Retired Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi reveals just how close he was to donning the famous Juventus jersey back in his heyday.
The 38-year-old is a Parma and Manchester United youth product who went on to find success at Villarreal and Fiorentina early in his career. However, a series of devastating injuries prevented him from achieving great heights.
The New Jersey native has been unattached since ending a brief spell at SPAL. He is now preparing to play his testimonial in Florence on March 22nd which will include a series of top stars, and chief among them Sir Alex Ferguson who will be making his return to the dugout.
But while Rossi earned fame for his exploits against Juventus, he revealed he could have ended up representing the Old Lady, as Giuseppe Marotta and Antonio Conte were keen to lure him.
“I was supposed to replace Del Piero at Juventus. I was in the car with my uncle, he was driving and I was talking on the phone with Marotta and Conte,” said Rossi in his interview with Il Corriere della Sera via IlBianconero.
“They offered almost 30 million euros but Villarreal had just returned to the Champions League and they didn’t feel like selling me because they had already sold Santi Cazorla too.”
In the end, the striker ended up joining Fiorentina in January 2013. The following October, he stunned Juventus by leading the Viola towards a famous 4-2 comeback win. Nevertheless, he admitted he never dared to tease Gianluigi Buffon about his hattrick.
“I never joked about it with Gigi, not even during training camps with the national team. I was afraid he would slap me twice. It was a historic match, a roar that all footballers would like to hear. I was lucky to be there.”
