The Villarreal forward, in Italy's squad tonight, talks to Ian Hawkey about his time in England, the death of his father and baseball
Giuseppe Rossi is in demand. If it had not been Tottenham Hotspur frantically dialling and redialling the telephone number of Villarreal at the end of the transfer window, it could just as well have been Juventus or another Serie A giant.
By the last week of last month, Spurs were apparently offering telephone-number sums both to the player and to his current employers to try to persuade him to return to the Premier League, where he played as a teenager.
The answer was "No", even once the offer soared to a reported €37 million (Dh185m). So, armed with a new contract with the upwardly mobile club from Spain's valenciano coastline, Rossi has quietly been telling his fellow internationals as they prepared for tonight's prestigious friendly against Germany in Dortmund, why he chose to stay in the Primera Liga, and turned down London for five more years with Villarreal. Personal fulfilment ranks high on his list of reasons.
"I'm fine where I am here in Villarreal," he said. "Sure, players always want more, but what I think about now is what I can do with Villarreal. We have our objectives for this year, which is to get into Europe, hopefully into the Champions League, and we have started on the right foot in that."
His club sit third in the league, and while the top two - Barcelona and Real Madrid - are too well resourced to seem catchable, the one player that both those superclubs would most envy of their next-best rivals is probably Rossi.
The 24-year-old's 12 league goals so far this season are more than any of Real's centre-forwards have managed, while his contribution to Villarreal's sophisticated passing game and his work in the creative areas can sometimes put an observer in mind of the attacking footballers at Barcelona.
Like a Lionel Messi, an Andres Iniesta, a David Villa, a Pedro Rodriguez or a Xavi, Rossi is short of stature, but nimble and quick-witted.
He is being properly recognised as one of Europe's most effective strikers, too. For Italy's last outing, the friendly against Romania in November, Rossi wore the captain's armband.
After only three and half seasons at Villarreal, he is chasing the status of the club's greatest ever scorer in the top division of Spanish football.
Earlier this season he scored his 50th goal for Villarreal, and did so in his 99th appearance for the club. Another nine Primera Liga goals will overtake the club record of Diego Forlan. Suffice to say, he is popular among the fans.
"It's cool and that target is something that's nice to think about," he said. "Villarreal doesn't have a very long history but we have had some very good players recently, like Juan Roman Riquelme and Diego Forlan. It would be nice to get there."
As important a target for Rossi is to perform in an important championship with his country. It is a noticeable hole in his unusual and varied CV. Though he made his full international debut with the Azzurri back in October 2008, was in Italy's Olympic side in Beijing and at the Confederations Cup in South Africa with Marcello Lippi's then world champions in 2009, Rossi did not make the 23-man party who made the disastrous trip to South Africa to defend their World Cup last summer.
Missing out had been a big disappointment, though he had lost form a little in the crucial months ahead of the tournament when selection issues were being decided, and Lippi was leaning towards the older players available to him.
Rossi also suffered an emotional blow in that period, the death of his father, Fernando.
"He was my first coach," said his son. "There were setbacks last year, personal wise and football wise. These are things you have to overcome, you have to be strong in your character, and personality.
"I always look ahead and see how I can bounce back. And that's what I've tried to do."
The single-mindedness in Rossi is barely disguised: partly, it comes from having grown up as an outsider. He was born in New Jersey in the United States, and like many American "soccer" players of his generation, he often felt he was playing a marginal sport in a land where American football, basketball and baseball dominate.
With his father's influence, he became very good at it, very young, and when his talent became known to Parma, they asked him to join their junior ranks. He was 13.
At Parma, he continued to progress and Manchester United, encouraged both by his skill and a fluent spoken English that would make it easy for him to settle in Britain, signed him at 17.
He moved to Old Trafford at the same time as another gifted teenager, Wayne Rooney. That coincidence would be a block to his progress but also a blessing.
"United gave me a lot," he said. "I was 17 when I went there, it was practically my first experience of being involved in first-team football and I was learning from the best." There was also a long queue.
"Ruud van Nistelrooy was there, so was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Plus Rooney, and I really wanted to play."
He would do so only a handful of times for the first XI. But his confidence grew during a loan spell at Newcastle United. He was then loaned back to Parma, where his goals saved them from relegation.
In 2007, he joined Villarreal, though not without United taking the precaution of inserting a "first-option" buy-back clause in the contract of sale.
In Spain, he settled quickly, picking up his third language easily. He had been friendly with the Iberian group of players at Old Trafford and would resume old Manchester friendships in the Primera Liga, with the likes of Gerard Pique at Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, and the former United keeper, Ricardo, now of Osasuna, whom Rossi most remembers for the lifts he gave the young Italian home from practice.
"He used to play this terrible Spanish music in the car." Worse than that were the effects the tunes had on Ricardo: "He'd be like clapping along to it, cha-cha-cha, with his hands off the steering wheel," Rossi said.
Luckily, he had already become a fearless traveller. By the age of 20, he had already played in the game's three leading leagues, appreciating "the physical, fast-paced style" of English football, where, at 5ft 8ins, he needed to be tough, and "the mind game that is Serie A, very tactical" and then "the technical, possession football, the always looking for the spectacular," that characterises the Primera Liga.
There, Rossi's game has become about much more than pace, which he has, and finishing. In his excellent partnership for Villarreal with Nilmar, the Brazil striker, Rossi is often the creator.
Cesare Prandelli, the Italy coach, wants to harness some of that, grateful that Rossi, despite the frustrations he experienced during the Lippi era, maintained he had done the right thing in declining invitations to represent the US as a senior international.
Yet the American in Rossi is not disguised, neither in his accent when he speaks in English, or his choice of words. Things are "kinda cool," in his argot; he says the word "soccer" as often as he says "football". He has lately been following the Super Bowl keenly, though his favourite second sport is baseball and he admits to having spent a very late night glued to television coverage of the tight climax to the last World Series.
"I couldn't watch it all because it's on at 3am European time, but the very end, which was so exciting, I had to stay up for." He would be stifling his yawns the next day at practice.
The last time Italy played, on a proud day for the Rossi family, with Giuseppe the captain of the side, he had to stifle some anger at a minority in the crowd who chose the occasion to wave racist banners directed mainly at Italy's Mario Balotelli, whose parents are Ghanaian.
Rossi, the US-born Italian patriot, wonders out loud "how these things happen, how people come to a stadium and ruin a show? Because football is basically a show for people to come and watch."
He hopes that the show itself will be more dynamic with a new, younger, post-World Cup Azzurri.
"There are new people coming in, there's a different energy, a different mentality, a new experience. People are curious to see where this new experience is going. We are all showing that we do care and that we do want to be back as world champions."
sports@thenational.ae
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IF YOU GO
The flights
FlyDubai flies direct from Dubai to Skopje in five hours from Dh1,314 return including taxes. Hourly buses from Skopje to Ohrid take three hours.
The tours
English-speaking guided tours of Ohrid town and the surrounding area are organised by Cultura 365; these cost €90 (Dh386) for a one-day trip including driver and guide and €100 a day (Dh429) for two people.
The hotels
Villa St Sofija in the old town of Ohrid, twin room from $54 (Dh198) a night.
St Naum Monastery, on the lake 30km south of Ohrid town, has updated its pilgrims' quarters into a modern 3-star hotel, with rooms overlooking the monastery courtyard and lake. Double room from $60 (Dh 220) a night.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group One (PA) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner RB Money To Burn, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner Ekhtiyaar, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Commanding, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Kimbear, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Platinum Star, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Key Victory, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
RESULTS
6pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $40,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alajaj, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
6.35pm: Race of Future – Handicap (TB) $80,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner: Global Storm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.10pm: UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Azure Coast, Antonio Fresu, Pavel Vashchenko
7.45pm: Business Bay Challenge – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Storm Damage, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
20.20pm: Curlin Stakes – Listed (TB) $100,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Appreciated, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill
8.55pm: Singspiel Stakes – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O'Meara
9.30pm: Al Shindagha Sprint – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Meraas, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
