What Comes Around Goes Around For Rossi

Giuseppe Rossi was left off Marcello Lippi's final 23-man roster for Italy in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Ironically, now Rossi knows what it's like to be spurned.

Rossi is from Teaneck, N.J., and grew up playing in the same Clifton youth team as former US youth international Danny Szetela. Rossi – whose father and mother emigrated from Italy to the New York area – moved to Italy as a youngster to ply his trade at the youth level for Parma. In 2004, his youth contract was purchased by Manchester United and he appeared in a few matches with the senior club before getting loaned out to Newcastle United and then back to Parma. In 2007, Rossi was sold to Villarreal, where he has been ever since.

With the United States finally getting to the level of international respectability, it's difficult to see a player of Rossi's caliber go elsewhere, circumstances of his decision be damned. Salt was added to the wound when the US played Italy in last summer's FIFA Confederations Cup, and Rossi scored for the Azzurri.

On a base level, what we see is simple: talented soccer player from New Jersey with Italian parents and an Italian name spurned his country to play for the homeland of his parents. And that makes him a traitor, doesn't it?

Dan Levy writes of a situation where what comes around goes around for Rossi.

Who can blame the kid for leaving the U.S.? If you had a chance to play at the international level for the United States or for Italy, where would you choose? If you were invited – at age 19 – to take part in the pre-World Cup training with the country in which you were born (the United States), wouldn't you decline if you thought your future was with one of the powerhouse countries in the world? Rossi picked Italy then, despite not receiving a similar invite in 2006 from the Azzurri – a team that would go on to win that 2006World Cup – and has stayed with Italy ever since, even scoring against the United States twice in the Confederations Cup.

Well, it seems that the American fans are getting the last laugh, at least in 2010, as Italian manager Marcelo Lippi did not include the import on his final 23 for the World Cup. How do you translate schadenfreude into Italian?