If he had it to do over again, New Jersey-born Giuseppe Rossi might have been better off choosing to play for the US instead of Italy, his agent told an Italian radio station.
“I’ll admit that had we known in hindsight how things would have gone [with Italy], maybe we would have opted for the United States instead of Italy," Rossi's agent, Andrea Pastorello, told Radio Bruno.
Rossi, 29, was born in the US and grew up in Clifton, N.J. Rossi left New Jersey at age 12 to play in Italy for Parma. Manchester United bought his contract from Parma, but he never made it there as a regular with the first team and he was sold to La Liga club Villareal, where he became a prolific goalscorer. Though he had played for Italy's youth national teams, Rossi was invited by then-coach Bruce Arena to join the US for a pre-World Cup training camp in 2006. He declined, choosing to pursue a place in the Italy squad.
Because of injury, and other factors, Rossi has been limited to 30 games for Italy, scoring seven goals. In 2010 and 2014 he made the preliminary roster for the World Cup, but both times failed to make the final squad. He last played for Italy in 2014.
At club level, Rossi struggled to see the field this year with Fiorentina, which eventually loaned him out to Spanish side Levante in January. Levante was relegated to the second division, and Pastorello told the radio station he does not not expect Rossi to sign with Levante permanently. "It's not the kind of transfer a second-division side can make,'' he said. Pastorello did not rule out a return to Fiorentina, though he called it "unlikely.''
"We left in January because Giuseppe wasn't playing,'' Pastorello said. "If things were to change compared to 2015, I can't exclude Rossi staying, otherwise I think it's unlikely.''
