Jozy Altidore and Fernando Torres are essentially two peas from the same striker pod.
Both are physical specimens who are highly scrutinized, criticized and (at times) undervalued by the footballing world. But perhaps the closest bond that the two players enjoy is that they are both highly instinctual strikers. And because of this trait, Jozy – six years Fernando’s minor – can learn a lot from the Spanish marksman.
Torres rose to prominance at his childhood club, Atletico Madrid, where he made his debut at age 17 before earning the captain’s armband two years later. He scored double-digit goals every season at Atleti but it was not until he arrived at Liverpool that he truly exploded.
In his first season at Anfield, Torres utilized his blazing speed, power and finishing ability to net 24 league goals and 31 in all competitions. It seemed everytime Torres touched the ball, he scored. The majority of his goals came in one of two ways. Either he would find a seam, burst through it, and strike the entry pass first time or he would drift wide, collect the ball, take a quick touch inside and release a rocket into the top corner.
The one constant was that most goals Torres scored were on pure impulse, as if his mind could not catch up with his body.
It was not until he moved to Chelsea in January 2011 that the combination of niggly injuries and a 50M weight on his shoulders slowed him down, forcing him to over-think exactly what he was doing. The rest is history – Torres fell headfirst into a scoring abyss scoring a mere 15 goals in 82 Premier League competitions since arriving at Stamford Bridge.
And while many will site Torres’ loss of confidence as a major reason for his drought, that only happened when he let thought overtake instinct.
Two weeks ago, all the rage in the U.S. was over the scoring drought of Jozy Altidore for not having scored a national team goal from open play in nearly two years.
Was Jozy’s slump as pronounced as Torres’?
No. After all, he did manage a haul of 23 goals in 21 Eredivisie matches with AZ this season. The situation was nevertheless disconcerting, both for the striker and the American soccer fans.
The problem for Jozy was one of circumstances. As the U.S.’s only pure striker the true scoring onus fell squarely on the New Jersey native’s shoulders. Sure, Clint Dempsey would be there to help score goals. But at the end of the day, Jozy was well aware that it was the striker – not the attacking midfielder or second striker or winger or however one wishes to classify Deuce’s position – that consistently needed to make the score sheet.
So, he overcompensated. Rather than chasing down defenders and getting into the box to finish crosses, Jozy tried to do too much and dropped deep looking to get the ball on his foot. He tried to create when – no offense to Altidore – he is not a creator.
He is a finisher. A one-touch, no-nonsense finisher.
This was the skill that, like Torres, helped Jozy rise to prominence at the New York Red Bulls. This was the skill that earned him a transfer out of a terrible situation at Villareal and into a brilliant one at AZ. And this was the skill that, at AZ, had resulted in the lion’s share of his 38 league goals over two seasons.
So two weeks ago, with the drought hanging over his head, it was all on the line for Jozy. After a dreadful friendly match against Belgium where he was subbed out at half-time, he needed to rediscover himself if the U.S. was to achieve their dreams of making it to Brazil 2014.
And rediscover himself, he did, scoring four goals in four matches — all of which were one-time, instinctual finishes.
When Jozy works hard off the ball and gets himself into the box, this is the kind of danger he possesses. The same danger that Fernando Torres once used to terrorize opponents on the Kop. And the kind of danger that will give opposing defenders nightmares in Brazil.
