Giuseppe Rossi

“My father would come back home during his lunch break, put down his briefcase, and set cones for me in our backyard. I was just two years old. That memory is burned in my brain.”

And how could it not be? It was the start of an obsession that took Giuseppe Rossi from Teaneck, New Jersey, to the very heights of European soccer.

From Manchester United to Villarreal to Fiorentina, Giuseppe was one of the first American-born players to reach success at some of the old continent’s most prominent and historic teams.

Following his recent retirement, we met Giuseppe where it all began: New Jersey. It’s been some 30-odd years since he first kicked a soccer ball in the Garden State, and he’s had a career that’s taken him all over the world. But now he finds himself just where he was all those decades ago. Uncertain about what the future holds, but eager to make it his own.

Truthfully, there might not be a better time to reflect on such a storied career than now.

“It’s all thanks to my pops,” he says proudly.

“I became the player I became because of him. He coached at Clifton High School, and he adored the game. Soccer was always around me growing up thanks to him. We’d watch games on Sundays, train together, and share that same passion together.”

Still, finding a community that embraced soccer as passionately as him in the early ‘90s was difficult.

“It was frustrating,” he admits. “It was impossible to start a pickup game. I used to go around knocking on everybody’s door, and everyone just wanted to play American football or baseball. But I still had my pops and my family. I used to play with them all the time in my backyard. Those were my pickup games growing up here in Jersey, and they were the best games I could’ve ever asked for.”

Aside from those pickup sessions at home, Giuseppe also got to train under his father at the local Clifton Stallions, but before he knew it, he was already flying over to Italy to participate in his first camps abroad.

“I was just nine years old when I went to soccer camps in Italy,” he remembers. “That was my first experience playing in Europe. I was nine, and I had to stay in a hotel with other kids. It was difficult because I’d never really been away from my parents – even if they were only at the hotel next door. I had to suck it up, but it was a great experience. I went to that camp for three years straight, and by the time I was 12, some scouts for Parma asked me to try out for them.”

It’d be his first real shot at the big leagues, but it wouldn’t come without difficulties.

“I trained for a few weeks with Parma, and they invited me to be part of their youth system. Even though I really wanted to go, it was still a very hard decision. I had to leave home, leave my family, and my everyday life behind. At 12 years old, it was a crazy transition, but if I wanted to play with the best, I knew I had to put myself out there and test myself.”

Those first few months may have just been some of the hardest in his career, and his stellar European journey was on the brink of stalling before it even began.

“I would cry myself to sleep every night for the first two months. My father was ready to go back to the States after a month because he thought I was too homesick. But I never admitted to him that I was. I didn’t want to show him that I couldn’t cut it at that level. I wanted to prove that I could do it. My motivation was to train with the big guys and be the best I could be in Europe, but I also didn’t want to let my dad down. That’s what really kept me going, and it was probably that extra motivation that I needed at the time.”

With time, Giuseppe began gaining his footing in Italy.

“Adapting was tough because the cultures are so different,” he admits. “Even though I grew up with Italian traditions and learned the language as a kid, I still found it hard. It ended up being a big transition in school, and everyone looked at me as an outsider. I was living in a little town near Parma, and I’m sure most of them had never met an American kid before. It was like I was from another world.”

“The only place where I felt at peace was on the soccer field. Soccer is an international language. You don’t need to talk, you just play. That’s how you communicate. And I was very good at playing, so that’s how people began to warm up to me. It was a tough transition for sure, but soccer made everything simpler.”

By 14, Giuseppe had asserted himself as one of the top prospects in the youth ranks at Parma, but that’s when another wave of trouble struck.

“My dad had to go back to the States, and that was my first taste of freedom. I started slacking a bit. I wasn’t playing as well as I could have been, and I was failing almost all my classes. My pops was the one who always kept me focused at that age. He was my biggest fan, but he was also my biggest critic. He never coddled me and was a little bit rough around the edges when it came to delivering criticism, but I responded well to that.”

“Once my dad saw things weren’t progressing as they should have after he left, he decided to return to Italy. He retired from teaching and coaching in Jersey and came right back to be with me. I needed his guidance, and if that hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have progressed like I did in the following years,” he reflects. “That was the best decision anyone ever took in my career.”

With his dad by his side, Giuseppe continued to climb up the ranks at Parma, and by 16, he was already playing with the club’s second team and had earned caps for the U-17 Italy National Team.

“I was in that phase in life where it’s like ‘Yeah, I’m going all in on this. This is my life, and I’m going to dedicate every single second to this.’”

Right around the corner, a dream move to Manchester United awaited.

“I had a lot of eyes on me at the time. I’ll never forget when a scout approached me after a game and asked me to stick out my hand. He told me he was going to give me a pin from the team he worked for, and that they were interested in me. I thought it was a bunch of fluff, but I opened my hand, and I saw the Manchester United crest. I couldn’t believe it. It was surreal.”

Soon enough, their sporting director presented Giuseppe with a contract, and the dream move to the Premier League was on.

“The first person I saw when I opened the door at United was Ryan Giggs. I was walking in with my dad, and that was his favorite player. We looked at each other just stunned. Then, I met Sir Alex Ferguson, and you never really forget what it’s like meeting someone like him. You’d think he’s an overpowering figure, and that it’s going to be very awkward, but it was the complete opposite. He was very relaxed and made you feel at ease. He knew he was talking to a 17-year-old kid, so he was able to understand what that moment was like for me, and he just made everything easy for me and my family.”

Under Sir Alex, Giuseppe would continue to develop as one of the most promising young talents in Europe. To this day, he remembers his first game for the Red Devils with fondness.

“Making my debut at Manchester United was a dream come true,” he says. “You always dream of playing your first game as a professional, and I had my chance at an FA Cup game in front of 70,000 people. It was nerve-wracking. My knees were shaking before coming on. But once you touch your first ball, you settle in, and everything slows down. I tried my best to enjoy myself, and it’s a memory I’ll never ever forget.”

During his three years at Manchester United, Giuseppe made a handful of appearances for the first team, while also embarking on loan spells for Newcastle and Parma, respectively. When the 2007 season came around, Giuseppe looked to make a permanent move elsewhere. At 20 years old, he was searching for playing time and a chance to finally prove himself.

“I’d gone on several loan spells, and I knew I had to find somewhere more permanent where they believed in me. The project at Villarreal at the time was perfect for a young player like me. They’d just come from playing the Champions League semifinals, so it was exciting,” he recalls.

“Pellegrini showed a lot of faith in me, and I was able to earn a spot quite quickly,” he adds. “They believed in me from day one, and they continued to believe in me year in and year out.”

Over the next five seasons, Giuseppe made 192 appearances for the club and scored 82 goals, making him the club’s all-time top scorer at the time. Aside from all those goals, Giuseppe was also able to build a strong bond with the Villarreal fanbase, and he closed out his time with the club in 2013 as one of the most legendary players to have ever worn their crest.

“I was able to repay the staff and the fans with solid performances and goals over a great five years. That was something very special for me, and I’ll never forget my time there,” he says.

It was a fruitful time at Villarreal, but by 2013, Giuseppe was looking for a fresh start following a set of difficult knee injuries. Eventually, he’d land back in the country that saw him blossom all those years ago when he’d moved from New Jersey.

“I found myself back in Italy. I’d had a long injury at the end of my time with Villarreal, and Fiorentina placed their faith in me. They trusted that I was still going to be the player I was at Villarreal. And I was able to get back to playing at those high levels.”

In his first season with Fiorentina in 2013-14, he made a sensational comeback, scoring 14 league goals in his first 18 appearances with the club.

“I felt like I was back doing my thing,” he says. “Unfortunately, I got injured again. That took away a lot of my momentum at Fiorentina, but when I was on the field, it was electric. Every single time I stepped on the field, I could feel that energy.”

Eventually, Giuseppe parted ways with Fiorentina due to injuries, but he continued to play for Serie A and La Liga clubs over the next few years, adding to his already impressive resume.

In 2023, after two seasons at SPAL in Italy, he announced his retirement from professional soccer – a transition he is still grappling with today.

“Stepping away from the game was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make,” he admits. “After you retire, you realize there are so many things you don’t know how to do. I’m living a normal life now, but it’s tough because there is a big void. I’m still able to train kids and play from time to time, but it’s just different. It’s tough. To this day, it’s hard for me to believe that I’m retired. I hated saying that word in the beginning, but I’m kind of getting used to it. It sucks because I never wanted to stop playing, but there is a time when you know it’s the right time.”

And stepping away from the game has come with both challenges and blessings for Giuseppe. If back when he was 12 he welcomed the test of playing in Italy, now he’s embracing the daunting yet rewarding step of being back home in Jersey and raising his first daughter.

“Being back in Jersey is like a full-circle moment,” he says. “It’s where it all started. You go out doing your thing for years and then you find yourself back here – but this time with a family of your own.”

“I’m finding my swing of things when it comes to everyday life and trying to raise my daughter in the same way I was raised,” he adds. “I had such a great childhood and I loved all the things that my parents did for me. My daughter keeps me up every single day. I dedicate my time to her now, rather than just thinking about me and my career first. That’s how it was for nineteen years. But now it’s time to make the people around me – those I love most – happy. They are my number one priority now.”

“And my little girl is already out there playing soccer, doing drills, and she loves it. I coach her and a group of girls. They’re 2-3 years old, so about the same age I was when I got started. It’s difficult since they’re so young, but I do it for her. I want to be her first coach, just like my father was for me. I want it to be the same for her.”

And as for what’s to come in this next chapter of his career, Giuseppe is ready to take things as they come.

“There are still many avenues to pursue in soccer. If it’s a podcast, training, TV, whatever the soccer world brings, I’m always going to listen. And the other crucial thing for me is just learn, learn, learn. I have to go back to the drawing board and be that kid who immerses himself in their passion, learns, and follows whatever comes from it. Just like I did when I went to Europe all those years ago.”

Finally, before parting ways, he shares a nugget of wisdom for young players looking to make the jump to Europe like he did back in the day.

“Don’t be scared of letting go of the things you were taught in America,” he says. “You need to be ok with being vulnerable in a new environment. Sometimes it’s tough for players to let go of the soccer traditions or philosophies that got them from America to Europe. But Europe is a whole different animal. Sometimes you need to let go of some of the things you learned here. If you’re able to immerse yourself as a player but stay true to the person you are, you’ll have a good chance to succeed. Embrace the challenge.”