Full Name :Giuseppe Rossi Date Of Birth:February 1, 1987 (age 22) Place of Birth:Teaneck, New Jersey, USA Height:1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Position:Striker Current Club:Villarreal National Debut:2008 Caps:2 (0)
Giuseppe Rossi (born 1 February 1987, in Teaneck, New Jersey) is an Italian footballer. He currently plays for the Spanish La Liga side Villarreal CF as a second striker. Rossi was born and raised in Clifton, New Jersey, USA. His parents are Italian immigrants to the United States: his father, Ferdinando Rossi, is a former soccer coach at Clifton High School and his mother, Cleonilde Rossi, is currently an Italian teacher at Clifton High School.
Club career Early Career
When offered a spot on the youth team of Parma, Rossi and his father moved to Italy until Manchester United bought his contract when he was 17. There, he enjoyed prolific form in the Youth and Reserve teams but had limited opportunities with the senior side, although he often impressed whenever he made an appearance in cup games. However, he did score a long range goal for Manchester United in a 3-1 over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
At the start of the 2006-07 season, Rossi moved to Newcastle United F.C. on loan until 1 January 2007, where he was expected to gain some first team experience. He made his home debut on 24 September 2006, impressing all, and showing his quick feet with a barrage of snap shots. Rossi scored his only Newcastle goal on his first start on 25 October 2006 against Portsmouth in a Carling Cup 3rd Round tie at St James' Park.
For the second half of the season he was again loaned out, this time to his former club, Parma, in a far more successful move. Scoring 9 goals in 19 league appearances, he helped the club escape the threat of relegation and proved many of his qualities. Because of this, and his desire to play regularly, Rossi was linked to a host of clubs throughout Europe.
Villarreal
On 31 July 2007, Manchester United confirmed Rossi had been sold to Spanish club Villarreal for an undisclosed fee, reportedly around £6.6 million (€10 million). However, a clause was added to Rossi's Villarreal contract that allows Manchester United to repurchase him at a later date. He scored his first goal for Villarreal on his debut against Valencia on 26 August 2007.
International career
In 2006, Rossi was invited to a pre-World Cup training camp with the United States national team by then-coach Bruce Arena but declined, stating his desire to play for Italy. He has represented Italy at almost every youth level from U-16 to U-21. He scored 4 goals at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, making him the top scorer for the tournament, despite only reaching the quarter final.
Italy national football team manager Marcello Lippi has stated that should Rossi have been fit, he would have received a call-up for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers in September 2008. Finally he was called up to the Italy squad in October 2008, making his debut for the national team as a second half substitute against Bulgaria on October 11.
