Jozy Altidore May Be Headed to Greek Champion Olympiacos
I hope Jozy likes Gyros
By Sean Heffernan
Young striker Jozy Altidore could be joining fellow countrymen Oguchi Onyweu (AC Milan in Serie A) and Charlie Davies (Sochaux of the French Ligue 1) to switch clubs this week as a loan deal is in the works with the Greek Super League defending champions, Olympiacos, according to Goal.com. ... Altidore made worldwide news earlier this summer in South Africa, scoring the winning goal for the United States in their impromptu defeat of FIFA #1 ranked Spain in the Confederations Cup. After putting the ball past Spanish keeper Iker Casillas and running to the sideline ripping his shirt off I had a feeling someone was going to take the 19-year-0ld forward off Villarreal's hands this season.
Last summer Altidore set a record transfer fee for Major League Soccer when the Spanish club bought the former New York Red Bull for $10 million. The youngster looked promising in his six appearances for Villarreal scoring one goal. However, a loan deal to second tier club Xerez in Spain was struck where Altidore oddly was never given an opportunity to play.
Altidore's prospects for finding the field in Greece will be much better. Olympiacos does have two promising young forwards in Brazilian Diogo and Englishmen Matt Derbyshire on roster. Diogo's time with the club has been plagued by injury, but is still regarded as one of the most promising young exports from Brazil playing in Europe today. Derbyshire spent time in the English Premier League with Blackburn Rovers seeing some success, but was loaned to Olympiacos last year where he flourished in his 13 appearances scoring 8 goals. The Greek side bought the former England U-20 prospect outright from Blackburn after the season.
Without ever stepping on the field one would assume Altidore will at least be the first striker off the bench at Olympiacos. Last season the Athens based club's leading scorer was Argentine midfielder Luciano Galletti leaving manager Temuri Ketsbaia expecting more goal production out of the club's forwards for the coming Greek Super League season.
For now the deal has not been announced by either parties and agent Lyle Yorks has suggested Altidore has other options other than Greece, "There is also interest in Spain (La Liga), Germany and the EPL," Yorks told Goal.com. The striker's agent hinted that Altidore'sfuture will be solidified shortly "We should finalize something in the coming week or two."
When all is said and done I hope that Jozy finds himself in Athens. United States Men's National Team fans will hope that wherever their budding goal scorer ends up that he finds himself in the starting 11 on a regular basis so that he is fit for next summer's World Cup in South Africa. At Olympiacos Jozy will compete for a starting spot on a good team and will have ample opportunitieswith the club's involvement in Greek Cup competitions and the Champions League in addition to the domestic campaign. Let's hope for an official announcement in the coming days.
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