Leave Giuseppe Rossi Alone!

At the risk of inciting a riot, I couldn't resist. I'm mean like that sometimes, especially when my son hasn't been sleeping!

I know, I know, the wound is still fresh, but it's still worth defending Mr. Rossi for a moment. I mean, he scored two lovely goals today, aided by some awful defending, and if we're honest, the sole reason we're all angry is because of who he scored against. Yeah, he did it against the country in which he was born and all, but can we really blame him for his decision?

You know the wikipedia page; born in Teaneck, NJ, taught soccer by his Italian father, and then they moved to Italy when he was offered a place on Parma's youth team. From there he went to Old Trafford for three seasons, spent some time on loan to Newcastle United and Parma again, and then moved to Villareal in 2007.

So far, the only thing that makes him obligated to play for the US is that he was born here; Rossi played all of his football abroad, represented the Italians on every youth team (U-16, U-17, U-18, U-21), and aside from one mild courtship attempt by Bruce Arena in 2006, has been focused on Italy his entire life.

I mean, he joined Parma's youth team at age 13! It seemed as if the USMNT only really paid attention once he'd thrived elsewhere and another country and coaching system had done all the hard work for them.

Rossi declined the invite to training camp, and is it any wonder he chose who he did? Even if the Italians hadn't been courting him for all those formative years, and the choice was on paper a more even one, it's tough to see him choosing the US over the current World Champions.

At this point, the Teaneck, NJ factoid will go down in history as one of soccer's fun tidbits of information amid the larger legend; 23 in 57 games for Villareal, 11 in 22 for the Italian U-21, and now 3 in 5 for the full national side. Marcello Lippi wanted him called up for the 2010 WC Qualifiers, but injuries kept him out. Now that they're blooding him during the Confederations Cup, I'm sure he'll play an integral role in the Azzurri's push to defend their World Cup trophy in South Africa next summer.

So give the kid a break, and focus the rage, less than an hour old, on the fact that the American center-backs were rubbish today, and why their was so much room for the Italians to roam and rampage in the midfield. Channel the ire upon Bradley sr for his coaching style, or Landon Donovan for being so fucking unlikeable, or for Jozy Altidore's left-footed profligacy in front of goal.

Simply put: Giuseppe Rossi was never, ever, ever going to play for the USMNT. It was never on the cards, not least because he was never on US Soccer's radar until it was much too late.

Now, can we move on? Big games against Brazil and Egypt coming up!

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