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…

18.3 – A club intending to conclude a contract with a professional must inform the player’s current club in writing before entering into negotiations with him. A professional shall only be free to conclude a contract with another club if his contract with his present club has expired or is due to expire within six months. Any breach of this provision shall be subject to appropriate sanctions.

I think it should be said, first and foremost, that I am not a Cristiano Ronaldo fan. I have my reasons, and say what you will, but I remain unconvinced over a lot of things about this guy. Neither am I a Manchester United fan. Again, I have my reasons. But I’m intrigued, and a bit nauseated, over this business between the two mentioned parties and Real Madrid. According to the wording above, Madrid have done nothing technically wrong, that we know of, and United’s reporting of Madrid can only be out of indignation over Madrid’s media courting of the young winger.

Now, I don’t want to hear about United’s “past” dealings or any of that. I’m not here to look at that, I’m here to talk about the situation at hand.

The situation as I see it is this: Madrid have done nothing wrong according to the rules, but what they have done is rather despicable. To continue to use the media as a conduit to players in this way so that you can test the waters and yet keep your hands clean is as bad as if you had just outright approached the player. I don’t like it. It’s yet another way that larger clubs, who get more media attention, can undermine smaller clubs to get players that they want. Madrid have always been more in the business of buying players than playing football if you ask me (as have United and Chelsea for that matter), and this unsubtle approach is better left out of the game.

Ronaldo has complicated matters, of course, but saying he would like to play for Madrid. It burns my blood to see this rampant disloyalty to clubs who have nurtured young players. Cesc Fabregas has had interest from all over the world, but he’s stuck with Arsene Wenger because he knows that he owes Arsenal something still. There comes a time when players need to move on despite a history with the club, as David Beckham did when he moved to Madrid from Manchester, but this reeks of disloyalty from Ronaldo.

And I had just gained back a little respect for him after not having to watch him spend all season diving on the ground…