping on about Rossi? Keep telling yourself that he won't ever be an important player for the Azzurri... he was in contention to go to freaking Euro 2008, at 21 years of age... Roberto Baggio had to wait until he was 23 years old before he got his first cap for Italy! Grow up, people.

And Altidore displace Rossi? LMFAO. Rossi is a fantasista, Altidore is a lumbering piece of wood that parks itself in front of goal waiting for an assist from Rossi. Rossi has more talent in his little toe than Altidore could dream of having... after all, how much hard work does it actually take to have a huge frame?

[tom tom]

good luck jozy! future of american soccer with adu. thank you for your great moments with the Bulls