Giuseppe Rossi’s Journey To Real Salt Lake: Triumph Over Adversity

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – World class striker Giuseppe Rossi joined Real Salt Lake this past off-season with a lot of success in his soccer career in Europe but also full of adversity.

The 33-year-old has played with some of the best teams in soccer and playing the sport that he loves around the world. Giuseppe Rossi has made stops with Manchester United and Newcastle United in England along with stints with Parma, Fiorentina and Genoa in Italy. Also, Villarreal, Levante and Celta Vigo in Spain, the Clifton, New Jersey native brings a lot of experience to a young Real Salt Lake team that is starting a new era.

Giuseppe Rossi joined Jeremiah Jensen on SportsBeat and talked about overcoming adversity, his successful career and what he will bring to Real Salt Lake.

“Scoring many goals, playing for great teams and being on the national team, those are all great accomplishments,” Rossi told Jeremiah Jensen. “I feel like coming back from all of this adversity that I have had in my career just shows you the person that I am and it’s the things that I have learned during those bad periods. I am very proud of the person that I have become and the person that kept believing, who never gave up, always wanting to reach the top so that’s my mentality still today.”

Rossi has had to deal with many surgeries throughout his career but kept pushing through because of the love he has for the game.

“I just love the game,” Rossi stated. “I have sacrificed so much since I was a little kid, not only me, but my family. They have done so much for me and I can’t let them down. I remember all of the smiles that I put on their faces after every game that I played. I want to continue doing that for them. That’s my drive and I hope to continue to do that with RSL.”

What Giuseppe Rossi Brings To RSL

Giuseppe Rossi’s experience professionally is staggering alone but he started his career at 12-years-old when he left his home in New Jersey to play for Parma’s youth academy in Italy. A player that has scored 128 goals in 336 matches across all competitions for clubs in the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga, Rossi is just what Real Salt Lake needed to help the transition.

“I come with a lot of experience,” said Rossi. “I am here to play and provide as much as I can to the team. I am a striker so, I try to score goals, create plays and do what I need to do to put my teammates in the right situations. I hope I can bring that to the team.”

Great feeling to be back!! The start of a great journey 💯⚽️💯 #PepitoIsBack #GR7 #nevergiveup #loveforthegame #RealSaltLake #mls pic.twitter.com/jg1NqDET7z

— GIUSEPPE ROSSI (@GiuseppeRossi22) March 2, 2020

The veteran signed with RSL officially on February 27. In that short time with the club, he has already learned so much about the organization.

“This is a young group mixed with a few experienced players and very ambitious from the coaches to the directors and players,” Rossi mentioned.

Why Real Salt Lake?

Giuseppe Rossi has plenty of years of experience at the highest level of soccer. He had many options open to him in the United States and Major League Soccer and he decided to join Real Salt Lake. A club that has a new general manager, a new head coach and is playing in their first season since 2007 without one the greatest goalkeepers in MLS history Nick Rimando who retired after the 2019 season.

“They were the first ones to approach me and from my first conversation with them, I was speaking to the right people,” Rossi stated. “When I got here, from the players to the staff to the trainers, they have been great with me and have made my transition much easier.”

HYPED for @realsaltlake's upcoming season.

🖊️: https://t.co/npcgKYap1K pic.twitter.com/T4yXmleOLT

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 28, 2020

Rossi has observed the transition that Major League Soccer has made and attracting high profile players that were competing in the top leagues around the world. He believes the fan base is growing and has enjoyed watching it.

“It [MLS] has made great strides from 25 years ago,” Rossi said. “I remember when it first started and there was 10 or 12 teams at the time. Now, we are talking about 30 teams and sold out stadiums. You are seeing kids loving the sport more. This fan base is growing and that’s great to watch.”

Real Salt Lake will face the New York Red Bulls in their home opener at Rio Tinto Stadium. The match will begin at noon and can be streamed on sports.ksl.com or the KSL TV app.