FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Six weeks after joining the New England Revolution, striker Jozy Altidore is settling nicely.
Altidore joined New England in mid-February with a wealth of experience as an 11-season MLS veteran and two-time U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year. In his extremely accomplished career, he has more than 200 appearances in European club competition coupled with more than 195 career goals and 550 games played for his club and country.
However, even for an experienced player, there’s still a learning curve when joining a new team, especially midway through preseason.
“It’s about for me getting myself into a rhythm coming in the preseason a bit later, about a month later than everybody else, you start behind which isn't fun,” said Altidore. “Now, I've been playing catch up so to speak, and I'm still going to be like that obviously for a few, probably a couple more weeks, but I feel great."
The veteran has played catch up quickly by getting up to speed with the squad. Altidore has had several milestones with the club after joining midway through preseason, including his first Revolution goal against Real Salt Lake and his first 90-minute performance against Charlotte FC.
And it’s only the beginning.
“He's making progress,” said head coach Bruce Arena. “We know Jozy is a very good player and it's going to take him a little bit of time. And you could see over the last couple of weeks, things are getting better.”
Altidore echoed Arena’s sentiment and is pleased to have a few important moments with the team under his belt.
“I feel really good, excited,” said Altidore. "I'm so happy to get my first 90 minutes for the club and just looking forward to feeling better and better every day, getting more and more comfortable with the group.
“Obviously [I was] thrilled to score my first goal, and I just feel like I'm settling in nicely with the club and the environment.”
With every training session and each match, Altidore continues to improve and gets closer to his full form.
“I think by the end of April, Jozy should be in pretty good form,” said Arena. “So, it's been a real positive look to see the progress he's made over the last three or four weeks and we look forward to a good showing by Jozy on Saturday, as well. As we move forward, he can continue to get better and get in better form.”
Arena and Altidore know each other extremely well. The duo worked together at the New York Red Bulls from 2006-2007, and it’s a full-circle moment for the winningest coach in MLS history to first mentor a player in the initial stage of his career, and also bookend it while working with one another towards the latter stages.
“Life's funny in those ways where you never know,” said Altidore. "You never know. You never say no in anything. Here I am in the latter stages of my career playing against the team that I grew up supporting, obviously, and then obviously I played for, so it's definitely kind of funny.
“But these moments so much now, these coincidental moments, you just smile and try to enjoy them as much as you can. But you know, it's always going to be all business Saturday, and hopefully we can get the win.”
