This is posted like a year ago!!!!=p
The latest issue of the Italian weekly sports magazine Guerin Sportivo features an interview with Giuseppe Rossi. I have translated the parts of it that I figured would be of the most interest to this forum, and skipped some of the stuff in the middle; his arrival in Manchester, thoughts on Ferguson and Man U teammates, etc. Here it is:
Giuseppe, your story is incredible. Could you begin by telling us about it?
?I was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, but I lived in Clifton with my family. It?s a two-hour drive from New York, a splendid city.?
Your last name assures that you?re the son of Italians
?Exactly. My grandparents had gone to America to find work. My mother Cleonilde has origins in the area of Acquaviva di Isernia, and my father Fernando is fom Fraine, Chieti. Both of them were teachers of Italian and Spanish.?
Why didn?t you choose baseball?
?To tell the truth I played quite a bit of it. I used to play it in a park near my house with my friends. I was a pitcher. But I quickly realized that I prefered to pass a ball with my feet. But they were all fans of American football. I, however, cheered for Milan.?
Milan?
?Yes, my father?s team. You could say that it?s the team of my whole family. It?s my team, too. I dreamt of becoming a player like Van Basten.?
Apart from your height, you could try it.
?I have always liked soccer a lot. At four years old I played in the Clifton Stallions. In New Jersey there are two passionate soccer communites; the South Americans and we Italians. At 13 I decided to come here to follow my passion.?
To Tabiano Terme.
?I stayed my first few months with my father. Then he returned to America to work, until he decided to move here for good in order to be near me. Now we live here, while my mother and sister Tina, a law student, are in Clifton.?
[...]
The USA coach Bruce Arena had asked you in the summer to join the U.S. team. Can you confirm that?
?I can. And I thank him for it. But my heart is with Italy.?
And inside do you feel Italian, Giuseppe?
?I felt very Italian when I lived in America. Once I arrived here, observing the professionalism with which my teammates carried themselves, I felt different, more American. In England I feel Italian-American.?
This is the first interview that you have given to an Italian magazine. Why did you wait so long?
?Because I?m a very relaxed person. I live a simple life; I like to listen to music, surf the Internet and go to the movies when I can. I?ve just scored a few goals, nothing special. The attention that I?m getting seems exaggerated. That?s why I prefer not to show myself off.?
Do you have any goals off the field?
?I would like to get an online degree. I?m doing a course through the University of Massachusetts. I just took an English exam.?
Is there someone special in your love life?
?Yes, for two years now. Her name is Maria and she?s from Parma.?
by Matteo Marani
