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| Wednesday 8 October, 2008 |
| Blog: Rossi alert |
| How many players with the surname Rossi, the most common in Italy, have played for La Nazionale? Antonio Labbate reveals the surprising answer |
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Flick through an Italian phone book and you’ll see the surname Rossi more times than any other. That’s been the case for some time and will be for the immediate future seeing as Russo – a variant of Rossi – and Ferrari, respectively the second and third most common in the land, are around 30,000 citizens short of top spot.
It comes as somewhat of a surprise then that if Giuseppe Rossi makes his international debut during the next two World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria or Montenegro, he’ll become only the second Rossi to represent the Azzurri at that level. [Forget Daniele DE Rossi please…]
It’s not exactly an English Smith situation seeing as 14 men with that name have played for the Three Lions, while Gerd and Hansi – the Interista with the tight shorts – are just two footballers who made the widespread Muller identity great in Germany.
The first Rossi, of course, was Paolo. A striker who has his own special place in calcio folklore for the right and wrong reasons. Having made a name for himself at the 1978 World Cup, he was again part of the ’82 squad despite the fact that he had just returned from a ban for his involvement – for which he still maintains his innocence – in the Totonero betting scandal.
Then-Italy boss Enzo Bearzot was widely criticised for his decision to firstly select Pablito and then persist with him after his ghostly showings in the opening three games of the Spanish tournament. However, his faith in the former Vicenza, Perugia and Juventus hero was later hailed as a masterstroke as Paolo ended the tournament as top scorer, his six goals helping Italy to their third world title.
Nevertheless it only seemed a matter of time before Giuseppe Rossi got his shot at the highest level. Unlike goalkeeper Generoso and the two Marcos who have represented the Under-21 side over the last decade or so, the Villarreal youngster seemingly has the potential to rival Paolo’s international career, which saw him grab 20 goals from 48 caps.
Giuseppe, born in America to Italian immigrants, has been on the footballing landscape since Manchester United poached him from the Parma youth team, even if it wasn’t until he was later loaned to the Tardini outfit that it became clear he was ready to play with the big boys. His goals kept the club in Serie A and a move to Spain, where he has continued to flourish, has only confirmed his talent – a talent that Marcello Lippi rightly couldn’t ignore for any longer.
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