The man who thought he was too good for the US, Giuseppe Rossi, fails to make Italy’s World Cup Squad
GOOD.
By Eric Beard, writing from Boston
From an American perspective, this is quite the bittersweet announcement. Sure, I hate the New Jersey-born striker who is playing in La Liga at Villarreal, a club Jozy Altidore has so far failed to prove good enough for. But then again, think about how much stronger the US team would be with those two playing forward together. For the next 10 years. Italy coach Marcello Lippi has instead gone with forwards Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), and Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli).
Personally I would take Rossi over Iaquinta any day, but then again I’m not a world-class manager. Lippi has not offered any explanation for his choices, but he is set to meet with reporters Wednesday. Surely the American-Italian must be heart-broken by this decision, and I have to say I feel sorry for the lad. After all, he’s a great young talent. Better luck in 2014 Giu-Ro!
See the 23-man roster for Italy below:
