Quote:
Originally Posted by Franchise 60
Has trying to break into the Italian squad helped his career at all? Would he have higher value if he was play for the U.S. and scoring goals for the first team?
since we're on a poker forum, the answer is, it depends
. In all honesty though, I'm not sure what effect it will have on his career. Carlo Cuddicini has had a very good career and there was a point where he was being considered for england because he hadn't been capped at the levels to tie him to a nation.
I think his decision will turn out to be a good one if he gets 50+ caps for italy, but, like 'tone mentioned, he'll have a very hard time getting caps for italy if he's playing in Spain as the Italian national team rarely puts players in their squad that don't play in SerieA
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThaSaltCracka
The thing is, he's too young to simply just "break" into any national team squad. He could show up and be an impact player off the bench, or even play in some friendlies, but its highly unlikely he would get much PT in big games. Honestly, it would have been the same with the USMNT.
He has been playing well enough in Spain this year. I think he has 11 goals, which isn't bad for a young guy playing consistently. I think his league form will be what increases his value, and ultimately his PT for Italy. However, he would have gotten waaaaay more time with US than Italy. I would think that he would be a front runner for a starting spot up front for the US in 2010, but the same isn't true for Italy.
he's not too young at all, there have been plenty of players around his age that have broken into their national squads at his age, and IIRC Cassano had gotten some senior caps at around the same age as Rossi, and I know that Buffon was given caps at a young age for a keeper too
he certainly would be a front runner for a starting spot for the US in 2010, but I don't think he'd even get a look for italy, and quite frankly, it would probably be until WC2014 or Euro 2016 for him to even be considered for an italian spot