SPAL have officially announced the arrival of former Villarreal and Fiorentina striker Giuseppe Rossi on six-month contract.
The 36-year-old New Jersey born striker most recently played for the Ferrara based outfit, for the 2021-22 season, and has been out of work since the end of that season.
Earlier in his career, Rossi had a positive six-year spell with Villarreal, where he scored 82 goals and provided 25 assists across 192 games.
As announced by SPAL, Rossi has officially joined the club, signing a six-month contract with the Serie B side. He’ll wear the number 49 shirt, a number he’s worn on a number of occasions before including at Genoa and Fiorentina.
Despite his positive spell in Spain, Rossi was often unable to show his best in Italy and only scored 26 goals across 62 appearances for Fiorentina, Genoa and Parma.
The Italian-American also made 30 caps for the Azzurri, scoring seven goals in friendlies, Euro qualifiers and the Confederations Cup.
A quick and mobile left-footed forward, Rossi is known for his overall attacking and creative style of play, as well as his work-rate, movement off the ball, his powerful and accurate striking ability, and instincts in the box.
Regarded as one of the most promising Italian players of his generation in his youth, his playing style has often been compared to that of compatriot Alessandro Del Piero, due to his acceleration, strong technical skills, range of passing, dribbling talents, and his ability to either score goals or pick out a pass and create chances for teammates; he has also been compared to his namesake, 1982 World Cup-winning striker Paolo Rossi, due to his opportunism, pace, agility, and eye for goal.
In 2013, former Fiorentina playmaker Giancarlo Antognoni likened Rossi to fellow former Fiorentina number ten Roberto Baggio, "In terms of his touch and creativity."
Giuseppe Rossi is known for his ability to both finish off chances and link-up well with midfielders; due to his abilities, he often drops deep between the lines and is involved in the buildup of plays. Because of this, Rossi is able to play in a variety of attacking positions, including on the wings, as a supporting striker, as a lone-striker, and in an attacking midfield role.
He is also an accurate penalty taker. Despite his talent, skill, and goalscoring ability, Rossi's playing time has been limited in recent seasons due to several recurring injury problems.