Jozy Altidore (let’s not forget he’s only 18 ) has signed a 6-year contract with Villarreal of La Liga in Spain.  It’s official.  I can’t tell you how excited I am about this…if only for the reason that we finally have an American in La Liga.  I know Giuseppe Rossi is also there, and he’s technically American according to some maths, but I think it’s time to give up on him.  If he was going to play for the States, he would have by now.  We all know he’s never gonna star for Italy, I’ll be surprised if he ever sees serious minutes at the senior national level at all, but he seems set to follow his Italian path in his heart.  If he’s not American in his heart, he ain’t coming.  Time to get over him.  So with Jozy Altidore goes America’s inability to break the La Liga ranks.  I think it would be a wise move for him to look to be loaned right away to a smaller club where he’ll see significant playing time.  If he is in fact loaned then I would like to see him play in the Olympics as well.  If he looks like he has a shot at breaking the line-up for Villa, well, the Olympics will come around again.  I’m hesitently psyched about this and happy for him.  I’m a little more conservative when it comes to Jozy Altidore, I guess, because 1) he’s still so young 2) I don’t want to see too much pressure heaped on him too fast and watch him crash and burn (like Benny Feilhaber seems to be doing), and 3) while I don’t just accept them right out, the reports about him coming from the New York camp don’t sound great (but don’t be too surprised if it was some attempt just to ward off foreign interest).  I’m not ready to call him the savior of American soccer, or pencil him in as a 2010 starter yet.  I think it’s always something you have to earn, to pull on that shirt.  We’ve seen promise, but not greatness yet.  But I sure am rooting for him over there.

Here’s a good video (if a bit over-excited) of some of his highlights from the Red Bulls.

 

Just let go folks…