Altidore's Red Bulls career is over (UPDATED)

FIRST ON SBI

(Jozy Altidore will not play in the Red Bulls match against Chivas USA, effectively putting to an end his three-year career with the Red Bulls.)

While Jozy Altidore's record-setting transfer to Villarreal won't become official until July 1, his Red Bull career may already be over, and if it isn't, what remains will only consist of a short cameo appearance.

According to multiple sources, Altidore will not start for the Red Bulls tonight against Chivas USA, will not play for the club beyond tonight and may not even be in uniform for tonight's match. The best Red Bulls fans wanting to see Altidore in a Red Bulls uniform one last time can hope for is an appearance as a late-game substitute, which would serve as his final farewell to Red Bulls fans.

Altidore did not train again after picking up an ankle injury on Monday in training, which means he probably wouldn't have started even if his pending multi-million transfer to Villarreal wasn't looming, but sources have told SBI that Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has told his players that Altidore no longer figures into any of the team's future plans.

Altidore is set to join the U.S. national team this weekend for Sunday's friendly against Argentina on Sunday (his status for that match remains unclear), then is expected to take part in the extended national team camp ahead of upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Barbados on June 15 and 22. After a week off, Altidore will then travel to Spain to make his transfer to Villarreal official on July 1.

Comments

[Scott]

Its a shame to see his poor atitude to the game of lately but, as NYRB fan I am sad to see him go. I wasnt expecting this till a little later in the summer but, I wish him the best of luck

[mikeK]

Bleh. Whatever.

[Charlie N.]

I will be at the game tonight, I hope jozy shows up to play. We are all happy for your future but hey, throw us a bone will ya..

[Robert]

Just one last time tonight (5 mins) would be nice. At least some play with the nats would also be nice.

[TBryantMU]

Not sure if this is the classiest way for him to leave RBNY

[brett]

Scott- its posts like yours that make me laugh... where has he shown any poor attitude... he may have had a lesser form of himself from the previous years, but clearly players have slumps in health... with all the games he played, all the camps he participated in during the off season... it all wore away at him...

id stop clinging to everything Ives says.. not everything is true, despite what the sources tell him

[Einar]

what red bull fans? the red bulls have fans? no wonder he doesnt want to play in a empty stadium and leave right away to bradley before going to Spain.

[MZ]

i sense some resentment from rbny

[MZ]

i sense some resentment from rbny

[Amit]

This whole situation seems a little bit messi, pun intended.

[EDB]

I must be reading the story different, but I see it as JCO keeping him out more then him saying I'm not playing..

[IndyYankFan]

He needs to get out of NY as soon as possible before his skills start diminishing. And no one really knows what his "attitude" is like. Who cares...let him get on with it.

[ELAC]

Speaking of weak fan bases, maybe NYRB can move to San Diego.

I agree with you, Einar.

[Jason]

Osorio is the type of coach that would have kept him on the bench after this to make a point anyway.

With Osorio, NYRB is not the right system for him any longer as it is.

[Craig]

Thank god Alitore has been set free from the Hell/ Purgatory that is MLS, as well as Bullsh!ts, the most pathetic franchise in the history of Minor League Sports.

[Mikemike]

He should give us one more solid performance, but what can you do? Good luck Jozy.
-Mike

[michael]

Has anyone considered that RBNY is protecting his pending transfer by not playing him? Sitting the player seems like a financial decision and nothing else in my opinion, and its a smart one. What if he has some sort of injury that Villarreal decides not to pick him up? Is that what RBNY, Altidore, and anyone else wants? I hate to say it, but this is a business decision, nothing more; nothing less.

[garbaggio]

Does signing a La Liga deal take Jozy out of consideration for the Beijing Olympics?

[Eugene]

He should at least have his farewell for the fans. Its only right, considering how much we've supported him. Even if only for 10 minutes, he should get a chance to say farewell from the field.

[mymy33]

"Poor attitude to the game"- I don't think this was necessarily the total story....can't believe everything you hear even if it is on the Internet. I just saw a kid who was tired and worn out from playing A LOT of soccer. And if a tired and worn out Altidore gives you 3 goals in 8 games I'll take it (maybe Clint Dempsey could learn a thing or two from him) Do I believe he was distracted? Yeah, but who wouldn't be? And I hate to beat a dead horse....but the kid is only 18. I hope he makes a cameo tonight as well but I think whether he does or not has nothing to do with him. I'm just glad we'll be able to see him play at Huelva (if the rumors of a loan are true) because even though some may disagree this kid had nothing left to prove in MLS.

[groovester]

That makes sense, just like I said yesterday. Why risk getting injured and having a deal fall through. Would be stupid to play.

[paul Lorinczi]

garbaggio is spot on.

Altidore is now a business transaction. They are protecting the $8 million by not letting him get injured.

It is not about bad attitude.

[Victor]

Stupid move if he plays tonight. No need to risk injury on a crappy field. Are you going to risk an $8 million payment on a non-conference game in front of 15 fans?

[HomeyBoehme]

Wow...that is a bit sad. Very happy and proud for Jozy. I'm sure it would be nice to see him play one last time before going. He sounds injured anyway, so perhaps all for the best. He deserves a great send off anyway, either w/NYRB or the USMNT (or both really).

[John]

Again, you confuse the FIFA registration date (July 1) with the transfer windows. The registration date has nothing to do with who owns his rights. Once the transfer period opens (Europe opened June 1, MLS opens June 15) the deal can be signed and fee transferred. Dozens of European players have already been transferred - deals signed and monies wired. They just can't play for the new club until July 1 - however, that has nothing to do with their deals becoming official.

Altidore will officially become Villareal property when the MLS window opens on June 15; he just can't play for Villareal until July 1 (which, given their schedule, is irrelevant).

Needless to say, his RBNY days are over. There is no way Villareal would permit him to continue playing up until June 15.

[Steve T.]

What does this kid have, 12 career goals? You'd think he's legend with all this farewell crap. Just sit already and make sure we get our money.

[groovester]

I thought the only transfer period that mattered was the transfer period of the league the player is moving to. I thought the MLS transfer period was irrelevant in this case.

[Allegre]

I loved watching him play. He combined best with Mathis. Let's get the money and move on. Red Bull has invested a lot of money buying out the interest in the stadium. We knew he wouldn't stay. Let's see who they add and get on with it.

PS. I believe they have a good number of fans. But who can tolerate the way we are treated at Giants Staduim for any length of time. When the experience gets better the fans will flock to the stadium.

[Steve T.]

Allegre...Hear! Hear!

Giants stadium is a massive black hole from which no joy can escape.

Its worse than aweful.

[Michael F.]

If JCO turns out to be a jerk and RBNY keeps losing, how long until RBNY tries to hire Denis Hamlett?

[chupacabra]

Business as usual for RBNY. No wonder they don't attract or keep many fans. Remember JPP? As soon as he went on a scoring streak he was off to Europe. Now the same thing is happening with Jozy. The damn team is nothing but a place for unambitious scrubs to slum in, a means for over the hill players to squeeze every last dollar out of a fading career (see Reyna, Djorkaeff, et al) or a feeder for European talent. I really have to wonder why I bother buying season tickets to witness the ongoing decomposition of this team. Good luck Jozy - don't break a leg.

[inkedAG]

It's so funny. I bet if Jozy was on any other team, the haters would be crying.

[Barry U]

This is the way it should be. RBNY should not be mad at Jozy or should Jozy be mad at them. THEY BOTH WILL MOVE ON FROM THIS!!! USMNT duty is what he should be looking forward to in my opinion. It is not his fault that this happened now so any sore feelings are really a waste of time. Good Luck Jozy and happy spending $10MM to MLS.

[HomeyBoehme]

@Steve T. - "What does this kid have, 12 career goals? You'd think he's legend with all this farewell crap. Just sit already and make sure we get our money."

I assume you regularly watch Huelva play on TV every weekend? The kid is the future of the USMNT strikeforce. Forgive us for wishing him well and wanting to see him play.

That said, I have to agree 100% with your last sentence.

[paul Lorinczi]

No wonder NY sucks every year. You want the manager's head after 2 months.

This is MLS. Juancho gets his players, they will be competing at the end of the season.

They should release Reyna. (And, I am not a Reyna hater, but it is obvious he can no longer give his best with all the injuries he is experiencing). His value is not equal to what he is getting paid.

[JSquaredNY]

I'm a bit sick of the story already. The kid is getting paid and playing abroad. Good for him. Hopefully he'll develop into the player that we all want him to be as National Team fans. We'll see him play again sooner than later I bet. Let's move on...

[Fumar]

Booooring. Wasn't this expected? I mean JCO doens't know what his team will look like without Jozy. Now's when he finds out. Plus who wants to send damaged $8 million merchandise. That's just bad business.

[ag nigrin]

ELAC and Einar... You are both ignorant diots!! Get your heads out of your butts... :P

[kahlva]

Wow, what a lot of negative comments.

OK, look - we all knew he was moving on at some point, and most of us thought it was this year.

As for not playing the game tonight - he did indeed pick up an ankle injury and wasn't practicing. Per Osorio's style, anyone not practicing doesn't play.

Also, you have to figure in that often the buying team (Villarreal) doesn't usually put up big bucks and then are OK with him continuing to play in club matches.

Jozy was great for NYRB. The move is great for his continued development, and for the National team. His transfer will actually help NYRB acquire sorely needed talent this year or next.

Best of luck Jozy! Work hard, make us proud.

[matt]

mickey mouse league... these mls games are getting worse:

1. Carousel of generic players and decent players begging to get bought
2. NJRB Fans - F*cked in mid-season
3. MLS games run on Fifa match days, so if your squad happens to play on a fifa playday and you owb season tics you get stuck watching shite and drinking $9 Coronas...

does disney own mls???

[Nicole]

As soon as they announced a deal I figured Jozy had played his last game in MLS. It would be dumb for him to suit up again.

[Heem]

Why would he play? Maybe he doesnt want to risk an injury before his impending move? or because the Red Bulls want to protect the money the receive... thank you Ives, thanks for stating the obvious...

[northzax]

john: MLS' window doesn't matter. The only window that matters is the incoming one. You can leave a league at anytime, you can join a league, while under contract to another one, only during that league's window. And it is routine to hold off on the formal transfer of rights until the player and the new club agree on a contract.

[Aguinaga]

Those who are crying about MLS, the Red Bulls, JCO, etc etc from places like Columbus or Chicago or LA without knowing anything about the team or what's in store for him tonite regardless of whether he plays or not-F*CK OFF. IF you hate the MLS and this team so much, why do you bother following its business? Jozy will be coming over to the fans who've supported him and the team the most for a proper send off worthy of how proud we are of him, and JCO is right not to play him. We know the team won't soon replace him and will struggle and/or sink without him for now, but it's what's best for him, and we'll make do best we can. Bon voyage Jozy. The rest of you can kiss our asses.

[EricJ]

I am of the opinion that if the team can use the money gained from him to get multiple decent players then it will help the team more than keeping him here. I say that while thinking that a team of decent players > a team of 2 all stars and shite.

[Dan (18)-mamaroneck ny]

Good Luck to you Jozy in Spain! While i wish he would stay a red bull until next january, this is a good time for you to get better and move up in the ranks of the worlds elite! go USA on Sunday night and go Red Bulls tonight!

[Dominghosa]

Good luck to Jozy. Too bad there won't be a last hurrah in a NYRB jersey. Just doesn't seem right.

[Dominghosa]

Anyone else think JCO is giving Jozy the same treatment Capello did when Beckham announced his deal with the Galaxy?
JCO: "Jozy will never play for New York again. He is going to Spain to become some kind of real footballer."

[papa bear]

@Posted by: garbaggio | June 05, 2008 at 04:29 PM
Teams can't do ANYTHING to prevent a player who is under 23 years old and on a U-23 team for their nation from playing in the Olympics. If Villareal did, they could face FIFA sanctions and possibly lose Altidore for a few weeks of the season as a result.
Now, that doesn't mean they might not try to influence Nowak to not select Jozy as clubs do very often, but I think we can all agree that Nowak should dust off his resume for the job hunt now if he doesn't use Altidore at the Olympics.

Back to the OP: it's sad to see Altidore go. He is an exciting player. I look forward to seeing him on Gol TV next season. Though it'll be tough to wish Villareal well. (or Huelva for that matter)

[YankatOxford]

If Altidore cares about playing in his first season of La Liga , he will not be playing in the Olympics. He needs time to integrate with Recreativo to break into the rotation at striker. While Villarreal can't deny him the opportunity, it would be an unfortunate to open his club career in Spain with acrimony. Now if Villarreal or Recreativo agree, then no problems, but thats unlikely.