Altidore moves down to move up

Jozy Altidore saw little action at Villarreal since making the move from MLS last June. AP Greg Lalas's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Greg. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

I have an ongoing friendly wager with a reader that involves Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu. Steve thinks Jozy is destined to have a better career than Freddy. With a six-pack on the line, I decided to go with Freddy.

We haven't really figured out how to define "success," but we figure it's like that Supreme Court justice's comment about pornography: We'll know it when we see it. (Best-case scenario, they both have terrific careers and neither of us wins.)

This weekend, the odds that I'll be sipping a sixer of Dogfish Head anytime soon took a turn for the worse. While Freddy sat on Monaco's bench (again), Jozy went out on loan to Spanish second-division side Xerez CD. It's about time. This should've happened when he first got to Villarreal last summer, but the combination of injuries to other strikers and his good form in training afforded him an extended stay at the Madrigal.

Now with the smaller team, the hope is Jozy will play regularly and develop more organically. Equally important, if you ask me, is that he could be involved in a promotion. Xerez is currently on top of the league standings, four points ahead of the fourth-placed team (the top three go up to La Liga), which means there's a decent chance he could help the Azulinos go to the show for the first time in their history.

Being on a team that is winning and pressing for promotion can only do wonders for a young player's confidence. He'll experience one of the great joys of European soccer, when a small club does the impossible and rises to the biggest stage. It will be a nice departure from the recent depressing trend of American players fighting relegation (Watford in 2007, Derby, Reading and Fulham last year, Mönchengladbach right now). Seriously, for a while there, I was beginning to think American players were a curse.

Joining a title-chasing team also means Jozy will have to fight for his place on the field. If he had been loaned out to a mid-table team or, worse, a real struggler, he would've played no matter what -- even if only because the coach would want to please Villarreal, which needs to see if Jozy is going to realize his $10 million potential.

But since Xerez is on a roll -- unbeaten in five -- coach Esteban Vigo won't rush to tinker with his lineup. "El Toro," as the Spaniards call Jozy (and I think we all should), is going to have to play like one of the famous Miura bulls which, by the way, are raised right there in Andalusia, if he wants to get any action.

Here's the thing: At Villarreal, Jozy wasn't really competing for playing time, was he? Sure, he got a few starts early on, but those weren't rewards for his play. Rather, they were forced decisions by coach Manuel Pellegrini, who was dealing with a ton of injuries. In reality, it was always going to be difficult, no matter how well Jozy played, to convince the Villarreal coaches that he was ready. After all, before Jozy even arrived at the Madrigal, the powers that be were talking about loaning him out.

Now they have, and he has a legitimate shot at earning some real minutes. Unlike at Villarreal, his actions at Xerez are going to be the determining factor for the coach. Is he sharp? Is he training well? Is he fitting in with the chemistry of the side? Does he deserve a start?

These are the kinds of questions U.S. coach Bob Bradley is going to be asking, too, when he starts getting ready for this month's World Cup qualifier vs. Mexico. Because no matter how good Jozy has looked at times for the national team, he's not guaranteed a place. And although it hasn't always been Bradley's policy, he needs to be playing if he wants to be a part of the squad.

Perhaps, though, the loan move is coming too late. Jozy hasn't played a game since Dec. 14, when he came on as a second-half sub. That means he'll have only one chance to strut his stuff -- Xerez is away to Albacete next Sunday -- before he would be called in for the Mexico game on Feb. 11. And there's no guarantee he'll even play (although I'll bet another six-pack that he will, probably as a sub toward the end of the game, a la Landon Donovan's debut for Bayern this past Friday).

Is one game enough to answer those questions? Of course not. But that doesn't mean Bradley won't call him in. Knowing whether a player is ready isn't cut and dry. In many ways, you know it when you see it.

Extra time

Speaking of Landon: A particular "Outside the Box" reader, who refuses ever to sign his e-mails to me, has often mocked my belief that Donovan is a good player. A few weeks ago, he -- or she -- wrote me this gem: "If Donovan plays even five minutes in Germany I will send you money for lunch."

Well, Landon played 13 minutes. Please send the money care of SI.com. Oh, and I like lobster for lunch.