The United States men's national team head coach knows a thing or two about scoring goals. That includes the understandng that sometimes the goals don't come but that they will. Yes, they will.

BY Noah Davis Posted

November 17, 2015

10:00 AM SHARE THIS STORY



PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO—The benefit of being a forward is that you can be invisible for 89 minutes, then score in the 90th minute and be a hero.

The problem with being a striker is that when you don't score, the critics come out hard and fast.

"Every time you score a goal, you feel really good and you're really confident," United States national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. "Then come longer stretches when you're not scoring and people criticize you. And you have to go through that. You have to stay calm and work even harder."

Which brings us to Jozy Altidore, the number one frontline option when the Americans take on Trinidad and Tobago in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday evening. While he scored two goals in the 6-1 romp over St. Vincent and the Grenadines—giving him 30 goals in 88 U.S. games, the third-fastest player to reach that plateau—it hasn't been an easy 2015 for the Toronto FC attacker. He's battled inconsistency and injuries, and was sent home from the Gold Cup because he didn't regain his fitness in time.

But throughout it all, his coach never lost faith. "Is he, as a striker, going through ups and downs? I lived that for 17, 18 professional years. Ups and downs," Klinsmann, who scored 228 goals for his club teams and 47 for his country, said.

"Jozy, throughout the last couple of years, went through some extreme up and downs in his club environment as well. But he knows that we believe in him."

For Altidore, a player who thrives on confidence, having a coach who has faith in him is probably vital. It's a bonus to have a manager who has been there before, someone who understands the specific mental tasks a forward must deal with on a day-to-day basis.

"It helps a lot," Bobby Wood said when asked if Klinsmann's past life as a forward was beneficial. "He was a player himself and he knows mentally what we go through. It's always nice."

It's clear that Altidore, who has 12 World Cup qualifying goals, one behind Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey for most all time, will continue to find the field. "With Jozy we have a very special player," Klinsmann said, later adding: "We need him. The U.S. team needs Jozy Altidore. There's no question about it. That he finds the back of the net is good for us."

And if he doesn't, he has a coach with firsthand knowledge that sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way but that talented attackers need to continue getting chances.

Noah Davis is Deputy Editor of American Soccer Now. Follow him on Twitter.