I, for one, am happy to see any American in La Liga for the first time in a while. For those of you who don't consider him a YA, take it elsewhere. Rossi is expected to start. Valencia vs Villarreal Preview (in Spanish with lineups): http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeport...ga/previas/jornada01/valencia-villarreal.html 3:00 EST On GolTV
I thought this had been resolved, but there is a television rights debate going on in Spain. The Madrid derby is not being broadcasted anywhere, today, but GolTV still has their other La Liga games listed on the schedule. I don't think it will affect this game.
I believe it's just Real Madrid and Barcelona games...we'll see more in a few minutes, see if Getafe/Sevilla is shown.
bump According to ESPN's MatchTracker, Villarreal is up 1-0 at the half, with Rossi starting. Goal by Jon Dahl Tomasson (seems like he's been around forever, but according to wikipedia he's only 30, weird.)
Valencia have been an absolute disgrace tonight. Diving, bitching, moaning, diving, pretending to be hurt, diving, diving, bitching, etc. They are down to nine men. David Villa got carded for dissent and then sent off for diving. Jaoquin got a straight red for dissent when he didn't get a penalty after a brilliant dive. If the ref wanted, he could have sent another couple of Valencia players off.
Rossi didn't do a lot today, but then again, he didn't have to -- Valencia helped them out. Rossi buried the PK -- interesting that he was the one that got to take it. Cazorla was all over the game... Embarassing start for Valencia at home!
Just a quick comment (and I'm sure you already know this but just in case someone doesn't know all the rules).... There is no possible way Jaoquin got a straight red for Dissent. Dissent is a cautionable offense. You can't get a straight red for it. If he was given a straight red it's more likely it was for using offensive, insulting, or abusive language or gestures. By the way, it appears that Rossi also got a yellow in this match - in the 72nd minute - and he came out in the 76th.
I mean the following as an honest question not a challenge: Why would a fan of US soccer have any enthusiasm for Rossi after he has declined to play for the national team? Is there any reason that his success will reflect well on the US or advance the cause of US soccer? The answers to these questions may be yes, in which case I might reconsider my opinion (that a US citizen who plays for a different country hurts rather than helps US soccer). Interested to hear other opinions on this.
My honest answer is this. My interest in Rossi has nothing to do with the success of the USMNT. I think his story is an interesting and exciting one. He's a second generation Italian American who has the chance to represent the Italian national team. Considering how hard that is to accomplish for all the great footballers born and raised in Italy, I think his accomplishments are that much greater. Just because he chooses to play for the team of his ancestry rather than his birth, I have no beef about. It's his choice to make.
I second Hed's honest answer. To me Rossi is an American having success playing in Europe. Yes, I'd be happier if he played for the US, but I can understand his desire to play for Italy. And it's his choice to make. And from what I've seen, he's always been straightforward regarding his plans and hopes and has never been disrespectful of the USMNT.
He's an American, playing in my favorite league. As for his yellow, it wasn't that bad of a challenge. Didn't need to be called. Honestly, I missed Joaquin's red, so I can't tell you...from reading the Spanish papers, it was a dive in the penalty area, and his arguing that led to the red, but it was listed as a straight red.
Making the Italian national team... if he does... would be the single greatest accomplishment of any yank.
If it makes you feel any better, he'll be 31 in 2 days. Also, he was offside on his goal. That may have precipitated the backlash from the Valencia players but they really went overboard with their nonsense.
You really thought he was off? The left back -- Moretti? -- kept him on. It was a great pass and a bad offside trap.
What happened on the straight red: 1) Jaoquin took a dive in the area. 2) It was not extremely blatant so the ref let play continue and did not appear to have any plans to caution him for it. 3) But Jaoquin got up and ran by the assistant ref screaming and slapping his face as if to tell the guy to wake to hell up. And no, Rossi's card wasn't entirely deserved. Could have gone eitehr way. The funny thing about his card was that Valencia were already down to nine crybabies at the time yet it was the first card handed out that was a result of a foul.
FYI if you want some simple La Liga write-ups, in English, this is a good site: http://www.soccer-spain.com/ They also have a map of teams, which I found very useful (now, though, footiemap.com is better).
1. His transfer fee is 3-4(?) times greater than any other player with a US passport* 2. He's a striker on a good team in arguably the best league in the world. 3. He saved Parma last year. 4. as per 1., 2., 3., he can already make a pretty good case to be the most talented outfield player the USA has ever produced. Yeah, I'm bummed that he chose Italy. But I'm happy that the USA may have finally produced its first world-class attacking player. * Yes the transfer market is not 100% free and transparent. No, not everyone who gets a big fee lives up to it. And maybe having an Italian passport (and name) makes it easier for him. (And maybe guys like Klinsman or Shevchenko have US citizenship, but you know what I mean...) But you can't deny that the market has spoken and it said: Rossi >> other Yanks
1. Wrong. 2. He's played all of one game for said team. 3. Que? Take away pks and his goal-scoring rate was nothing special. He certainly helped Parma but "save" is way over the top. 4. Not even close. Rossi could certainly wind up being better than any American in history. But he's got a long way to go before that happens. And that's assuming someone like Altidore or Adu doesn't pass him by first. And Rossi is nowhere near World Class. If he was, he would have been starting at Old Trafford this past weekend.
I think that's the strongest argument "against" Rossi-- ManU ultimately let him go (although I wonder if they would have had Rooney gotten hurt in pre-season as opposed to the first game of the year). Not that it's much of an argument against him-- he could displace the likes of Rooney, Scholes or Ronaldo, so he must be crap. Hardly. I'd take him for the US. We don't have anyone else to run out there with his skill set. I'd hope that in a few years we could develop young players who are better, but I'm not sure about that right now.
Rossi wasn't completely let go of Rossi. They just didn't think he would be a regular in the first team this season and with the likes of Rooney and Tevez that's understandable. Heck even Saha and OGS are very good players. If Rooney goes down before Rossi transfers, I think they hold onto him. Even in the end, Manchester United worked into the contract that should Villarreal sell Rossi.... ManU gets first choice at him. This to me means they think he could very well be the real deal.