CONCACAF Champions League aspirations helped bring Jozy Altidore to New England

Jozy Altidore has accomplished a lot in his career but there has been one trophy that has eluded him.

Along with the rest of MLS, Altidore has yet to lift the CONCACAF Champions League trophy. It would be the cherry on top of a stacked resume for the striker.

When speaking to the media on Tuesday, Altidore stated that the fact that New England is playing in the competition helped bring him to the club.

“Absolutely,” he said. “That’s a trophy that’s eluded a lot of MLS teams. To be honest, I’ll be happy when any MLS team wins in, not only New England. You know, we obviously want to try to do our best to win it. I think it’s a trophy where if we want to take the next step as a league, that trophy has to be won to try to get to the Club World Cup and get those eyeballs on the league to help the league continue to grow, so that’s definitely something we’re going to be focused on here. And I’m excited to play in that competition again.”

New England has a head start in the competition as Haitian side Calvary AS was forced to withdraw due to being unable to acquire visas to travel to the United States. The Revolution will now play either Pumas or Deportivo Saprissa in the Round of 16.

Altidore will add some CCL experience as he has tallied three goals across 10 appearances in the competition. In MLS, the striker has also recorded 86 goals over 10 seasons.