The first question that comes to mind is "Why?"
In the future, if things go as planned (though they never do), Jozy Altidore will be our first choice striker in every major competition in which we participate; he's had more hope put into him than any rising Nats players in a long, long time.
The problem is, things are already not going as planned. Jozy is wasting away at a second division Spanish club, one at which his development was supposed to begin in earnest after Villareal decided he just wasn't ready to play for them.
So Bob Bradley decides that a little training at Xerez makes him worthy of a qualifying squad call up, no matter the lack of actual game time. Maybe Bob knows something we don't, or maybe he simply wants to get Jozy some action for the first time in months.
It's accepted as a given that Altidore has a bright future, both as a club player and as a integral member of the U.S. National Team: but is it, really?
If Jozy is having trouble impressing the coaches at Xerez, or if the reports of his lack of effort in training are true, then maybe he's not quite the player we all thought. As much as I want to believe that Jozy's simply caught up in dressing-room politics, and that his lack of time is not a reflection of his skills and character, it's hard to believe that all of that would conspire to keep him from even making the bench.
I'm loathe to mention the dreaded anti-American bias; while I do think it exists in some form, I doubt either Villareal or Xerez have reason to intentionally stunt his growth simply out of spite.
What a mess.
But hey, at least he gets to train for, and maybe play against, El Salvador and T & T!
