11415_isi_diskerud_altidore_usmntte090314174 Thomas Eisenhuth/isiphotos.com
100-Word Rants

11 Strong Takes on Jozy and Mix Arriving in MLS

Why settle for one scribe's opinion on the news of the day when you can get 11 takes in one article? Here, ASN contributors and friends chime in on the MLS signings of Jozy Altidore and Mix Diskerud.
BY various Posted
January 14, 2015
3:31 PM
Brian Sciaretta
ASN contributing editor
These moves could not have come at better times for their respective teams. NYCFC can now finally start to move in the right direction after the Frank Lampard fiasco. Mix Diskerud is a nice piece to add to what is shaping up to be decent (and well-coached) expansion team. For Toronto, you have to like what adding Altidore brings. Michael Bradley will be in better shape after foot surgery repaired a nerve issue that plagued him for most of 2014. Altidore will replace Defoe and he should start more than 17 games and score more than 11 goals—Defoe’s 2014 totals. As for the U.S. national team, it can only help both players from where they were in 2014. Diskerud is now in a better league and will have higher expectations. For Altidore, rotting on Sunderland’s bench wasn’t doing him or the national team any favors.

John Godfrey
ASN editor in chief
Diskerud's move to NYCFC is nothing but positive: He will now be facing better competition and play alongside talented teammates in the biggest city in America—a city that will worship his exploits, both on the field and off. Good soccer move, great business decision. (Is there a New York Post back page in his future? I think so.) If Altidore indeed lands in Toronto, he will not receive U.S. national team adulation from his home fans, and he will be toiling for a sad-sack franchise that has serious personnel issues and has never made the playoffs. Last season Bradley often looked like he wanted to be anywhere but Ontario; I worry that we'll see the same expression on Altidore's face in 2015.

John D. Halloran
ASN contributor
Since Clint Dempsey returned to Major League Soccer in 2013, it has only been a matter of time until other high-profile Americans followed suit. Next came Bradley, and now Diskerud and Altidore. And knowing they will be making much more money and getting virtually guaranteed playing time, who can blame them? Just look at the English Premier League for plenty of examples of overpaid (and perhaps overrated) domestic stars. Despite Jurgen Klinsmann's best efforts to encourage his charges to play abroad, the grass has truly become greener on this side of the pond.

Noah Davis
ASN Deputy Editor
I get why Klinsmann might be upset but I freaking love everything about these moves. Diskerud has the personality to become the type of cult figure this iteration of the U.S. Soccer team desperately needs, and he can pick the brain of NYCFC technical director Claudio Reyna to, you know, actually learn how to play. As for Altidore, he clearly needed a change and a starting spot at TFC with Bradley isn't the worst option. And he's only 25 so if he has a couple strong seasons he could still end up on that Champions League-level club Klinsmann so desperately wants for him.

Maura Gladys
Kick TV contributor, soccer writer
Congratulations, New York City! You’re about to have the best NYC sports celebrity since Joe Namath! Ok….Maybe that’s a stretch. But there is real potential for Diskerud to carve out a unique, prominent space in New York City, especially if the team gets off to a strong start. His move softens the blow of the botched Lampard move and also opens up an opportunity for Mix to assert himself as the guy in New York’s midfield. He’s young, he’s confident, he’s got amazing hair. What else do you need?

Brooke Tunstall
ASN contributing editor
At the end of the day, it’s a business and a job. These guys, especially the ones that didn’t go to college, have such a small window to make as much money as possible that they need to take the gig that pays the best. If that’s MLS, then take it. We all want MLS to get better so any infusion of talent is a good thing, as is the willingness to spend, though it’d be nice if they paid the lower-tier players more. As for the national team—it will survive. I mean, it’s not like the U.S. was going to win the World Cup with Jozy and Mix in Europe so I’d rather see the domestic league improve.

Charles Boehm
soccer writer
Klinsmann is a quirky sort, but he's not dumb. And being the free-market advocate that he is, he surely can recognize the simple realities of the economic dynamics that have drawn his players homeward, where they are more valued both on and off the field. Players generally aren't dumb, either: They seek challenges, yes, but they also want to play, and to be valued and respected—and happy, too, if at all possible. Every case is different, but they, just like the rest of us, generally choose the workplace that provides more of these qualities.

Robert Kehoe III
soccer writer
Altidore is not a savant who took Europe by storm, bulldozed the EPL into submission, and declared himself king to roam the world in search of goals in lesser leagues. He is one of the hardest working, persistent, dedicated, occasionally potent, and terribly unlucky strikers the United States has ever fielded. MLS needs the latter not the former, and because Altidore’s recent disappointments are there for all to see, he will return hungry to prove his qualities at home. If things don’t work out for Mix at NYCFC, New York is always looking for the next great Scandinavian DJ.

Travis Clark
TopDrawerSoccer.com
To see the continued stream of U.S. national team players heading back to MLS is obviously good for the league, both on and off the field. The marketing element is something the league office will love to trot out in front of fans, even as the uneven track record of player development makes one wonder about the future talent coming through. It's badly needed positive press for NYCFC.

As for the players themselves and the national team? Not as good. Diskerud's options seem to be rather limited so the NYCFC move is probably the better of the opportunity for the pair. But I was someone who was disappointed when Altidore left AZ Alkmaar right before a World Cup, a league that finally got the best out of him and was helping him develop—even if scoring goals there is a bit easier than most other leagues, his tactical improvements weren't going to happen in the same way at Sunderland. A move back to the Eredivisie would've been nice, but he's obviously not going to get nearly as much money as MLS will reportedly throw at him.

Kevin Koczwara
freelance soccer writer
There was once a lot of hype surrounding Diskerud. He was the next teenage phenom, the new breed of technically gifted American midfielder—but for me he has been a disappointment at the club level. I expected him to make his move away from Norway sooner and to another European league, hopefully to the Netherlands or Belgium. Now he's coming to MLS and I'm a bit skeptical of the move—mostly because of how long it took—but also intrigued because now he's putting himself on display right in front of the peanut gallery. I think he'll be shocked at the pace of the game and the physicality of the league at first. But if there is one coach who can get the best from him, I think it's Kreis. I think the NYCFC coach will play to Diskerud's strengths and the American international will learn a lot playing in New York with the likes of David Villa (if he's really signed). Mix has plenty of talent, but it hasn't always been on display. He's been hidden away in Norway. Now, he's here and he will have to deal with the scrutiny of the U.S. national team fans and that added pressure can only be good. Let's hope he doesn't wilt.

Austin Farrow
freelance soccer writer
This will be the biggest test of Diskerud's career. It will also be the biggest test of Altidore's career. Both will have to take leadership roles, something neither has done much of abroad. Both will have to prove their quality to American fans who may be skeptical of said quality. I'm not a proponent of bringing all Americans playing abroad to MLS. I feel it's important to have players playing in multiple countries for the sake of the national team but these are two players who needed this move in my opinion. Though I don't have all of their January options laid out on paper in front of me, they seem to be solid career decisions to me.

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