Giuseppe Rossi, the American born striker who spurned the chance to play for the USA failed to make the cut for Italy’s World Cup squad.
Rossi was branded a traitor when he scored two goals against the USA in last year’s Confederations Cup and then proceeded to celebrate in unseemly fashion. It provoked Landon Donovan into questioning his loyalties. As this ESPN report shows the issue is an emotional one for Rossi.

” Off the field, I have always felt American. On the field, I’ve always felt Italian.”
On Tuesday, Marcelo Lippi left him out of the final 23 which will set of a certain amount of gloating and another mini firestorm of how he should have committed to the USA. Certainly, it would have been fantastic to have someone like Rossi just behind Altidore. But the more you think about it, the more improbable it appears.
We should pause to remember that Rossi learned his craft in Italy rising with his talent to the top of the best European leagues, making him the desirable commodity that he is today. His father sacrificed a lot in sending him to Italy where he thought his son would learn best.
Think about it. It was not an easy decision to send a 12 year old to such unfamiliar surroundings even with some of the cultural mores intact. The family spent the next four years in perpetual dislocation.
It makes it entirely possible that his full potential would not have been realized if he had stayed on in the USA.
The experience seems to have imbued Rossi with a contrarian streak bucking conventional wisdom. His Villareal tenure is an exception to the Italian norm of players rarely straying from the Serie. His decisions seem to be informed from such a place. Lets also consider from a performance point of view, in the final analysis – Charlie Davies helped carry the USA further into the Confederations Cup whereas Rossi failed to deliver. Justice if ever there was need for it, had already been served.