Giuseppe Rossi's Agent Said He Should Have Chosen USMNT...In Hindsight

Giuseppe Rossi was left out of the Italy mix for Euro 2016. His agent Andrea Pastorello told Italian radio that “in hindsight” the New Jersey born Rossi should have represented the USMNT instead of Italy.

"“The national team and Rossi? It’s a story that repeats itself,” Pastorello said. “In hindsight, if he returned to the choice between the Italian and U.S. National Team, we would opt for the U.S.”"

Rossi, 29, has scored seven goals in 30 appearances for the Azzurri. The key word here is “hindsight.” Rossi’s career has been derailed by multiple injuries.

After just missing the cut for the 2010 World Cup, Rossi was injured during Euro 2012. He was injured in the buildup to the 2014 World Cup. He has not played a full European club season since scoring 32 goals for Villarreal in the 2010-11 season.

So, yes, having perfect knowledge of how his career would have played out, Rossi, with little competition, would almost certainly have played for the U.S. at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. He’d probably be playing in the Copa America Centenario as well.

Or, maybe the extra workload and travel burden playing for the USMNT would have taxed Rossi’s knee and scuttled his promising career even further. Who knows? It’s a dumb, impossible hypothetical.

With the information he had at the time, Rossi should have done what he did, play for the country he wanted to.