Giuseppe Rossi

Giuseppe Rossi (Italian pronunciation: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈrossi]; born 1 February 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in the United States, he played for the Italy national team. He was most recently the Head of Soccer and Vice Chairman of USL League One club New York Cosmos. Rossi spent most of his career in Europe with Villarreal and Fiorentina, in addition to spells with other clubs in England, Italy and Spain, before returning to his country of birth to join Real Salt Lake for a single season in 2020. At international level, Rossi represented Italy at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, collecting thirty appearances and scoring seven goals at senior level between 2008 and 2014. Along with Mario Balotelli and Daniele De Rossi, he is Italy's all-time top scorer in the FIFA Confederations Cup, with two goals. Due to his prolific performances in the Spanish La Liga, Rossi earned the nickname Pepito Rossi, a reference to his namesake Paolo Rossi, who was nicknamed Pablito following his goalscoring performances in Italy's victorious 1982 FIFA World Cup campaign in Spain.