Jozy Altidore
Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore is an American former professional soccer player who played as a striker.
Altidore made his professional debut in 2006, at the age of 16, with the New York Red Bulls. In the middle of his third season with New York, in 2008, he transferred to top-tier Spanish side Villarreal for a fee of $10 million. During his time with Villarreal, he left on three loan stints – with Spanish Segunda División club Xerez in February–May 2009, English Premier League club Hull City for the entire 2009–10 season, and Turkish club Bursaspor where he went on a six-month loan. In the summer of 2011, he joined AZ in the Netherlands. On March 3, 2013, Altidore surpassed Clint Dempsey for most goals by an American in a European club season with his 24th goal of the 2012–13 campaign. During the 2013 summer transfer window, Sunderland signed Altidore. He spent one and a half seasons there, with a poor goal scoring record, then returned to MLS with Toronto FC.
Altidore had represented the United States at various levels of international competition, featuring for the United States U-17 team at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, U-20 team at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and the U-23 team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He made his debut for the senior national team in 2007 and had since earned over 110 caps, representing them at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cups, and the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
Early life and education
Josmer Volmy Altidore was born on November 6, 1989, in Livingston, New Jersey. The youngest of four children to Haitian immigrants, Altidore was predominantly raised in Boca Raton, Florida. He enjoyed playing soccer from the time he was a boy. Altidore played for various South Florida youth teams such as Boca Raton Juniors Soccer Club, Schulz Academy and Sunrise S.C while also spending time training with the under-17 national team at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. He was raised a Jehovah's Witness.Club career
New York Red Bulls
Altidore was taken seventeenth overall in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, with the MetroStars trading up to receive the selection. Altidore spent the majority of the 2006 season away from the team while working towards his high school diploma in Florida.Altidore made his professional debut on August 23, 2006, as a substitute in a 3–1 U.S. Open Cup loss to D.C. United. He scored his first professional goal at the age of sixteen with an 83rd minute, 28-yard shot to beat the Columbus Crew 1–0 on September 16, 2006. Exactly one week later, on September 23, 2006, in a 4–3 loss to D.C. United, Altidore scored again. Scoring three times in seven appearances, including a crucial goal against Chicago Fire on September 30, 2006, Altidore became a fan favorite. He scored the Red Bulls' only goal of their 2–1 aggregate loss to D.C. United in the Eastern Conference Semifinals Series when he headed in a cross in the second leg. With that goal, he became the youngest player to score in the Major League Soccer playoffs at 16 years, 337 days. Altidore was also the youngest to start in a Major League Soccer playoff match on October 21 against D.C. United. He also scored two goals in a 5–4 win over Los Angeles Galaxy on August 18, 2007.
Spain
On June 4, 2008, Villarreal of La Liga agreed in principle with Major League Soccer and the New York Red Bulls to sign Altidore for roughly $10 million or €7.4 million. This transfer fee surpasses Fulham's fee for Clint Dempsey, which was $4 million or roughly £2 million, and was the largest fee paid for any MLS player at the time. Altidore finalized his personal contract and was unveiled by the club on June 11, 2008. On September 14, 2008, Altidore made his La Liga debut, coming on as a second-half substitute against Deportivo La Coruña. On November 1, 2008, he became the first American international to score in La Liga when he came on in the 90th minute and scored against Athletic Bilbao. On November 30, 2008, Altidore started his first game in La Liga against Recreativo Huelva. After spending a year and a half on loan, Altidore returned to Villarreal. He favored staying with Villarreal instead of another loan to try to prove to the club he was worth the investment they made two years ago.On January 30, 2009, Villarreal agreed to loan Altidore to Xerez, leader of the Segunda División at the time of the transfer, until the end of the 2008–09 season. It was expected that the move would allow Altidore to get more playing time, and also allow him to continue the process of assimilating into the Spanish culture.
On April 16, 2009, Altidore underwent minor surgery on an injured toenail that required more than a month of recovery, resulting in him never making an appearance for Xerez.
Hull City and Bursaspor
On August 5, 2009, Altidore announced on his Twitter page that he would be loaned to English Premier League club Hull City. He joined Hull City the next day on a season-long loan with the option for Hull City to purchase his rights at the end of the 2009–10 season for a fee believed to be £6.5 million.On August 10, 2009, Hull City announced that they were successful in obtaining a work permit for Altidore. Altidore made his debut for Hull on August 22, 2009, coming on as a second-half substitute against Bolton. He provided the assist for Kamel Ghilas to score the only goal in a 1–0 home victory at the KC Stadium. On August 25, 2009, Altidore scored his first goal for Hull in a 3–1 win over Southend United in the second round of the League Cup. Altidore was popular with supporters but struggled to make a lasting impact with the Tigers as his finishing was often found wanting, however he did manage to score his first and only Premier League goal in the 2–1 home win over Manchester City on February 6. On April 24, in an important game for Hull City's Premier League survival, he was dismissed for violent conduct after a spat with Sunderland's Alan Hutton who was also sent off. Hull City lost 1–0 and were all but relegated from the top flight.
On January 31, 2011, Altidore was loaned out to Turkish champions Bursaspor on a six-month loan. On April 8, he scored his first goal for his new club in a 3–2 home loss to Antalyaspor.
AZ
On July 15, 2011, Altidore agreed to terms with Dutch side AZ.;2011–12
On August 7, Altidore made his debut for the club as a second-half substitute against PSV Eindhoven. Altidore scored in the 80th minute, helping his new side to a 3–1 opening day win. Altidore was again used as a sub in the club's next Eredivisie game as AZ fell 2–0 to FC Twente. Altidore made his first start in the league for AZ on August 21, when they played host to NEC Nijmegen at the AFAS Stadion. After a goalless first-half, Altidore opened the scoring in the 54th minute, pouncing on the rebound after NEC goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen saved his header. Altidore scored again nineteen minutes later after some nice passing with Adam Maher and AZ ran out 4–0 winners.
On August 25, Altidore started in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League final qualifying match against Aalesunds FK from Norway. Before being substituted in the 63rd minute by Charlison Benschop, Altidore scored twice. His first goal in the 23rd minute gave AZ a 2–0 lead and his second goal in the 59th minute brought the score to 4–0 in a game AZ eventually won by 6–0. Altidore added to his Europa League account when he opened the scoring in the 21st minute of his side's first group match against Malmö FF on September 15. After a long wait Altidore returned to the score sheet for AZ, netting in the 83rd minute of a 3–0 victory over ADO Den Haag on November 6 that also secured his side's 10th victory of the Eredivisie campaign. On December 4, Altidore scored his side's only goal in a 5–1 loss to Heerenveen. Altidore had to wait until February 8, 2012, to score his next league goal, grabbing a brace in a 6–0 win over ADO Den Haag. The result put AZ level on points with PSV at the top of the table.
Altidore headed in the winning goal against VVV Venlo on Sunday April 22 to keep AZ second in the table and their title hopes still alive.
Altidore led the team in scoring in his first campaign with 22 goals across all competitions. He finished tied for seventh in the Eredivisie in goals scored. Altidore credits his successful campaign to his new coach, manager Gertjan Verbeek.
;2012–13
In the opening game of the new Eredivisie campaign, Altidore scored a quick brace as AZ drew 2–2 with reigning champions Ajax on August 12, 2012. Altidore continued his impressive start to the league campaign, netting another brace in the club's 3–1 victory over SC Heracles on the second weekend of the season. Following the international break, Altidore scored the first hat-trick of his club career on September 16, helping AZ to a 4–0 defeat of Roda JC.
Altidore powered his team to just their fourth victory in 17 games, and their first since October 28, netting a brace in a 2–1 defeat of PEC Zwolle on December 15. In the first game of 2013, Altidore hammered home 3 for the hat-trick against Vitesse Arnhem.
On April 14, Altidore netted his third hat-trick of the season in a 6–0 victory over FC Utrecht. On May 9, he scored the winning goal against PSV in the KNVB Cup final, helping AZ to lift the Dutch Cup for the first time in 31 years. Subsequently, Altidore became the first-ever American to be named in De Telegraaf's "Team of the Season" after finishing with 23 goals in the Eredivisie and 8 in the KNVB Cup.
Sunderland
On July 5, 2013, AZ agreed to sell Altidore's contract to English Premier League club Sunderland, with whom he signed a four-year contract. It was eventually reported that Sunderland paid AZ a $13 million transfer fee. Altidore's first goal for Sunderland came on August 27, 2013, spurring a dramatic late comeback in the League Cup, defeating MK Dons 4–2. In Altidore's first Tyne-Wear derby, he put in a man of the match performance in a 2–1 win. On December 4, 2013, Altidore scored his first league goal for Sunderland to give them a 1–0 lead against Chelsea, a game which eventually finished 3–4. After failing to find the net again for Sunderland, Altidore was dropped to the Sunderland Under 21s instead of playing against Tottenham Hotspur on April 7, 2014.Altidore ended the 2013–14 season with two goals in 37 appearances, and by October 2014, he had made just six appearances and scored one goal. Altidore told reporters, "If it doesn't turn around then in January I'll be looking to start elsewhere" to stay in the United States national team picture.
Altidore left Sunderland in January 2015 for Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. He finished his stay with three goals in 52 appearances in all competitions and one goal in 42 league games.