His family lives in Boca Raton, a three-hour drive from Orlando where Toronto FC is currently training, but Jozy Altidore is already missing Toronto.
“It’s a catch-22 because obviously it’s nice to be out here in this weather but I miss Toronto so much,” said Altidore following the team’s morning training session on Tuesday. “It’s going to be nice to get back up there.”
Altidore returned with his teammates to Toronto last week following TFC’s 12-day stay in Southern California. "It was amazing to be back. It was great to see everybody and sleep in my own bed and be at home,” said the 26-year-old. “It felt really nice.”
Altidore and Michael Bradley spent January in Manhattan Beach with the United States National Team during their winter camp. The Toronto FC striker thrived in two friendlies, against Iceland and Canada, recording goals in each game. He’s fourth on the all-time U.S. list with 33 goals, one behind Eric Wynalda.
“The U.S. camp was fun,” he said. “I got to start the year on the right foot. We managed two wins and it was a good building block for the season.” Altidore’s success in January was attributed to arriving one-week early for the U.S. camp and dropping 10 pounds during the offseason.
“It’s nothing different than anything any professional does,” stated Altidore. “I became more interested in it [during the offseason] and tried to limit little things that may throw me off my game.”
Now back with the Reds, Altidore likes what he sees. There wasn’t much turnover from last year, and the four main acquisitions during the offseason filled major needs.
#TFCLive Video: @JozyAltidore with the well placed strike during Tuesday's morning session. pic.twitter.com/FqcY7Z5X0u
— Toronto FC (@torontofc) February 16, 2016
“The new guys have looked good from I’ve seen,” he said. “They’re vocal, they communicate and they’re going to add what we’ve been missing.”
Altidore recorded 14 goals in all competitions last season and his relationship with Sebastian Giovinco up top will be key for Greg Vanney’s side. The squad has spent the majority of the preseason honing in on defensive responsibilities, but they’ll need their star forwards to carry the load up front.
“My goal is to do as well as I did last year and better,” said Altidore. “Seba and I, when you look at how we did in terms of the number of goals we scored, we’re one of the best in the league in terms of forward tandems. We want to build on that and obviously, score some more goals."
The forwards have been asked to press more during the preseason thus far and cutoff escape valves for the opposing team’s defence, but Altidore doesn’t see a dramatic role change for himself or his fellow attackers.
“I think the key, especially with strikers, is that we don’t want to change too much of what we’re doing but at the same time we want to help the defence and make our team as a whole harder to breakdown.”
We’ll get our first look at Altidore in TFC game action this year during the squad’s two-week stay in Orlando.
Join MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco and the rest of Toronto FC at BMO Field this season. 2016 Toronto FC Season Seats are on sale from $608 and up. In addition to Toronto FC Season Tickets, the Reds are currently on sale with TFC II Season Seats at $75.00 for TFC Season Seat Holders & $120.00 for non-TFC season seat holders. For More information head to TorontoFC.ca/tickets
