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Rossi earns first Italy call-up

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When American-born and raised striker Giuseppe Rossi made the decision to play for Italy instead of the United States last February, he did so with the hope of eventually becoming a part of the Italian senior national team.

That dream is closer to coming true after Rossi earned his first Italian senior national team call-up on Sunday, for Italy’s upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Bulgaria and Montenegro.

The Villarreal forward and one-time Manchester United player impressed Italy coach Marcelo Lippi with his play in last summer’s Olympic games and earned the call ahead of legendary striker Alessandro Del Piero.

Born and raised in New Jersey, where he lived until he was 13, Rossi has established himself as one of the best young strikers in Europe, having helped Parma avoid relegation in 2007, and starring for Villarreal during its impressive 2007-2008 campaign.

What do you think of this news? Happy to see an American get a call for one of the world’s best national teams? Angry that he isn’t playing for the United States?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Typical American…

    The kid was born to two Italians, raised Italian and has all the rest of his family in Italy. So what if he was born on American ground? I know it’s hard for you to understand, but not everyone in this world wants to be American. Get over it and leave the boy alone. He’s an amazing player and deserves respect for his courage and to dare living his dream. I thought that was what America was all about…

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  2. Earnie Stewart was born and raised in the Netherlands because his pops was stationed there in the US military. He just happened to start his professional career there.

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  3. OK, saying Rossi’s situation is the same as Dooley’s or Stewart’s was, is like saying a penny is the same as a silver dolar because they’re both coins. The reasons why these players chose to play for a country different than that of their birth are quite different. If Dooley or Stewart had any chance of being called up by their home country, never mind being badly wanted by their national team coaches, then I’d have no problem with them being referred to as traitors. By the same token, if Rossi was chosing to play for another country because he was never going to get a chance in his home country, and he wanted a chance to play in the World Cup, then I’d have no problem with him either, but that’s not the case. I actually have less of a problem with Subotic, because it’s my understanding (correct me if I’m wrong), he wasn’t born here, and even though he began to identify himself as American, he then felt that the American national team program didn’t want him, so I could see why he would be bitter.

    Should Subotic end up playing for another country, I’ll see it as a good player who didn’t really have a home country, who we unfortunately missed out on. Conversely I see Rossi as a player who turned his back on helping his mother country, and I hope that he goes the way of Kirovski, a player who showed promise when he was young, but never ended up going anywhere. I do hope that if he ever does play in a in the U.S. for his club or national team, the boo’s for him never stop the entire time he’s on the field.

    I too have no interest in reading about Rossi, or any other non-American international in the Americans abroad section. I like to follow the people who I might be able to see help the U.S. national team, I don’t care about how a player who by some chance was on American soil when he was born. In fact, I have more interest in how a player like Ryan Nelson is doing, since he learned his trade in MLS, so any success he has I see as being a success for American professional soccer.

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  4. oops major typos! Hey *ciao for now* is my line, on my voice mail. . . And P.S. I got one word for you haters and wannabes *Four. World. Cups.*

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  5. umm…hellooo, the real pt. you are missing is what do you mean he got the the call up ahead of mi ammore Del Piero! ooof! but good for him, forza!

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  6. “To be honest, I would not mind the Rossi situation as much if it didn’t keep getting thrown in my face every couple weeks on this blog. I mean, I wouldn’t mind if a good player born in another country played for the US team, so I don’t have a problem with him playing for Italy per se, but he is always reported on in this blog and it is starting to get annoying.”

    Well said.

    Can you move him to some other category that I’m sure everyone will read like, “Americans who could have played for the USA, but chose to play somewhere else”?

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  7. Don’t compare Rossi w/ the US players that come from other countries. This is a kid w/ roots in the US, his parents were school teachers (mom still is) in Clifton. He treated International soccer like he was a free agent, b/c he wanted to play on his favorite team rather than play for the country of his birth and the country he has lived in longest (until he was 13 i believe)(he may still live here in the offseason?).

    – Adu moved to the states out of despiration when he was 8 years old

    – Mastroeni moved when he was 4, and never would’ve made Argentina’s team

    – Ernie stewart would never have made the Dutch team. Not sure how he’s tied to the Netherlands

    – I don’t know Holden’s situation, but If he grew up in Scotland and turned his back on them, they should hate on him

    its not our job to hate on a player if he does what Rossi did, but instead choose America over another country. As Americans we should be honored that people who move here love this country enough to play for it.

    IT IS our job to hate on those who use the benefits that America offers them, then turns their back on this countries national team when he could be one of the major faces of it.

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  8. I saw the example of Adu, and how nobody minded that he chose to play here. But we’ve had a lot of guys over the years who were born elsewhere and played for the U.S. That was especially true in the 90s. I think I remember Stewart, Regis, Wegerle, and plenty of others. So I don’t want to come down too hard on a guy who goes the other direction.

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  9. It’s disappointing that he didnt choose to play for us, but at the same time, its heartening to know that a someone born and raised in the US can aspire to those levels.

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  10. Good for him. He deserves it. He made his choice, and at least it’s paying off. People want to act bitter because it’s popular to do so, but I disagree with that attitude. If he was playing for us we’d be whining about how nobody can play up to his level, and it’d be a big sob story about how Rossi made the wrong decision.

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  11. Heres to giuseppe rossi, yet another example of a great patriot joining the long line of other great Americans like benedict Arnold, jane Fonda, kenneth lay, and that shoe bomb guy

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  12. I can’t believe he is missing the opportunity to play CUBA in a World Cup Qualifier or a free ticket to Trinidad and Tobago, it is beautiful this time of year.

    I am sure with the 10 to 20 million dollars extra he will earn over his career by making this decision he will come and visit the US often and send his kids to college in the US.

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  13. oh! the irony.

    it’s funny how some people sh*t on Rossi and then subsequently forget that Mastroeni, Holden, Adu or Earnie Stewart didn’t play for the country of their birth.

    They must be traitors too, eh?

    Seriously guys, it’s a complex issue that only children of immigrants and different backgrounds can understand.

    If that doesn’t sound like you, don’t pretend to know what it feels like and leave the kids alone, it’s their life, their decision.

    geez

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  14. Good for him…?

    I’m over it. We got Torres, so we’re batting .500. Okay by me, let’s move on, beat Cuba and T&T and Honduras, then beat Mexico a couple times in the Hex, and just continue handling our business, with Jozy up top.

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  15. I imagine you guys feel about the same as many Canadians did when Owen Hargreaves decided to play for England, despite growing up in Calgary.

    – Scott

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  16. Bornintheworld, all of those players are of Italian descent, though. Santacroce was born to an Italian father in Brazil, Rossi to Italians in the United States, and Camoranesi to an Italian grandfather. So I guess we’ll be limited to the children of American expats…

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  17. This call up for Italy has Players born in:

    USA

    Argentina

    Brazil

    What is USA waiting for ? I am sure there are plenty of good players who could/would like to play for the USA and are not born here.

    So what is the USSF doing…oh wait..USSF too busy watching the cubs.

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  18. I’m happy for the kid. He had a dream and he went out and made it a reality. I wish him the best of luck, and hopefully, in some way, this improves the image of US soccer around the world.

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  19. >> William,

    Patriotism- love for or devotion to one’s country

    You’re right Rossi choosing Italy over US has nothing to do with any form of Patriotism at all.

    Posted by: RapidsMan<<

    It's soccer, not war. He isn't turning his back on America. He would just rather play for Italy than the US. Big friggin' deal.

    Were I good enough I could play for the US or Germany as my mother was a German immigrant. I would have been fine playing for either as I have ties to both countries.

    If you understood the immigrant experience maybe you'd understand that.

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  20. I wish he played for the US, but I personally still enjoy following his career as he has a connection to US soccer despite not playing for us. It’s the same way that I like hearing how guys from MLS do once they get to Europe – for me this is kind of like reading the post on how Juan Toja is doing in Europe.

    Anyway, shame that he chose not to play for the US but I don’t completely blame him – I’d obviously choose playing for the US over anyone but I can also see how he would want to play for the Azurri.

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  21. being part italian and from jersey, I can’t tell you how many italians from jersey are more proud to be italians than americans… Rossi is just another one of those dudes… Guiseppi, please Don’t come back when you realize how worthless and corrupt of a country italy is to live in (beautiful to visit)… and take the rest of these greasy italians from jersey that brag about how much better life in italy is than america with you… Can we not discuss this kid again, unless his play on the field deserves discussion?

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  22. Jim, it’s probably not fair to say that Rossi will just be a decent player. I personally think he has the talent to be World Class if his career isn’t marred by injury and he makes the move to AC Milan that he’s been dreaming about and that the president of Milan, Galliani, has promised will happen.

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  23. Ives,

    I always assume you write about Rossi for a few reasons:

    1) Fact, it’s your board and you post what you like.

    2) You like seeing the over the top reactions from some of the posters on the board, hey it can make for good reading!

    For most of us, this is the blog version of hitting the snooze button. I mean I never root for the Italian national team and Rossi playing for them is just not important.

    He might be a decent player but we are not talking superstar.

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