The heroic return of Giuseppe Rossi

Giuseppe Rossi

El Bambino as he is called has always been considered a precocious talent. The New Jersey native was whisked away by Parma when he was 12 and was further offered a contract by Manchester United when he touched 17.

Although he impressed in England including scoring a long ranger for his first Premier league goal he was never given enough chances and he subsequently signed for Villareal CF. With the yellow submarines, Rossi formed a deadly partnership with Nilmar as he scored more than 30 goals in 2010-11 season.

That season everything was going well for him; he had extended his contract till 2017 and was thoroughly enjoying on the pitch although Marcello Lippi inexplicably left him out of the Italy World Cup squad of 2010 which caused a huge furore. But then, disaster struck!

Rossi picked up an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in the 3–0 loss against Real Madrid on October 26, 2011 which caused him to be out for six months. What was to come was worse for him as he reinjured his anterior cruciate ligament of right knee in training on April 13, 2012 which further made him spend 10 more months on the sidelines.

As Rossi’s misfortunes continued Villareal’s woes also continued leading to the team being relegated in 2012. This was the same team which participated in the Champions league playing champagne one touch football which made the team the toast of Europe.

For Rossi a godsend opportunity arrived when Fiorentina offered 10 million to Villareal CF in the January transfer window of 2013 which the latter duly obliged.

Mind you, Rossi was still injured and was a good 5 months away from full fitness. It was a huge gamble on the Viola’s part to sign a player who had missed a good 12 months of action, but their director showed incredible vision as can be made out from his quote,’ ‘Giuseppe Rossi is one for the future”.

After Rossi was given the green signal to being fully fit, he played 26 min in the final league game against Pescara, his first game since that ill-fated game against Real Madrid in 2011.

Fast forward to the 2013-14 season, he has wasted no time in proving that the Viola were right to place their faith on him by firing 9 goals in 10 games for the Viola in the 2013-14 season, the highlight of which was his 14-minute hattrick against Juventus which enabled Juve to taste defeat against the Viola for the first time in 15 years.

What is more appealing, when you watch Rossi, is the fact that he seems to be a complete forward; he has pace, makes decoy runs, shoots, plays through balls, gives crosses and of course, is a big threat from all of the 30 yards.

This season he has registered 3.6 shots per game with 44.8% of his shots goalbound and his conversion rate is 27.6% which is pretty high.

These stats point it out to you that not only Giuseppe Rossi has made a triumphant return from the pain of injuries, but also the fact that he is one of the most fearsome forwards in the world and Italy coach Cesare Prandelli would be licking his lips at the thought of Rossi linking up with the mercurial Balotelli for here is a player who has a great passing range, is a good dribbler and is a good finisher.

I imagine many managers would be keeping tabs on his buyout clause of 35m. Efforts to sign could be more intensified if he has a good world cup in Brazil which is why Fiorentina should act fast to hold on to their gem!