Sport: Soccer
Born: November 6, 1989
Town: Livingston, New Jersey
Josmer Volmy Altidore was born November 6, 1989 in Livingston, NJ. Jozy’s family, originally from Haiti, moved south to Florida when he was a boy and he quickly became a standout in the youth soccer leagues in and around Boca Raton, including a productive stretch with the Boca Raton Juniors. Jozy joined IMG’s youth development academy across the state in Bradenton at 14 and was selected with the 17th pick in the Major League Soccer draft by the MetroStars at the age of 16.
Jozy made his pro debut with the newly renamed New York Red Bulls that summer during the US Open Cup. Three weeks later, against the Columbus Crew, he scored his first professional goal to win the game, 1–0. In seven regular-season games as a rookie, he scored three times. And he became the youngest player in MLS history to score a postseason goal when he headed in a ball against the New England Revolution in the conference semis. The previous record was 20.
Jozy netted 9 goals in 22 games with the Red Bulls in 2007. A few weeks into the 2008 season, the club made a deal with Villareal of Spain, sending Jozy overseas for a then-record transfer fee of $10 million. That fall, he became the first American to score in a La Liga game. In 2009, Villareal decided to loan Jozy to Hull City of the English Premier League. Early in 2011, he was loaned to the powerhouse Turkish club Bursapor, and then finished the year with Dutch team AZ Alkmaar.
Jozy flourished under coach Gertjan Verbeek and led his new team with 20 goals. Overall, he was seventh in the league in 2011–12. In 2012–13, he scored three hat tricks on the way to a 31-goal season and became the first American named to the Eredivisie’s Team of the Season. The highlight of Jozy’s year came in May, when he scored the winning goal in the Dutch Cup final. It marked the first time since 1982 that AZ Alkmaar claimed the championship. A few months later, Jozy’s contract was sold to the English club Sunderland. No longer his team’s featured scorer, his goals total plummeted in 2013–14.
That was not the case in international play, however. Jozy scored 8 goals in 14 games in 2013 as a member of the US national team—including goals in five consecutive games, which shattered a record shared by Landon Donovan, Erik Wynalda, William Lubbe and Edddie Johnson. Jozy had been a regular for Team USA since 2009, when he became the youngest American to score a hat trick in an international match. Prior to that year, he had been the star of the Under-20 squad.
Jozy returned to North America early in 2015, joining Toronto FC of MLS is exchange for striker Jermain Defoe. Playing alongside Team USA pal Michael Bradley, Jozy proved an immediate difference-maker for Toronto, scoring twice in his first game and adding 11 more during the 2015 campaign. He worked beautifully with Sebastian Giovinco, the team’s high-scoring Italian import.
In 2016, Jozy helped Toronto reach the MLS Cup final in 2016, but the team lost to Seattle on penlty kicks. The 2017 season saw Toronto win the Supporters’ Shield with the best record in the league, as well as the most points—68—in MLS history. Jozy had 13 goals and 2 assists. Earlier in the year, he earned his 100th cap for Team USA. Toronto made it back to the MLS Cup, where they faced the Sounders in a rematch. Jozy opened the scoring in a 2–0 victory that gave Toronto its first league championship.
Toronto made it back to the MLS Cup final in 2019, meeting the Sounders for the third time. Jozy netted a header in a 3–1 win. He played two more years for Toronto, finishing with 62 goals in 139 games for the club. After playing 2022 with the New England Revolution, he went out on loan to LIGA MX club Puebla for 2022–23.