Giuseppe Rossi has made 30 appearances for the Italian national team, but his agent says the forward made a mistake in choosing the Azzurri over his birth country.
Speaking to Radio Bruno, Rossi’s agent, Andrea Pastorello, said that the forward should have chosen to represent the U.S. Men’s National Team. The 29-year-old forward was born in New Jersey, but opted to play for his parents’ homeland of Italy after breaking through at Parma and Villarreal.
However, Rossi’s international road has not been an easy one. The forward has made 30 international appearances and scored seven goals, but has seen chances at major tournaments derailed by injury. Rossi missed out on the 2014 World Cup due to injury, and has not been called up by Antonio Conte in the two years since.
“The national team and Rossi? It’s a story that repeats itself,” Pastorello said. “In hindsight, if he returned to the choice between the Italian and U.S. National Team, we would opt for the U.S.”
What do you think of these comments? Should Rossi have played for the USMNT? How would he fit into the program in 2016?
Share your thoughts below.
Strange – he’s only 29.
His agent can’t be thinking to stir up publicity for a move to MLS already, can he? maybe he’s got some serious injuries and needs a final paycheck…?
I don’t get these article titles. I get that they are a type of bait and switch to drive page hits. But they misrepresent the tone of the quote.
Rossi’s agent never says it was a mistake. Rossi never said it was a mistake. Rossi was never a committed US player and never really indicated any nationalistic desire to represent The United States as a soccer player.
Given the decision again as a young player he would take the Italy opportunity. He felt more Italian as a person and his wallet felt more Italian.
His celebration in the Confed Cup said everything.
The only thing I can infer from the quote is that MAYBE Rossi and his agent believe he would have had a longer international career as a US player and that it the regret. But, Rossi and his agent….and Rossi’s father knew that was the most likely outcome when the decision was made way back when.
His agent is an agent. One can rest assured that there’s an end game to his saying something this. It’s not an off the cuff comment.
I hold no feelings good or bad towards this man, and would like him on my MLS team.
OT: Haven’t had home internet in a while, so I’m struggling to stay abreast with a lot of the dialogue on here. I’ll be back on my feet and making weird comments in no time!
Frogs don’t have the internet, silly.
“I’m struggling to stay abreast with a lot of the dialogue on here”
i feel like i could leave for a year and still guess what most people are doing: dloa will be lol-ing at everything, bryan will be getting pissy about it, sla will be demanding birth certificates, and old school will be html-ing the sh!t out of everyone (and hating eric lichaj).
For the record: I do
nothate Eric Lichaj.(I just don’t think he’s the second coming).
My initial reaction: “bwahahaha”.
But seriously, I never faulted the man for chasing his dream so I won’t hold it against him now. It’s not like he was ever in the USMNT system. He was 12 when he moved to Italy and embraced the country of his parents. There is nothing wrong with that.
Yes, he would have been a great addition to the US squad. He brought something to the table that we have not had. His dad was also a great coach. Would have liked him to play for us, but no ill will towards him.
yea, this is a non story. trying to stir the pot for us fans. well done, you have us commenting on it.
anyway, Rossi’s jersey looks like he used medical tape for his number.
So, question for the crowd. Assuming this is all a bunch of agent speak leading towards a potential MLS move, would you want Rossi on your team?
I would. In fact, if the contract were right (low level DP, ideally bought down with TAM), I’d get him on the Union in a hot second and not think twice about it. If he can stay healthy – which is admittedly a big if and part of the whole “the contract has to be right” idea – he’ll light up MLS. His finishing is still top notch and he proved with Llevante that he can work around his decreased speed and mobility. To me, this is a dude who could score a lot of goals here, for three, maybe four more years. He could also get hurt in his first game and never see the field again. For the right price, that’s a risk I’d be willing to take.
Granted, I never felt the vitriol or anger towards him that some harbored/apparently still harbor, so it might be easier for me to look past. That’s not to say I wasn’t disappointed that he chose Italy over the US, but I always felt like even though I disagreed with his decision, it was his decision to make and he did what he thought was best. He was articulate and consistent in his explanation of why and to his credit, he never lead the USSF or US fans along. It was always Italy and it was always going to be Italy.
So, assuming he signs with MLS, would you want him on your squad?
I would certainly take him on my team and so would all these guys screaming about him celebrating a goal against the US as soon as he put a couple in the net for their favorite MLS team.
fans are fickle above all else. as an example, charlie davies came to mls when everyone loved him, went down a little easily a couple times, and people started jeering and chanting “diving davies” at all his away games.
i’ve taken pleasure in rossi’s troubles (*without* wishing him injury) because “american in everything except soccer” is a load of horsesh!t, but as soon as he started scoring for my team, I’d forget everything right quick.
I am not sure that the hatred people have for him translates to the club level. I think it is all about the national team level and the perceived idea that he turned his back on his birth nation (not my opinion but that of most people). As others have said, at the club level if he is scoring then most including me would root for him to continue scoring. If there were a rule that allowed him to come back to the US National team most everyone would say “screw that!”
On a personal level, I almost stopped rooting for the Red Bull when Marquez was on the team, my hatred for him overwhelmed my loyalty to my team.
Meh, this is an eye roll and move on moment. I would rather have Jermaine Jones, FJ, AJ, Williams and all the others who chose the USA over another country and put their hearts on the line for us every game. Talent or not, if you chose to play somewhere else fine, we have plenty of talent looking to play here. I understood his decision then and still understand it now, and did not want a kid who did not want us.
This is like the hot girl in high school who laughed at you when you asked her out now at 35 with a muffin top and two kids saying she should have chosen you. Too late, move on!
“How would he fit into the program in 2016?”
Sounds like a pointless exercise.
Well since he is normally hurt, I guess he would be watching from home.
I’ll bite. He’d start. He’s not injured right now and still had 6 goals in 13 appearances for a La Liga team. I’d say he’d start opposite Bobby Wood. If Jozy wasn’t hurt then he’d probably still start, they’d be 1a 1b IMO. It’s not like we have a lot of options up top.
At least I didn’t have to be dissapointed when he was too injured for the 2014 WC. That’s about the best of it.
After he celebrated his goals against us in the Confederations Cup a few years back, I’ve taken particular delight in his injury struggles and every time he wasn’t named to Italy’s tournament rosters.
Absolutely disgusting. I hope you don’t mean this, but you probably do.
I’d never root for someone to get injured but it is pretty funny when he fails to make every Italian tournament squad.
I absolutely mean it. He could have stayed classy, but no, when playing against the country of his BIRTH, he celebrated like he scored a 94th minute game winning goal in the World Cup final.
So yes, I laughed and laughed hard every time he got injured and was snubbed. If that’s disgusting, I really don’t care.
How dare a forward celebrate scoring a goal. What nerve, of all the low down rotten things a soccer player could do.
Aren’t Texans supposed to be patriotic? Oh yeah, you ladies want to secede…that’s why you have no national pride.
Of course he shouldn’t overly celebrate his goal against his home-country. It’s common sense.
Jesus guys, you are animals. You root for him to tear his ACL over and over? That is some pretty shite karma you are accruing for yourself there. Also, he is nothing? The dude was/is as good as Balotelli… in fact, a large part of Italy’s piss poor form since 2009 is that they don’t have strikers as good as those two are/were. When Rossi went down before 2010 and then again before 2014 world cups… that changed Italy’s ability to score in a material way.
Let’s not compare with Balo, because Balo didn’t have injury problems, just mental ones… but to say the kid isn’t good is just ridiculous. And BTW, I agree with some of the posters on here. Even today, slower, older, and 2 ACLs into it… He probably still plays for the US team in some role given who is around on the team…
Man these comments are salty as hell. He’s an Italian-American who was good enough to play for either country and chose Italy. He was developed as a footballer in Italy and has strong ties to his country. There’s nothing wrong with that. Why is it that there isn’t such hatred for German-Americans who play on the USMNT? They were eligible for both Germany and USA but chose USA, to be honest the only German-American that could possibly break into the German team today is Fabian Johnson. Posters here are happy they chose the USA instead of the country of their birth (mostly Germany), why not be happy for Rossi. Someone said he celebrated too wildly, man did you see that goal?? It was a screamer, don’t care who I was playing against, I’d go crazy too!
+1 he never played for the US never really wanted to. Italy developed him. He made his decision. He is not a traitor or anything like. I find it funny that he gets so much hate but Neven Subotic, who actually played for the US gets no heat.
Apples and oranges. You say he developed as a footballer in Italy when he moved there at 12. I say if you start developing as a footballer at 12 that’s 8 years too late. Subotic didn’t get as much heat because 1. even though he played for our U-17’s, he was born in Serbia and raised in Germany and 2. he was a CB, a position that hasn’t been as much of a concern as striker for us. Rossi talked like an American, acted like an American but choose the hotter girl because she was sexier than the one that he had been with for the first 12 years of his life. Rossi was the first world class player that the US truly developed on its own and Italy benefited. THAT’S why people feel so slighted.
@MLSsnob
Apples and Oranges are both fruit, sweet, and round 😉 So development only happens from 4-12? You dismiss development from 12-20 in an atmosphere meant for the strongest to survive, against like minded youngsters around Italy and Europe? That’s a stretch to think the Clifton Stallions developed a kid into a star from 4-12. And if you haven’t developed significantly by age 12, you might as well quit!? Come on! The German-Americans, talk German, walk German but chose the uglier girl because it was sure shot for them to score! This is American fans wanting it one way for them and not for anyone else. Lastly, I don’t think Rossi even at his best was world class, definitely a top tier player though.
Subotic was cut from the U20 team. Then a couple of months later he was starting for a 2 Bundesliga team that got promoted that year. He was the one who felt spited.
The anger in that situation is for the coach who cut him not recognizing his talent over a couple of guys who had mediocre MLS careers at best.
People do complain about the German-Americans – just ask Slow (I don’t).
Anyways, people don’t like that he chose Italy because we didn’t have any forwards that were nowhere near his caliber. Instead, he chose to be a minnow player in Italy. Meanwhile, Italy and Germany has plenty of talent in every position. While that doesn’t make it wrong for him to go with Italy, it seemed more selfish at first and now at last we can see it was also the wrong decision personally.
Yes, he could of been more humble in his celebration. You saying it was a screamer so it “don’t matter” does not negate the fact that you should show respect to the country that you are citizen of. He should of been more humble in celebration, but the past is the past. People make stupid mistakes, but you could really see where his heart was (not with the US, at all) and made it easier for me to accept his decision. That is why his agent’s comment is ridiculous. In hindsight, I’m glad that he chose Italy.
BLUF: This guy will go down in history as a nobody on the International stage. You get what you deserve in life by the decisions that you make.
I wouldn’t say there is no heat for German-American players, it got pretty heated last Summer when Brooks and Chandler were pretty bad in the GC with holdovers from the Juilian Green WC. FJ gets a pass because he’s really good, but just about all the other GAs have been roundly criticized at one point or another on here.
Downintexas: Subotic used to get it a lot, but now that he doesn’t really play for BvB or Serbia people have forgotten about him. If he were to make a move to MLS it would show up again.
The type of goal scored does not matter…he didn’t have to celebrate. did you notice the american-bolivian player singing the US national anthem on saturday? He was unlucky and didn’t catch on in MLS went to Bolivia and made the Bolivia’s national team. Big ups to him wanting to show his pride….
I bet you if Bedoya scores on Friday (at least I hope that he can score), I am sure that he wouldn’t celebrate the goal…..
And if you ever heard a Rossi interview he considers himself American except in soccer/football….so I’m sure he was very aware of his goal celebration….
If he had made this choice today, the vitriol would be much less. When Rossi chose Italy over us, we were in desperate need of star soccer players in this country (just look at what we did to Freddy) and we thought he was going to be the answer. Why go to a country where you have to compete to be one of the guys when you could stay here and be the man?
Since then we have found our talent pool and Rossi has not had the international career we thought he would, so the anger nowadays is much less, but mention his name to some older posters and the anger comes right back up. It is human nature, and if you think these posts are bad you should try to find some from ten years ago when he was the most hated guy is soccer in this country.
Go back and watch the video from 2009, what exactly did he do that was so terrible. You guys either have false memories or you are hyper sensitive. He scored a sensational goal to tie it and jumps into his teammates arms, get over yourselves. If he wants to play in MLS great somebody will pay him well and rightfully so. If not who cares the league won’t fold without him and neither has the national team.
Jeez, still the pent up rage. If this is his agent channeling him, then embrace the sentiment. If this is his agent, trying to get him a deal, then who cares. Dude could have been spectacular… we have had several kids like that… Holden and Davis spring to mind. Point is, why the anger?
I was pissed when he chose Italy, I talked to him about it too. I don’t know what I would have done if I were as good as he was… Italy, man… that was the dream for us NJ kids growing up in the 80/90s. We would go back in the summer and be the last kid picked for street-ball. If we were any good, we would delight in shoving it into their faces. and NOTHING was shoving it into the faces of Italians like an American on their national team. Man I remember telling my friends that some day an American would make their team… I would be a millionaire if I had made bets with them.
So I get it on his part. If he feels any regret, and I doubt he does… then that is too bad, because he lived the dream.
I’m assuming it wasn’t his dream to play in zero world cups.
I’m assuming that choosing Italy had zero effect on him tearing his ACL.
I’m curious to hear Giuseppe’s viewpoint.
I always felt the decision to play for Azzurri was borne much more out of Papa Rossi’s hopes and dreams then perhaps his son’s. Just given the Italian culture and the young age that Giuseppe was fostered to Italy at make me wonder if different circumstances would have lead to different decisions.
Cadmonkey12 above provided a direct quote to your question back in 2014.
If we are looking at him purely as soccer player, then bring him to the league, as he is still a very good finisher from his most recent form with Levante. He was a difference maker for them despite not having the same mobility and agility from the past.
This loser thought he would chase glory for another country instead of the place he was born and raised. Looked like it backfired.
BREAKING NEWS: Old School, reporting in with links and quotes to highlight your own hypocrisy: (because you stated you love them, slow)
This loser thought he would chase glory for another country instead of the place he was born and raised. Looked like it backfired. (slowleftarm 5/31/16)
Rossi moved to Italy when he was 12, a nation his family has roots with, to “chase glory” and you call him a loser for not playing for the country he was born and raised.
I wonder how you felt about Kakuta Manneh, who moved to the United States at 15, and is positioning himself to “chase glory” by playing for the United States? To the point that he’s living in a house just 3 days a week (23 miles from the Canadian border) to maintain residency in the United States.
This is a little different than some of the passport Americans JK recruited who’d barely set foot here. He moved here when he was 15 and has lived here since. I don’t see a problem with it although I also wouldn’t see a problem with him playing for Gambia either. Presumably he wants to play in world cups so I don’t think Gambia is going to happen though. (slowleftarm 5/19/16)
So, Rossi presumably wanted to honor his family and potentially win some World Cups playing for Italy. Italy, his family has a direct connection to. Manneh has zero connection to the United States and presumably wants to “play in some World Cups”.
…but Rossi is a “loser” according to you, slowleftarm. Just highlighting your continued ignorance and inconsistency on the subject of citizenship, “passport-Americans” and general sensibility.
http://sbisoccer.com/2016/05/kekuta-manneh-one-step-closer-to-usmnt-eligibility
No hypocrisy there – Manneh has lived in this country since he was 15. I have zero issue with him playing for either the US or Gambia. Rossi never lived in Italy until he moved there for soccer reasons – he was born and raised here. Appreciate the usual bold type, links, footnotes and bluster but your attempt to prove whatever it is you think you’ve proven is a big fat fail.
Also, how empty must your life be that you trolled through 2 week old SBI posts to get “proof” that some random internet poster who you’ve never met posted something supposedly inconsistent with a prior post. Think about what that says about you. Here’s a hint – it isn’t good.
Slow: Don’t really care about your feud with Old School, but Manneh moved here to play soccer for the Rush youth program, he even lived with the coaches (now his adopted parents). The only difference in the two stories is that Rossi actually had family ties to Italy, Manneh did not have any to the US.
Manneh’s only value to the USMNT team is if he is left footed and can play LB? Since he is just another fast forward with little game besides running fast into space not sure if he will ever get called up?
You give yourself far too much credit. To clarify again, your posts stick out like a sore thumb each time. They aren’t hard to remember for all the wrong reasons so they’re also not hard to find.
No hypocrisy there – Manneh has lived in this country since he was 15. I have zero issue with him playing for either the US or Gambia. Rossi never lived in Italy until he moved there for soccer reasons – he was born and raised here.
Yes, and Rossi moved to Italy at 12. For those scoring at home that’s 3 years earlier than Manneh…who you deem to be “acceptable”, but refer to Rossi as a “loser”.
Do you actually read your posts or are you in a fugue state of embarrassment from the ridicule you get, deservedly so, about your ignorant views on citizenship and what’s deemed “acceptable”?
The only thing sad is your responses to actual proof of your inconsistencies:
Deny reality: (X)
Call the poster a troll: (X)
Call their life empty: (X)
If you’d like to see what a troll looks like, go up and read your response to “Rob”. When you’re not spouting off with hysterical nonsense you deem to be insightful you’re often dropping baseless accusations like the one I’m referencing and disappear. I could provide countless examples of that, too, but you’d probably deny that reality, too.
I haven’t met anyone on this board (as I’m sure most can say the same about their fellow posters). If that is the qualification now for responding or providing posts on this website chances are you’re absolutely grasping for anything to save face.
Here’s a hint on how you’re doing on this topic – it isn’t good.
I didn’t realize that – kind of silly for him to play for the USMNT team then.
SLOWLEFTARM………L……..O………L……….
That’s was a lot of fun to read. Btw just because you sheepishly now agree with old school doesn’t mean you’re still not hilariously foolish for disagreeing with him this whole time. You’ve long been a hypocrite on the topic. Somehow I feel this isn’t the last we’ve heard from mister uninformed. Lol
NY Times 2014… This guy was never going to wear the stars and stripes…
Q: Do you ever regret not having chosen to play internationally for the United States?
A: I’m fine the way that my career has gone, besides the injuries. I’m happy with decisions I’ve made. I’ve had dreams I wanted to come true since I was a kid. Thanks to my father and family and the work I’ve put in, I’ve been able to pursue them.
In 2005, when I was 18, Bruce Arena asked me to come to camp and train with the United States team in Scotland if I wanted to be part of it. It was flattering and amazing to get called up, but my dreams were to be a part of the Italian national team. It was how I was brought up. All my family, except me and my sister, were born in Italy. Growing up I used to watch the Serie A every Sunday morning. When I thanked them and said no, I knew I was turning down a big national team. But Italy was where I wanted to be. I made my decision, it’s where I love to play.
Whats most interesting about this one is that he belonged to us, and not the adoptive relationship we see in many other of the dual nationals.
Some fans may see him as a villain, but MLS GMs couldn’t care less about him choosing Italy over the USA.
His agent would have made a lot more money if he had played for US nats and then made a big money move back like Bradley and Dempsey. I think Bradley was making 1.5 million at Roma…making way more now.
Yes, Rossi had injuries but was healthy and got cut just before one of the World Cups.
30 caps for the Azurri and he’s crying about it now? Far tougher to make that squad than the USMNT. He should be at peace with his decision. I bear him no ill will for choosing Italy. ANyoen who says they wouldn’t is lying.
Back when the US soccer community would talk about “how can we make soccer more relevant in the US” (those were the days, huh!?) Rossi was a glimmer of hope for our weak team. When he went to play for Italy I understood the nostalgia for one’s “homeland” it was a slap in the face. Then when he was so ecstatic to score against us in the Confed Cup I lost all respect for him. If he comes to play for the Red Bulls I will boo him until I can’t talk anymore.
Great comment. Totally agree!
Hindsight is always 20/20. I see it as he’s getting long in the tooth and teams are beginning to pass on him in Europe. He’d love to play in the MLS, seeing the success of Seba, but knows he’s seen as a villain in the US, so his agent begins the process softening his image. Eventually he’d like to land in New York. Just my 2 cents.
Exactly. Kid is just looking to cash in on an inflated MLS contract even though he never was a USMNT player. I say screw him. He had his chance to pick his country and he chose Italy. Let him stay in Italy. There should be a rule for dual national prospects, if you don’t choose to represent the US then you can’t play in MLS. It ridiculous that this guy dissed MLS his whole career and our national team and now wants to possibly cash in wit h a DP contract if NVINK121 is correct in his assumption that Rossi’s agent is trying to soften the market for him here and I believe NVINK121 is right.
MLS has all sorts of other crazy rules, so your proposed rule seems just as viable as, say, the discovery rule. So I’m down with it
Even though he is an Italian player and national, he is a dual citizen with a US passport so he would not take up an international slot on an MLS roster. So if he was a healthy player and had a “reasonable” DP demand for salary, there will be MLS teams wanting to take a chance on him.
Of course, if he made the move to the US, he will have to change his name back to Joe or Joey.
Rossi….. L……O…….L……
Too little, too late. Life is full of wrong decisions. He is only saying this to pave his way to coming to MLS at some point
If the whole matter was just based on number of appearances and the like, then this is patently obvious. But since that has never been the whole matter, it’s pointless for someone to try to say what anh player with such an choice should have done. Rossi might just as well comment on his agent’s choice in a wife/girlfriend or some other similarly personal preference question.
He would have made every Italy Squad he was eligible for. No mistake on his part, just the fact he is made of glass screwed him.
Yup.
He would have made every Italy squad he was eligible for if he wasn’t injured. No mistake, just made of glass.
Rossi spit in our faces. F. him.
No, Frank Lampard spit in our faces and he plays in New York.This guy only did what he thought was better for his career. Get over it.
This dude is Rob’s hero because he loves to see people stick it to the US.
i was ok with his decision initially but when he celebrated the goal against the US in the Confederations Cup i couldnt support him anymore…..these are the words of his agent though so maybe there is some sort of axe to grind between them…..
or rossi wants to play for red bull, nycfc, cosmos and he is beginning the marketing campaign…
“or rossi wants to play for red bull, nycfc, cosmos and he is beginning the marketing campaign…”
yep, my first thought.
I was expecting more of a visceral reaction from the posters here. Just goes to show you how much his career has fallen. Imagine the reaction if he was still playing for Villareal or ManUre and scoring tons of goals and THEN this article comes out? Different story. As it is now, I don’t see how it benefits. He can’t go back on his decision and it only hurts his chances if ever (very slim) chance of being called back up to Italy. My guess is he’s going to deny any comments.
My first reaction was actually to think that he’s angling for a move to MLS. He’d love to come back “home” and knows that he needs to do some repair work before any fan base would take him.
My first thought too. Maybe NYCFC could use another frequently injured, disliked foreigner
“My dream is to represent Italy…” Great, how did that work out for you???
I honestly had no idea where he was even playing anymore. This news does, of course, bring back some emotions for us as his potential was enormous and he could have been a key piece for many years on the squad. But as of right now, Im sure I speak for many by saying that it just sort of feels stale and irrelevant. Best of luck – we’ve moved on.
I know the mature thing is to feel bad about how Rossi’s career has panned out but, as a USMNT fan, it’s hard to forget that he felt that it was beneath him to play for the US.
Yeah, yeah, I know, his parents are Italian and he just wanted to play for his parents’ homeland, grew up watching those games, moved over there when he was 13, blah, blah, blah… That’s fine, but he still thought playing for Italy would be better than playing for the USMNT. Plus, I’m still pissed about the goal he scored at the 2009 Confed Cup and ran around like a tool box.
Yes, I remember that goal as well. It was a great, in the air, strike. But he was way happier it appeared than any other goal I’ve seen him score. It’s like the kid who gets to hang out with the bully kicking the little guy and laughing about it.
My thoughts exactly, if it wasn’t for that one goal or even his unprofessional behavior afterwards I really would not be bitter towards him. Since that point his career has tanked and the USMNT has been up and up. Eat our dust Rossi
Oft injured as he was, he still would have made our 2006, 2010, and 2014 squads easily. I understood his decision and he very nearly achieved his dream.
I’m over it and he should be over it by now, too.
In 2006, the USA could have used him. Going into that W.C. only McBride was scoring goals for the USA, it was unclear who would step up and contribute. (In the end, only an Italian player and Dempsey scored for the US).
In 2010, the US could have used a replacement for Charley Davies; Rossi did not actually play for Italy (why?)
In 2006, the USA had real need for another goal-scorer, but Rossi was 19 then, would he have made a difference? In 2010, The US scored enough goals, it is not clear he would have actually been needed then. In 2014, he was injured so it really didn’t matter.
In any case, he chose to play for Italy rather than the US. All those could’a beens … It is a path not taken so no one will ever know what what might have been.
And exactly why is this story that interesting?
This is still a story because US fans can’t get over that seventeen years ago a 12 year old choose to chase his dream and play for his parents’ birth country. Time to let it go guys. He was never a US player. He never even toyed with the idea of playing for the USMNT. Well, this is the first time and it’s his agent talking not him.
What do you think of these comments? Should Rossi have played for the USMNT?What do you think of these comments? Should Rossi have played for the USMNT?
This is his agent talking. Means absolutely nothing to begin with, but even less because it’s not even coming from the actual player.
So true.
Bottom line is he wasn’t there for Team USA and they did ok. He wasn’t really there for Italy when they needed him either…
“we would opt for the U.S.”
Sounds like the agent may have played a role in the decision making… Wouldn’t be the first time…
It was his father.
I used to dispise this guy.
But his career has been a disaster so I am “Meh” on him now.
Yeah, he really cares what you think.
Thanks for your wonderful contribution to the conversation, El Pibe.
Too bad.
I love to hate this guy… but really would have loved to love him
He is right. The US has a long history of calling up injured forwards, Altidore and
Johannsson are two of my favorites. Who would want to play for Italy anyway, they only play forwards that are healthy and score goals and play in Europe.
Just a reminder, Italy has failed to make it out of its World Cup group the last two times. So, I guess those healthy forwards haven’t helped all that much.
They were, however, in the final of euro 2012.
Who gives a rat’s arse… Too late for sorry…
Rossi who?
He woulda been a legend here if he wanted it. Appearing in commercials, commentating on games like Stu Holden thru 2030.. Which of course would have been better for his agent’s long term plans.
As it is, likely none of us and no one in Italy, have really thought about him in a couple of years. I guess its all what you choose in life.
Not too late for Guisepp.
Jermaine Jones came to the USMNT after a youth career and 4 senior caps for the Germans.
Jones, however, seemed to always have interest in the USMNT. Jones was killer in the last World Cup…arguably one of the best midfield performances ifor the USMNT in a World Cup. The guy was everywhere doing everything. Jones is a competitor and a fighter. He’s one of the best players ever to patrol the midfield for us.
If Guisepp wanted to fight like Jones does for our flag, our team, and our people, I’d be glad to have him. He’d have to win the players over though. It would be interesting to see how Dempsey and Bradley would handle him.
Rossi is not able to play for the US as he’s been cap tied to Italy appearing in an official FIFA event. Even if he was available, I wouldn’t want him.