Jozy Altidore's Most Underrated Quality

Put yourself in this situation:

You're a 19 year old kid, and one of your best friends was just in a devastating car accident that's already claimed one life and is threatening to take two more.  Your friend is in a hospital with a laundry list of injuries, and you've got nothing but questions and concerns about what's going to happen with him going forward.  He might not ever get to do what he loves again.  Maybe he'll never even walk again.  Could he die?  You feel utterly helpless, and the grief and uncertainty are unbearable.

What would you do?  At that age, most of us would take a couple of days off from work or class to collect our thoughts and try to cope with a tragedy that really hits close to home.  Your dear friend's life and well being are in doubt, and it'd be hard to do anything productive with that weighing on your mind and heart.  At a time like that, there are things that are a lot more important than a day's pay or some midweek lecture.

What did Jozy Altidore do?  He just pressed on, heavy heart and all, and went to work.  Not only that, he turned in one of his most inspired performances in months, playing with an intense focus rarely seen in a young player.  His play against Costa Rica alone would have been noteworthy, but the fact that it came so soon after Charlie Davies' accident exemplifies one of Jozy's best and most under-appreciated qualities: his maturity.

Unfortunately, one of the first things people think of when they hear "Jozy Altidore" and "maturity" in the same sentence is the tweeting incident at Hull earlier this season.  But when you really look at it, did anything that Jozy did really merits the "immature" label that was thrown around so frequently immediately after the incident?  He owned up to an error publicly, something that other much higher profile athletes have struggled to do in recent times (see: Tiger Woods, John Terry).  For someone that young to take responsibility for his actions is nothing but maturity.  Did he mess up by not keeping that bit of information in house, as was Phil Brown's desire?  Sure, but is that really a reflection of immaturity?  I say no; instead it was an error caused primarily by the nebulous and ever-changing policies of teams and coaches towards a medium that has rapidly evolved from a second-tier social network to one of the most utilized methods of communication for players and fans alike. 

We hear so much about Jozy's raw ability, incredible physique, and potential for greatness.  But soccer is a game that is played between your ears as much as it is between the white lines.  For whatever reason, though, we don't give those aspects of a young player's game much examination.  Maybe it's because it's a lot harder to get a grasp on things you can't see, like someone's mental fortitude and ability, or maybe it's because we just assume that those things only come with age, precluding the possibility of any real noteworthy level of maturity in a player as young as Altidore.  Whatever the reason, we would be remiss if we didn't recognize the mental strength that Jozy has shown over the past couple of months, which has been just as impressive as any assist or goal.

Let's fast forward from October to just a couple of weeks ago, when Jozy once again had to deal with the worries and fears about people close to him, this time without the benefit of constant updates or any real news at all.  As if trying to get information on loved ones in Haiti and investing a lot of time trying to raise donations and awareness for the incomparable destruction in his ancestral homeland wasn't enough, Jozy had to deal with his club team bringing in another striker, Amr Zaki.  It would have been completely understandable if all of that, combined with the mounting pressure he placed on himself to break his goal scoring drought, led to a down couple of weeks, particularly for someone so young dealing with so much adversity.  But what has Jozy done?  He's put together the best run of form he's had since moving to Europe.  He's put in the kind of offensive and defensive effort that has solidified his role as a starter in the world's toughest league, and he's opened his EPL goal account with a polished finish that was worth the wait.

Let's give credit where credit is due; Jozy's showing a level of maturity that we don't see very often in young athletes.  As much as we want to focus on the tangibles at this time in the cycle like goals, assists, and minutes, there are things beyond measurement that will just as important on FIFA's biggest stage.  Jozy's not your typical 20 year old, and his actions over the past couple of months show just that.

It's for this reason that I have no reservations about a 20 year old starting every game for the USMNT in the World Cup.  And it's for this reason that I will have confidence in Jozy in the final minutes of a close game this June (and, hopefully, July).

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