Giuseppe Rossi

Glad to have him... cant wait to see what he can do... he is a bit young, but we have to build for the future.... those are the kind of singings that will help to ensure we remain the biggest club in the world... the youth, its all about the youth... and Prawn Sandwhiches, but mostly the youth...

 

as far as I know he was born in NJ and his Dad is Italian.
Hopefully this kid will be good for Utd but I heard that he's played for the Italian nat team already, so no good for the US.

 

Can't he still switch to the US if he hasn't played at a senior level? Not saying one way or the other, but as an Italian it might be tough for him to break through for their national team.

There's more info on him in Yanks Abroad.

 

I thought that the cutoff was at schoolboy level.
I'd hate to see him do well for Italy when the US could use him.

 

http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/cfw/FrameSet.aspx?s=EventImagesSearchState|1|15|1|51027382|0|0|0|0||0|0&p=2&pk=4

nice pics

 

No, that was the old rule. He can still change to the US as long as has not played an official senior international.

 

If he has the talent to do well for Italy, not to dis the US or anything, but why would he want to play for us?

 

I have no idea. but I think the US will need all the experienced players they can get. on the other hand, maybe I'm wrong (I hope so). By the time this kids gets to be useful at the senior level the US may not need him.

 

Why wouldn't he? I'm not sure the Italian national team is all THAT much better than the US team right now. Better, sure, but not world's apart. He'd get a chance to showcase himself on a US national team that is a little weak at right back in the future (only Arsenal's Simek and amateur Julian Valentin as competition).

Ultimately, Rossi should play with the country he identifies himself with. National teams should not be in the habit of recruiting nationals of other countries. When the immigration is not soccer related (Adu), then that's okay. But the Dooleys of the world need to stop. France should not be allowed to mine all their former colonies for teams.

Edit: I was originally under the oppression that Rossi was to play right back. At forward, I'm not sure how good he is, and whether or not with Gaven, Adu, Casey, and Donovan where he'd fit on the US national team. If he's as good as advertised perhaps he'd supplant Casey at the point he and Gaven and Adu are ready to start. Or maybe he'd just add depth. It might be for where he plays he'd actually get more playing time at Italy in the 2010-2014 range of time. Who knows? How's Weah Jr. doing at Internazionale? How's Cooper going to progress? It's not like Italy impressed particularly in their last 2 major international tournaments to begin with

 

I agree.

 

So, has anyone seen him play?

 

you guys should go read the other boards on the "U.S." pages. They are saying all kinds of nasty things about Rossi simply because he wants to play for the Italian side versus U.S.....have not see very nice things over there...think I'll stay in the "European camp..." and chat here...

I think he should play for whoever offers more promise, money, future, etc., regardless of where he was born....I mean, many players become naturalized and that's ok....that's just my humble opinion...

 

Fine, then Freddy Adu goes back and plays for Ghana then. Hypocrites over there I say!

 

Might as well get rid of international football altogether then. Play the World Cup with club teams. (In other words, I couldn't possibly disagree more).

 

That's what I'm kinda saying in my last posting, but was shot down ;-)

I just think the US soccer climate is still at a growing stage, and compared to Europe, people are less interested in soccer versus other US-oriented sports....just look at recent example of Euro 2004, the sports homepages hardly mentioned Euro 2004, people would rather read baseball scores...that makes me sad...

ok, I said it and I am prepared to be yelled at.....

 

So true.

The media is absolutely ruining us! If only they would embrace a European soccer tournament on their front-pages, highlight shows and cable news, talents like Rossi the world over would say, "Man, I want to play for the USA because the people wouldn't rather read baseball!"

I don't think Rossi's decision had anything to do with the sports preferences of your average American. If it did, screw him and the Azzuri.

 

Honestly we have no idea what his train of thought his. I have to admit I'm a bit surprised that he spent the first 13 years of his life in the US, yet he prefers to play for Italy. Then again, my friend also spent the first 13 years of his life in the US, then moved to Japan for six years, and I would say he definitely is a bigger fan of the Japan NT. Then you have someone like Freddy Adu or George Weah, Jr, who were born elsewhere but prefer to play for the US. On the other hand, Freddie Kanoute switched from his birth country, France, to his parents' nation of Mali. There are a variety of reasons players choose to play on a specific team when they can pick from two or more, including strength of the team and whether or not they think they have a chance at success with the side. It can also include training standards or quality of coaching.

Either way, what matters is that he plays for Manchester United, and that's what we're here to talk about.

 

Amen brother!!

 

VERY insightful, couldn't have put it better...ultimately, it's what your heart wants.....speaking from personal experience, where you are does not mean where you eventually stay, and where you were born does not dictate where you end up either. Thanks for capturing it so eloquently!

 

Complain the media. In Montreal its everywhere, probably to do with lots of Europeans. I don't know why America doesnt develop its leagues then we can have super cups etc?

 

Actually not the papers just the people, media coverage is pretty good but not like in the UK

 

Yeah, if America was really good they'd take youngsters born in other countries and put them into their youth programs just like everyone else.

Oh wait.

 

I mean the US did well last WC? Surely people prefer to watch football than baseball?

 

you'd think ;-)

I still think US soccer is quite a ways away from attaining the levels of attention in Europe, or even Asia. It's not in the culture and not in the blood; maybe they feel the same way about football and baseball like we soccer fans feel...