The City of Boca Raton gave Jozy Altidore the hero’s welcome he deserved on Friday, July 18th at the Waterstone Resort & Marina.

“He is our hometown hero,” Mayor Susan Haynie said. “He has achieved so much in his sport and that certainly deserves acclaim from the community. We are all very thrilled and honored of him carrying the name of Boca Raton as his hometown.”

Altidore, the 2013 Futbol de Primera Player of the Year and the 2013 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, was honored by Haynie and the City of Boca with his own day, Jozy Altidore Day.

“The first I heard of this it was incredible,” Altidore said. “It’s such a prestigious city in Boca Raton. I’m so happy to be here and represent the soccer team.”

At a young age it was evident that Altidore had a natural talent as he would toy with children at the local parks. Josef Schulz, a longtime youth coach in Boca Raton, took note of Altidore when he was 8 years old while Altidore was playing a pickup game at Boca’s South County Regional Park and Schultz was amazed.

“Schulz played a very pivotal role for me in my career in a time where soccer wasn’t so big here in the States,” says a grateful Altidore of what Schulz did for him.

As a middle school student at Loggers’ Run Middle School, Altidore harnessed his craft and after only one year he moved to Boca Raton Prep on a soccer scholarship.

Altidore, who currently holds the record for most goals by an American overseas with 39, is set to rejoin his club Sunderland AFC late next week to begin preparing for the start of the 2014 English Premier League season.

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