Bobby Wood: The Best American Striker
Contrary to popular belief in the American soccer media, Jozy Altidore is not the best American striker. Bobby Wood is. Wood starts in the Bundesliga, a much better league than the league that Altidore plays in: MLS. Wood is also a more technically-skilled and smoother player who is more clinical than Altidore while also stretching the defense and moving with and without the ball better than Altidore.
In Wood’s first games with the United States Men’s National Team, he was scoring impressive goals against top national teams in friendlies, but the fact that he kept scoring for the United States in any type of game signaled that his first goals weren’t just a fluke. Wood’s current play is the result of steady and gradual improvement since his days as a youth player. Last year, Wood’s great form was in the second division of German club soccer, but now that it’s in the Bundesliga and on the international level, Wood’s play is the most impressive of any American forward. Wood is the type of electric and elegant striker that the United States has been looking for since the 1980’s and earlier.
The Hawaiian is also a more aggressive striker than Altidore, and this was showcased in Wood’s recent solo goal against Schalke with his weaker left foot.
On that occasion, Wood received a ball along the right side of the field some 40 meters from goal where he proceeded to dribble straight at the defense until cutting the ball on to his weaker left foot while creating a small amount of space for him to blast a left-footed shot over the goalkeeper’s head and arms and into the back of the net. It was the type of impressive solo goal that you don’t really see Americans scoring very often, and it was just one example of why Wood is the most talented, the most effective, and the most dangerous American striker.
There’s an argument to made that Altidore and Wood should start together, but if the United States is going to start just one forward, in order to be able to have more creative midfielders to keep possession and break down the opposition, then Wood is the forward who should start. Wood’s skill-set suits a lone forward. He stretches the defense, so you can play him through balls or balls played over the top of the defense. He makes runs for his teammates to play him passes in dangerous spots in front of the goal, and he combines well and quickly with attacking midfielders and wings.
From all appearances, it would seem that Wood is quicker and faster than Altidore because Wood certainly looks like he’s moving faster, more gracefully, and easier than Altidore.
Just because the Hawaiian has been compared to Altidore frequently here doesn’t mean that Altidore is a forward without great qualities and assets, but there should be no debate about whether Wood or Altidore should start.
Wood has been praised by the American media and fan base, but not many have gone as far to outright declare Wood superior to Altidore, but that is the claim here. Wood is the more talented striker who is more of a scoring threat against better teams. You can see how much more skillful, active, and effective Wood is compared to Altidore when you watch them, and Wood should be Bruce Arena’s default starting center forward.