2010 FIFA World Cup: Giuseppe Rossi Probably Wishes He Chose The USA

On Tuesday, Marcello Lippi announced his final squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. 

One of the most glaring omissions was American born striker Giuseppe Rossi. Rossi was born to Italian parents in the state of New Jersey. 

At the youth level, Rossi represented Italy at every level from U-16 to U-21. In 2006, American head coach Bruce Arena invited Rossi to the U.S. national team World Cup training camp, since Rossi had an American citizenship.

However, Rossi declined the invitation, the reason being that he wanted to play for Italy.

Had Rossi accepted the invitation, he probably would have been a regular on the national team, and he would easily be one of the most important players on the team. 

Rossi was eventually called up to the Italian national team. 

One of his most famous appearances was in the Confederations Cup, where he played against the country of his birth. In that game, he scored 2 goals in a 3-1 win over the United States.

At this point, most Americans were prepared to call him a traitor. Rossi continued to enjoy success at the club and international level.

Rossi was in Lippi's pre-World Cup training camp, but was surprisingly omitted from the final squad. 

The American born striker, who claims to be American at heart but Italian on the field, probably wishes he had chosen the USA right now, as he would most certainly be on Bob Bradley's final World Cup squad.

Below is Italy's final squad list for the World Cup. 

Goalkeepers:  Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari)

Defenders:  Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan)

Midfielders:  Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)

Forwards:  Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli)