Altidore celebrates for USMNT, but there was little celebrating from Jozy after his red card vs the Revolution Saturday night…
Foxboro, MA — Jozy Altidore left a lot to be desired again Saturday night against the New England Revolution, this time because of a petulant kick aimed at Jose Goncalves, earning him a red card in the 39th minute.
Altidore hasn’t had a good time in New England this season: First injuring his hamstring in the 1-1 draw against the Revs back in May, then being hauled off at half-time for USMNT after a lackluster performance against minnows Haiti, and finally last night given his marching orders for the incident involving Jose Goncalves.
Actually, it’s been a frustrating return to Major League Soccer for Jozy Altidore.
Altidore’s fitness has meant that the USMNT talisman has managed just 1,043 minutes for Toronto this term — an average of 69.5 minutes per game. Additionally Altidore has managed to play just 90 minutes once since his hamstring injury against the Revolution on May 17th.
In the 10 games for club and country since his return Altidore has averaged a paltry 56.3 minutes per game, scoring just 2 goals.
Though Altidore has 7 goals in 15 games for TFC this season, his performances for the most part have been frustrating. Before being sent off in the 39th minute on Saturday evening capped a frustrating first half of the season for Altidore as the New England Revolution held Jozy to just 16 touches of the ball.
Now that we are past the half-way point in the season it may be time for Toronto FC fans to start wondering whether Altidore has been worth his $4,750,000 per year salary.
Altidore’s season when represented as a cost to the team breaks down in the following way:
Base Salary — $4,750,000.
Goals Scored — 7 ($658,571 per goal)
Minutes Played — 1,043 ($4,554 per minute)
In contrast, while Sebastian Giovinco earns more money than Altidore — $5,600,000 base salary according to MLS Players Union — he still represents more value for money, not to mention that he has been by far and away the best player in Major League Soccer this term.
Giovinco’s season when represented as a cost to the team it breaks down in the following way:
Base Salary — $5,600,000
Goals Scored — 12 ($466,666 per goal)
Minutes Played — 1735 ($3,227 per minute)
Greg Vanney felt compelled to risk an 80% fit Giovinco against New England on Saturday night, the magisterial Italian was nursing a bruised heel. Altidore now faces the prospect of missing 3 more games after being sent off for violent conduct/serious foul play leaving Giovinco to serve as sole conductor of the Reds’ orchestra.
Altidore has been plagued by hamstring troubles throughout his career, and while the 3 game suspension he is likely to serve will help him rest, it will likely be a detriment to his playing level. It also gives Sebastian Giovinco 3 more games to prove to Toronto FC fans and management alike that Altidore, despite his large salary, could be expendable.
Giovinco has run riot since joining Major League Soccer scoring 13 goals and assisting 11. The 24 goals that Giovinco has been directly involved in account for 70.5% of all Toronto FC goals — he may even end up in Toronto’s top 3 all time goal scorers list by the end of this term, he would only need 20 goals.
Scoring 16 goals would also break Toronto FC’s single season MLS goals record, and he’s on course to break the Reds’ record for most ever shots.
“Jozy is coming from injury [so we]build him, play him, build him, and we hope this kind of gels more and more with every game” said the Klinsmann at a press conference held Thursday evening ahead of USMNT’s Gold Cup group A game versus Haiti on July 10th.
However after two disappointing performances, not even Altidore’s biggest apologist could justify keeping the big man on the Gold Cup 23 man roster, electing to replace him with Alan Gordon. Altidore’s hamstring issues have cost him time in a significant international tournament before, too, after he pulled up against Ghana in the USMNT’s World Cup 2014 opener.
Even though Klinsmann said that they were “building” him, Altidore really didn’t look any fitter against Haiti than he did against El Salvador in the warmup friendly.
The problem is this: once an athlete suffers a hamstring strain, they are two to six times more likely to suffer the same injury. Even years after suffering said injury, the athlete is twice as likely to suffer the injury as somebody whom has never had one; just look at Michael Owen, for example. Altidore will likely know this, and subsequently it’ll always hang around in the back of his mind.
Although he’s just 25 years old, Jozy Altidore’s career spans almost ten years. For an athlete with recurring hamstring problems that’s a long time — how much will Altidore have to compensate for his injury proneness going forward to make sure he can be productive, to stay fit, to help his team? How will that affect his overall game?
A problem area for Toronto, despite former MLS defensive stalwart Greg Vanney being their coach, is defense. If Altidore’s hamstring woes persist, and he continues his struggles with consistency, Toronto fans will be left wondering why they have to struggle defensively while Jozy picks up $91,000 a week.
While it’s too early for TFC to just cut-and-run regarding Altidore, certainly it’s time to start watching him with increased scrutiny because of his large salary.
Toronto looks to get back on track without Jozy Altidore Wednesday at home against Orlando City SC and Kaka.
Follow Scott Nicholls on Twitter: @scottnicholls
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