Well, he's probably got one more shot come 2018. Anyone think he'll eventually end up in MLS...say NYFC?
And yet, I still think you have to respect a person who shoots for the top. He took his chance and came very close. Respect that.
Result > Explanation. Fact is, he would've probably been a project player in 2006, the starting (and star) forward in 2010 and 2014. Whether he would've preferred that course vs. the one he took is up to him. But it's a story I'd trot out repeatedly. Moreover, the response to your point is "Yes, the competition is higher at one of the big boys. One hiccup and you're WC dreams are gone forever." I think that is attractive to guys like Green or Fab Johnson.
No, Rossi has the ability to play for the biggest clubs in Europe. He also has the ability to be a star at those clubs
I was thinking more along the lines of 4 years from now. The injuries are really starting to add up as well.
Also according to @CorSport, Rossi cut because according to data from tests, he was at high risk for getting an injury during the WC.— Azzurri (@ItalianNT) June 3, 2014
In 4 years he will be 31. And Italy tends to trust experience so if he is still in good form he will still have a great shot playing for Italy. He would have much less of a shot if during that time he is playing in the MLS.
I remember a few years ago Arsenal pulled Wilshere out of the Euro u-21 tournaments because his GPS system showed he was in red zone when it comes to getting injured. Wilshere would then end up missing the entire 11-12 season because of injury.
I said that eight (or more) years ago and "Pepito" was far from being a star striker then. He only began to make his name at Parma in 2007, when he helped save the club from relegation. BUT (big letters) - he failed to make the 2008 Euros under Donadoni and the 2010 WC under Lippi (similarly cut from the provisional roster where Pazzini, Iaquinta, Di Natale, Gilardino and Quagliarella (five strikers in total!) made it, along with wide attacking players like Pepe and Camoranese. He was injured for the 2012 Euros and made the 2009 Confederations Cup. And that basically makes it zero for four in major tournaments for which Italy had qualified. Of course, he wouldn't have made the Euros in the US shirt either. Row-herr launched a bomb Sunday night ... but it also looks like a three&out there.
Rossi could still make the Euro 2016 team squad - if Italy win that, he would become an Italian legend. Italy hasn't won the Euros since 1968.
Being unhappy with guys who choose to go elsewhere and being happy when they choose the US is one thing, and its entirely rational from a fan's perspective. When someone says something like this, it goes from unhappy to some interpretation of an insult: "And from the perspective of a fan, I resent Rossi, who is American to his soul but opted to chase the dream of playing for the Azzuri in the World Cup." The guy grew up with two Italian parents in a very Italian household who also lived in the US and enjoyed US culture. Culturally, he was in two places simultaneously. Yet somehow it's excusable (and great) when someone feels a cultural affinity toward the USA...even if they happen to have a German mother...and they've lived their entire life in Germany...and they are estranged from their father and American extended family. We aren't special. We don't have some magical allure for players with which they develop an affinity. Each of those guys made a decision based upon his chances of making 2 (or more) national teams and the relative odds of those respective teams to advance in the WC. Rossi went for it, rolled the dice on making the squad, and thus far, it hasn't paid off. I don't know him, but I imagine he's felt some regret at some point in all of this. If Germany suddenly had a real need for Fabian Johnson at outside back in 2017 and won the WC in 2018, I he'd have some regrets too. A fan can be unhappy Rossi went one way and guys lie Jones, Johnson, etc went another but at some point you have to get over it. It wasn't a betrayal. It's like someone whining about an ex girlfriend 6 years later. He's not something we can own. Personally I wish the guy would have gotten his chance with Italy on the big stage, because to date, it seems like such a waste.
Yes, and my point was now the US has a cautionary tale to trot out: "Rossi was good enough, capped by Italy, at times a leading Serie A/LaLiga striker and STILL couldn't make it. We are a safer route." The US can also use the Subotic story for mid-level Euro or S. America teams: "Yes, Serbia was a heart felt pick, but most Euro teams aren't going to qualify every WC. We are."
Excellent post. Rossi and his international career could serve as a cautionary tale for many other dual-nationals. Tangentially related, this may put the decision of Julian Green in sharp relief. Regardless of the promises given for his one-time switch (and I'll be charitable and take him and his father at their word), he may never get another chance to play in a World Cup.
Normally I'd agree. But I just cannot get behind the Italian national team. Dirtiest buncha diving Nancys. My bias is too strong to overcome. It doesn't help that every goombah hanging an Italian horn from his neck is all "yo, I'm a huge Italy fan yo, Grampa's from the old country. My and Joey bagadonuts is gonna go watch it down at Sals". (He's also a huge Notre Dame fan)
maybe there is a nuance to this i'm not getting. speaking for myself, as a fan and an american, while i'm unhappy when guys like rossi, subotic, etc., choose to represent other nations, i in no way, at any time, feel insulted by it. i certainly don't feel anything remotely approaching "betrayal". maybe some folks here do, but i'm not one of them. at the same time, yes, i am unhappy these guys didn't choose to play for us. being an adult however, i understand reasonable people can face even the exact same decisions and go in different directions. i don't think it's inconsistent to both respect a decision, and not like it. i 100% respect rossi going with italy. but i also 100% prefer he had chosen usa. and i'm generally ok with people giving him (and others) flak for not choosing usa (within reason of course. sometimes things just get outta hand.). as for the dual nationals who did choose usa, awesome. they won't catch any flak from me. but i suspect they are fair game for others, and reasonably so.
Well, I haven't been watching any TV/pundit shows on it so not really sure of the 'man in the street' opinion, although it's definitely the biggest surprise of the cuts. But good friend of mine here thinks it's a big mistake to take Insigne over him, FWIW. I'll try to read the sports papers tomorrow to see what they have to say at this point.
And on the other side of the coin is the whole Teal Bunbury story, though he's been lighting it up for the Revs recently so that door is not totally closed. Of course Canada is something like at least 2-3 cycles away from being legitimately competitive for WC spots, so it might not matter either way in the end.
In retrospect, this was an incredibly immature decision for him to make. Not to doubt the long term, strategic planning of an 18-year old but his father dropped the deuce on his own kid also. And this lies probably in their socio-economic part of the demographics. In other words, father was just a poor soccer coaching shlub and the family should have hired an experienced agent or a lawyer to handle the kid's career a little better. Turning down the US arguably cost him millions and conceivably tens of millions of the long term endorsements. A bit different for Subotic because he is not a scorer but this was likely not a "heartfelt" pick either. He could have played for the US but his "heartfelt" pick was Germany. When the "heartfelt part ein" fell through, he went for "heartfelt part deux", which was Serbia. And here is another of the USSF faux pas. Asking a coach to talk to a player is fine and dandy but the Fed has to bring in some commercial sponsors to the meet. Coaches have to be consulted, obviously, but the diva like behavior of Rongen and Arena - as if anyone expected anything else from Arena - could have been averted. Once again, Xbox, Nike, Gatorade negotiators should make the approach and explain not in so many words why a switch to the US may make sense. Granted, neither Pepito nor Neven will ever have to work for a living after their football careers are over but leaving millions on the table is idiotic as well.
Mina Rzouki @Minarzouki Jun 1 Gazzetta dello Sport asked if their readers agrees with the exclusion of Rossi from the Italy squad. 71.9% disagreed, 28% agreed.
Rossi isn't going because his knee exploded again 7 months ago, and Italy don't think he's fit enough. If he'd proved himself fully fit, he would've been picked. 'Play for the US because our medical team might turn a blind eye to your recovery from serious injury' isn't really the best message to send out....
But it is true though. If he was eligible for the US he would have made the team even if he showed up on crutches.