Giuseppe Rossi has yet again become, what some would consider to be, a major blow for the Azzurri. Italy need a consistent striker to rely on if they are to reach the later stages in the World Cup. In Serie A this season Rossi managed to net 16 goals in 21 matches, that is an impressive achievement, for any forward. He is also injury prone. His ACL in his right leg has been injured several times with the first time being during his time at Villarreal, on October 26, 2011. He suffered his first ACL injury which forced him out for 6 months and then during rehabilitation on April 13, 2012 he suffered a major setback that delayed his return for 10 more months. This injury forced him out of Cesare Prandelli’s Euro squad, a squad that managed to reach the final, before falling to Spain.
Fast-forward two years later and the same scenario occurs. Rossi injures his right ACL on January 5th, 2014 and is sidelined for four months, he rushed himself back from injury in order to prove himself fit for the World Cup and the opposite happens. Prandelli sees him as more of a liability than an impact player and decides to cut him from the final 23-man team going to Brazil.
Instead Prandelli opted to go with Antonio Cassano, who scored only 12 in 34 appearances for Parma. Prandelli also put a ridiculous amount of midfielders into his squad and opted to go with just four forwards and with Alessio Cerci who can play on the wing as well as in the midfield. Still there is a strong case for Rossi to have gone to Brazil. Rossi is a player very similar to Del Piero, as stated by his agent in an interview, Rossi is very technical and is great at linking up play with the midfield. He can play anywhere in the attacking 3, be it a winger or a lone striker or even a center attacking midfielder.
In the lead up to the 2006 World Cup, Francesco Totti, as reported by BBC, “broke his left leg and strained ankle ligaments during a Serie A match on 19 February and had surgery” and was out for three months. Marcello Lippi took a chance on the Roma star and it paid off. Italy managed to win the World Cup and Totti finished with the most assists in the World Cup and was part of the 2006 World Cup All-Star Team.
Giuseppe Rossi is a tremendously talented striker and this makes you question why Prandelli chose to not take him and instead took other players such as Alberto Aquilani and Marco Parolo, players that Prandelli won’t put into a game to make an impact or to win an important match.
Also this could set a dangerous precedent for Rossi and the Azzurri. Much like Real Sociedad winger Carlos Vela and Mexico. Vela received a lot of criticism from the press following his six-month suspension from the national team in 2010 and in 2011 he returned for an international friendly. He received a lot of abuse from the Mexican press and since then has refused to play for Mexico. If Rossi feels that he was not chosen out of pure favoritism by Prandelli and that his “fitness” was just an excuse then Italy could lose an important player for their Euro 2016 campaign.
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