Wembley: the cathedral of football in the land of football, the home of England. One of the dreams of all those who have kicked a ball, at any level.
A dream that the defender Dante Carlos Rossi – born in Guerrico, a village in the province of Buenos Aires, on 12 July 1987 and who has been wearing the Chions jersey for a few weeks – could live on Thursday 25 March, at 8.45 pm, for the qualifying match. at the world championships in which the national team of San Marino, of which it has obtained citizenship a little over a year thanks to the origins of its maternal great-grandfather, will be in the presence of the Three Lions.
Rossi arrived here to discover his roots, before putting them at the center of the defense of coach Franco Varrella, former second of Sacchi in ’96 with the Azzurri. The conditional, however, is a must because on Sunday, on his debut with the Chions jersey, a blow to the face caused him a head injury: he spent a night in the hospital in San Vito al Tagliamento and now his presence at Wembley is in doubt. . But he is confident.
Rossi, first of all how are you?
“Fortunately better, thanks. I’m resting to recover and play: on Wednesday 24th the group leaves for London. I want to be there ».
A dream come true …
“Yes, for the stage and how I got there. I waited over ten years, an old law did not allow those who had a San Marino descent from their great-grandfather to obtain citizenship. Fortunately they have changed it ».
How did you get to the national team?
«Thanks to friends, I met some guys from the San Marino national team, who put me in touch with this reality. I have been hoping for it since I was 20, even though I was starting to worry with my age. I stayed in contact with the federation also thanks to Massimo Bonini, former San Marino glory of Juve who does a lot for our movement ».
Last November, you struck two useful results for the first time in history, two 0-0 against Liechtestein and Gibraltar. After the second race he was moved on live TV: how excited are you to be here?
«A lot, not just for football. Off the pitch I am understanding my origins. In our sporting history there have been negative results, but the warmth of the people is incredible. My teammates make me excited: they work during the day, they don’t make a living from football, but they always give their best ».
You played five games with San Marino, always as a starter: you are growing from the results …
«Yes, even if we have to play beyond the result. Now we face top opponents, after England we will have Hungary and Albania at home (Sunday 28 and Wednesday 31 March) and with them we will obviously be more closed in defense. The Nations League, on the other hand, allows us to face smaller teams: Gibraltar, Andorra, Lichtestein. We play more carefree with them and this helps us to grow ».
How did your career develop in Argentina?
«I played in the youth teams of Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario, a team that belonged to Maradona and Messi. Then a lot of third and fourth divisions, your C and D ».
And then how did you get to Chions?
«Thanks to the San Marino athletic trainer Paolo Baffoni, who had coached Rossitto at Udinese. He put us in touch, I heard the coach and we made arrangements. At the time I was at Chiesanuova, in Promotion in the Marche region after having played for a year in the San Marino championship ».
Didn’t he regret having made it to the Gialloblù, given the difficult season?
«No, we are strong. The Chions have one thing that is fundamental to my experience in football: a united locker room. The environment and the coach are at the top, I am grateful to all of them. It was even President Bressan who took me home from the hospital after Sunday’s injury. I hug him. Sunday with the Manzanese is difficult but we can win against anyone: we will save ourselves ». –
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