For forward Jozy Altidore, the pain in his rear end justified the means during the USA's 3-0 victory against Canada that clinched a berth at the Beijing Olympics.
Twice he was fouled brutally outside the penalty area, ending up on his back or rear end, and twice he watched teammate Freddy Adu get the ultimate revenge -- turning free kicks into goals Thursday night at LP Field.
"It's all worth the pain in the end," Altidore said. "Now we get to play on a bigger stage in front of the best players in the world. We're all very excited."
Like it or not, the New York Red Bulls striker has become a marked man at the international level.
With the U.S. under-23 team, he was fouled, sometimes brutally, in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. But many of those fouls on him meant a yellow card to an opposing player or a free kick goal by Adu. That happened in the 1-0 first-round win against Panama in Tampa last week. Altidore was fouled and Adu converted the ensuing direct kick.
With the full national side, the 18-year-old Altidore came on at the half against Sweden in January and he was fouled 81 seconds later. Landon Donovan converted the penalty kick in what turned into a 2-0 win. Altidore was fouled five times in only 45 minutes.
Asked if he suffered any knocks, especially as the lone striker against Canada, Altidore replied, "I'm OK. You have to deal with it when you play by yourself up there. you just get used to it and you learn to play with it."
The best revenge, of course, is a goal and Adu provided that with a pair of pretty free kicks.
Asked if he had a favorite goal from Thursday, Altidore replied, "It depends how he puts it in. Like the second, I'm still amazed, man. He's a very special player and he shows it."
Altidore has a different role with the U-23 team as the main and sometimes lone striker. With the Red Bulls, he plays second fiddle to veteran Juan Pablo Angel, so the roles are different and it takes a while to get used to.
"Usually with my club I still play as the second striker," he said. "I still have a problem with that. I just haven't done it before. I have to get used it to -- when to run and not to run, just how to use my space up there. I thought I did well. I'm just going to get better at it."
Big things were expected of Altidore in the tournament. He has no goals in three of the four U.S. games in which he has played. The U.S. takes on Honduras for the CONCACAF crown in Nashville Sunday.
If he was upset at not scoring any goals, Altidore wasn't showing it.
"It's no secret that I didn't have the scoring touch this round," he said. "It's not about me. It's about the team. We did what we had to do. We're going to Beijing so that's what I'm happy about."
Qualifying for the Olympics only makes Altidore's life with the Red Bulls more complicated. He will miss at least the last week of July and the first two weeks of August to play in China. And if the U.S. reaches the medal round, it could be longer -- the 2000 team, led by a young Donovan, made it to the medal round in Sydney, finishing fourth.
And that doesn't include any World Cup qualifiers or international friendlies he might be called up for.
"It's a good complication to have," Altidore said. "I'm able to play in Beijing now. I'm just very excited for both the Red Bulls and the goal of playing in China and competing for a medal."
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He can be reached at SoccerWriter516@aol.com. Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
