3.8.13
ASN Morning Read: Jozy Altidore on the Grind
The AZ striker writes about the struggles of his club and the United States' road through the Hex (the Hex!); Clint Dempsey hangs out on the injury list; did the U-20s expect to qualify?
BY
Jesse Yomtov
Posted
March 08, 2013
8:47 AM
Jozy Altidore wrote another blog post for The New York Times, chronicling a roller-coaster week for his club AZ. They sit 15th in the league, out of the relegation zone only on goal difference, yet only four points off of ninth place. Weird league, that Eredivisie is. Altidore also touches briefly on the national team’s upcoming qualifiers. “I am looking forward to the possibility of being called up for the United States national team match against Costa Rica,” Altidore writes. “We left Honduras with a tough result, but the hexagonal is an absolute grind in qualifying.”
Brad Friedel started Tottenham’s 3-0 win over Inter Milan at White Hart Lane in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16. Friedel made a terrific save in a one-on-one situation late in the match to deprive Inter of a crucial road goal. Clint Dempsey is still injured and missed the match. Gareth Bale scored for Spurs because it was a soccer game.
The Galaxy drew 0-0 in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal, in Costa Rica against Herediano. The Costa Rican side’s Ismael Gomez drew a penalty in the 87th minute, but clanged it off the crossbar, letting Los Angeles off the hook. Landon Donovan wasn’t in the squad but Omar Gonzalez went the full 90 for the two-time defending MLS champions. The return leg is Wednesday.
Stoke City is in a bit of a rough patch, having won just one Premier League match since Dec. 26, but Geoff Cameron thinks the side will turn it around. “People have to be careful what they say though, because its easy to say things like we aren’t very good, and we aren’t doing this, that and the other, but we have to remain positive, and keep looking forward,” the right back/center back/midfielder/all-around good guy says. We envision Brek Shea fiddling around on Instagram somewhere in the background.
Jose Villarreal seems to think the U.S. was an underdog in the CONCACAF U-20 tournament. "Nobody really expected us to qualify and to make it all the way to the final was a big accomplishment for us," the Galaxy player says. Seems like the boys had some sort of inferiority complex.
United States women's netminder Jill Loyden will miss three months with a broken hand. And another one, and another one down...
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