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November 16, 2007, 7:39 am

Jozy Altidore: Greetings From South Africa

By Jozy Altidore

Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore contributes items for The New York Times Goal blog each week. In his latest post, Altidore discusses his trip to South Africa as a first-time member of the United States senior national team.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The game against South Africa is tomorrow and it has taken a few days for me to get comfortable after a long, long trip that started at 5:30 a.m. in Miami on Sunday and ended around dinner time in South Africa on Monday. The trip over, man, wow. It actually was pretty good because I was in business class with tons of meals and movies to pass the time. But probably the best thing was the sleeper seat; it was amazing to bed down. Basically, everything was neat. I didn't sleep much the first couple of days, but I'm over that now … just in time for the trip home!

I landed and had dinner with the guys, but there were only about 6 or 7 in camp at the time. The rest of the group arrived over the next couple of days.

The altitude here in Johannesburg caught me a bit by surprise. They told me its almost 6,000 feet above sea level, which is higher than Denver. I felt it the first time I got on the field for training. Other than training, we also did a clinic for young people and part of it was to help raise their awareness of AIDS. The idea was to try to help give them some belief through soccer.

I've really been surprised and impressed by South Africa. We've all heard the stories about Africa and the Third World, but South Africa is really not what I thought it would be. Here, it's a little more modern and really a nice country. I'm happy to be here.

After my experience on some United States youth national teams and in M.L.S., I have to say that the biggest difference I've seen here in national team camp are the defenders. They have a lot more experience and do the little things well. And, man, when a guy like Oguchi Onyewu bumps up against you it's not the normal bumps I've felt from defenders. It really feels like two guys were hitting me. It takes some time getting used to, but I'm starting to get a feel for what the guys are going to do on the field. It's one more level up and a bit more unpredictable.

And Bob Bradley is really different from any coach I've had so far. It's not a knock against anyone, but I like his style. He seems to be teaching every day and all credit goes to Bob. Every coach has a different way of doing things, but it's all been good and I've enjoyed it. It's my first exposure on this level and there are things I just have to get used to.

Going up a level is a big plus for me. I've been exposed to things I haven't experienced before. We have a lot of guys playing in Europe in camp and they bring some different styles with them. It's good for me to see these different styles and I'm eager to learn.

What else have I learned? Well, really little things that can make it a lot harder to play against, things like adjusting your body, making yourself available for the ball more than I'm used to. Especially internationally, you need to be more active than in M.L.S. With the Red Bulls, I have Juan Pablo to play with, but here, everyone has to be an option and in the game. We share responsibility, it just takes more to get over the hump.

And of all the new guys I've met I have to say that Gooch has made the biggest impression, probably because I'm up against him in training. Gooch looks like a mean machine on TV, but he's really a great, cool guy. Very nice and approachable. He's easy to deal with.

We're getting ready for the game, and although I would love to play I haven't heard anything from Bob. No worries. I'm happy to be hear and to be part of the process. It's been a great experience. It would be nice to play, but my goal all along was to see how the national team works.

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