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Former Italy forward Giuseppe Rossi is eager to return to the field after his first season in the MLS came to sudden stop last month in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic
He told Fox News that he believes the league will be able to recover most, if not all, of the regular season under the right circumstances.
Rossi has been quarantined at his home in Salt Lake City since the MLS suspended the season on March 12, just two games in. Initially, the league anticipated a return date of May 10, but on Wednesday league sources told ESPN that that date had been pushed to at least June 8.
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“Whenever we do come back it has to be in the right moment where our health is the first concern, making sure us being around 30-40 people, us playing, us being around each other and not six feet apart but being almost on top of each other is safe to do so,” Rossi told Fox News.
Giuseppi Rossi, 33, signed with Real Salt Lake in February after a successful career playing for several clubs in the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga. (Reuters)
“I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.”
The New Jersey native has been isolated from his family for a month and while he misses playing, he’s cautious about rumors that the league intends to isolate entire teams for months at a time while the season plays out.
“We do hope that it’s in a situation where we’re able to live our normal lives and not be put in hotels, like I heard Dr. Fauci said the other day … I’m not too sure I agree with what he said about putting the players in hotels.”
He continued: “We are human beings, we’re not in a zoo where we’re put into a hotel and then we go in every day for training and then perform on Sunday. I don’t think that that’s in the best interest for the MLS, for the players, so hopefully whenever we do go back, we’re back to living our normal lives.”
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MLS commissioner Don Garber told ESPN earlier this week that he is “focused at getting in as many games as possible.” Like other leagues, playing without fans would likely be a part of the plan.
“Of course our health is the most important thing,” Rossi told Fox News. “I don’t think there’s anybody out there that’s gonna say ‘I’m not gonna play without fans’ because, yes it’s very important to have the fans … in the stadium, it creates such a unique atmosphere but you know there’s also people watching at home and I’m sure they’re just as eager to watch us play.”
Like other athletes, Rossi is confident that the return of sports is something vital for fans at home under quarantine.
“In a time like right now, I think sports is something that people need,” he said. “Sports is a very big part of everybody’s lives, I believe. So the sooner we’re able to get back out there, especially with the MLS just being two games in, the season just started so we’re able to recover most of our games, hopefully, all of our games.”
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Rossi said he’s not concerned about performance once teams are able to return to the field.
“We’re out there to be a team, to compete and I think that’s what every fan wants to see once we’re out there on the field.”