Jozy Altidore Talks About His Role With the Revolution
Jozy Altidore Talks About His Role With the Revolution
Altidore: “When you have a long career, there becomes a time when your role changes. I’m totally fine with that. I’ve actually really embraced it.”
Now that Jozy Altidore has returned from a loan to Mexico, he’s focused on doing everything he can both on and off the field to help the New England Revolution.
Altidore joined the Revs on Feb. 14, 2022 and was sent on loan to Puebla of Liga MX on Jul. 28. He contributed one goal in 17 appearances (four starts) before heading to Mexico.
The striker, who prompted the loan, explained, “I always wanted to go down there, to be honest. The opportunity presented itself and I just felt, why not? I’m not getting any younger. I’m not going to have many chances to try something different and I really enjoyed it.”
Altidore said he learned a lot about the Mexican culture and how Liga MX clubs function. He returned to New England at the end of the year and he’s happy to be back.
“I’m feeling good, man, feeling nice,” Altidore said. “It’s nice to be back. I feel a lot more comfortable now with the group, with the city. I think we’ve started well. It’s been a good start to the season, a good preseason, so I think things have been positive so far.”
The 33-year-old has appeared in four games this season, all of the bench. His efforts have been praised by head coach Bruce Arena, who has specifically mentioned the value of Altidore’s experience.
That said, Altidore’s contributions are happening away from the field as well. The striker has organized team events and served as a source of advice.
“When you have a long career, there becomes a time when your role changes,” Altidore explained. “I’m totally fine with that. I’ve actually really embraced it. I’ve enjoyed working with the younger guys, being a sounding board to guys, and just overall trying to keep the discipline, the level high, making sure that every day in training guys are pushing it. That’s part of the process.”
Altidore noted that the Revs have some “really, really good young players” that are being produced by a “really good academy.” For him, it’s been “really fun” to to provide guidance.
“I think when you look at Esmir [Bajraktarević], you look at Noel [Buck], it’s a sign of what every day looks like in here,” Altidore said. “These guys are serious, they’re focused, they know they have to keep improving, and that’s kind of what you want to set when you’re an older guy, making sure that the guys keep pushing and make sure the group is focused.”
Altidore is here to assist in any way that he can. He wants to be on the field, scoring goals, but he’s also here to serve as a good teammate and mentor.
In the end, he hopes that his efforts lead to the Revs winning the elusive MLS Cup.
“Right now I’m just focused on being a good player and good teammate with the Revolution,” Altidore said when asked about his ambitions post-playing. “This is an interesting challenge. It’s not an easy challenge for a lot of reasons, but I think it’s one of the best, most traditional fanbases in the league and they deserve more.
“So hopefully we can be the group that starts helping this club trend forward and lead to a stadium one day and a home their own.”