Years Team 1998–2000 Salernitana Role Footballer Weight 76 kg Salary 700,000 EUR (2012) | Playing position 1995–1998 Lucchese Name Marco Rossi Height 1.79 m Spouse Valentina Rossi | |
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Date of birth (1978-04-01) 1 April 1978 (age 37) Similar People Gian Piero Gasperini, Luigi De Canio, Davide Ballardini, Delio Rossi, Luigi Delneri | ||
Marco Rossi (born 1 April 1978) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a right midfielder.
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He played most of his 18-year professional career with Genoa, appearing in nearly 300 official games during nine seasons, six spent in Serie A.
Early years
Born in Seravezza, Lucca, Rossi started playing football with A.S. Lucchese-Libertas in Serie B, moving for the 1998–99 campaign to Salernitana Calcio 1919, newly promoted to Serie A. After two seasons he joined ACF Fiorentina and returned to the top division, remaining in Florence for two years.
In 2002 Rossi left Fiorentina due to unpaid wages (the club declared bankruptcy shortly after) and signed with modest Como Calcio 1907, appearing sparingly in his first season and being relegated from the top flight.
Genoa
In 2003–04 Rossi joined Genoa C.F.C. in the second level, on loan, being an instrumental figure from the start and scoring a career-best eight goals in his first year. He then returned to Como, but returned to his previous club in the 2005 January transfer window after his contract expired.
Genoa was initially promoted at the end of the season, as champions, but suffered relegation to Serie C1 instead, with Rossi remaining with the team, which achieved promotion in 2006. In the 2006–07 campaign he became club captain, and the club returned to division one alongside Juventus FC, under manager Gian Piero Gasperini. The player's versatility – he was capable of producing as either a defender or a midfielder, on either side – made him an undisputed starter, and he contributed to that promotion with three goals.
On 30 March 2008, in a league game against Reggina Calcio, Rossi scored his second goal in the top level, closing the score in the 90th minute (2–0, at home). He only missed four games as the club finally finished tenth.
Although he appeared less in the 2008–09 season, Rossi netted on five occasions. On 28 November 2009, during the 101st Derby della Lanterna, against U.C. Sampdoria, he scored the second goal, in an eventual 3–0 home win; in February of the following year, he scored against A.C. Chievo Verona (the game's only) and added two the following week at Juventus, albeit in a 2–3 away defeat.
Rossi retired from football at the end of the 2012–13 campaign, aged 35. He was immediately appointed Genoa's director of football.
International career
Rossi collected six caps for the Italian U-21s, helping the national side win the 2000 European Championship.