Jozy Altidore finally made it to the English Premier League after a series of delays, and the wait was worth it for this 19-year-old U.S. forward. Altidore is playing for Hull, on loan from Spain's Villarreal, and his debut was delayed by complications with his work visa and a swine flu scare.

But once he arrived at the team's headquarters -- via helicopter! -- he wasted no time making an impact. Altidore entered his first game as a 60th-minute sub, and the first time he touched the ball, he set up Kamel Ghila's winning goal against Bolton.

After the match, he told reporters about his wacky few weeks.

``The last 48 hours, let's see -- airport terminals, swine flu scares, babies crying on the plane; it's all been a little crazy,'' he said. ``It's been very frustrating not being able to do anything proper for the last two weeks, but I'm finally here. The goal was to make the Chelsea game, and then all of a sudden you miss the Chelsea game, and you miss the Tottenham game and you wonder what's going on. The fact that I wasn't even in England as well made it even harder. Not being able to be with the guys was tough, but it's over now.

``I was running around embassies, listening to hearings, running around with passport photos, running when I can on the treadmill, keeping in touch with teammates the best I could and Tweeting all my frustrations. I was losing faith.

``I thought it was all going to be for nothing. When it got delayed again, I was supposed to be back last Monday and then the embassy was closed, I was thinking `This isn't good.' That was a low point, but a lot of people worked their tails off to bring me here. Thankfully, the guys behind the scenes, the lawyers, the chairman, the gaffer, they all did a great job trying to get me here, and I appreciate it.''

Altidore followed up his opening-day assist with a goal in a 3-1 League Cup victory against Southend. His shot was from 30 yards.

Hull manager Phil Brown has been impressed with the youngster. ``The fans will take to him because he's a big, bubbly character,'' Brown said.

Altidore will be back in action with the U.S. national team Sept. 5 against El Salvador in Sandy, Utah, and then Sept. 9 at Trinidad and Tobago.

Altidore is the leading U.S. goal-scorer in World Cup qualifiers with five. The U.S. team could virtually seal a spot in the 2010 World Cup with two more victories. ALL EYES ON SPAIN

La Liga gets under way this weekend, and the whole world is watching after a summer spending spree like never before.

Although the English Premier League and Italy's Serie A remain top-flight leagues, there's no question Spain has the most international stars this year.

Where else can you see Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Karim Benzema?

Of course, the biggest story of the offseason was Real Madrid, which is determined to overtake Barcelona. The club spent $350 million to get Ronaldo from Manchester United, Kaká from AC Milan, Benzema from Lyon and Xavi Alonso from Liverpool. The new star-studded roster clearly irked Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

``We make Ballon d'Or winners, and others have to buy them,'' Laporta said, referring to the title of Europe's Player of the Year.

Real Madrid's sporting director, Jorge Valdano, responded by saying Barca officials are hypocrites because they also spent big money over the summer.

``When they signed Ibrahimovic, they didn't practice what they preached,'' he said. ``It surprised me that they didn't apply the same rules as Cristiano Ronaldo to the Ibrahimovic transfer.''

Barca, which won the domestic cup, league and Champions League last season, remains the team to beat with a roster that includes Messi, Thierry Henry, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.

CUP QUALIFYING

Brazilian coach Dunga called up 20-year-old Internacional midfielder Sandro for two huge World Cup qualifiers against Argentina (Saturday) and Chile (Sept. 9).

With four games to go, Brazil leads South American qualifying with 27 points, followed by Chile (26), Paraguay (24) and Argentina (22).

Argentina needs to finish fourth or better to earn an automatic bid. The fifth-place team enters a playoff against the fourth place team in CONCACAF.

After the Brazil match, Argentina plays Paraguay.

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