In MLS return, Diego Rossi calls decision to sign with Columbus Crew 'the correct one'
The idea made a lot of sense to Diego Rossi.
Although the 25-year-old forward was not preparing to play the 2023-24 season with anyone other than Turkey’s Fenerbahçe S.K., Rossi was presented with an idea: The Columbus Crew, with one of Major League Soccer’s most dangerous offensive attacks, was interested in bringing him back to the league to build on a prolific three-year stay with Los Angeles F.C. that ended in 2021.
What did he have to say about the thought?
“This decision is the correct one,” Rossi said Thursday morning in his first press conference since signing as the Crew’s newest designated player.
It’s not exactly the club Rossi knew from his time in MLS or the one he necessarily thought he’d be joining. As he contemplated joining the Crew, Rossi said those thoughts included playing alongside Lucas Zelarayan, the team’s midfield star and one of its designated players. Instead, Zelarayan (and his team-high 10 goals plus seven assists) was sold to a Saudi Arabian club two days before Rossi’s signing was made official, helping to create a narrative that he would be a like-for-like replacement.
That’s not what coach Wilfried Nancy sees from Rossi.
“Lucas was there before,” the coach said. “Diego is now the new DP, but he doesn’t think about this. I like the fact that he came in and is not a vocal guy but when he talks, he is precise. He likes to act.”
Rossi, along with summer transfer window additions Rudy Camacho, Yevhen Cheberko and Julian Gressel, have enjoyed the benefits of what served as a two-week mini-camp to start getting acclimated to their new team. After losing to Minnesota in the first knockout round of Leagues Cup play on August 4, Nancy gave his players four days off before beginning preparations for Sunday’s resumption of MLS play with a “Hell is Real” rivalry showdown with FC Cincinnati at Lower.com Field.
It's allowed Rossi to start to put down some roots at his new club. Nancy described Rossi as a humble person, and upon his arrival the forward said his first task was to start learning the names of not only his new teammates but the team’s employees as well. As he walked through the public lobby of the OhioHealth Performance Center on the way to his press conference, Rossi stopped, introduced himself and shook hands with the receptionist sitting behind the desk.
“It was good,” Rossi said of the last two weeks. “You have more days to work with the team. Every day, you know something different about the idea or the teammates. This week was very good for me, for that, for being ready for play a game.”
Rossi was amid Fenerbahçe’s preseason when acquired by the Crew and hasn’t played a full, competitive game since May. Despite that, Nancy said Rossi will be available this weekend and that he’s been surprised with how heavy a load the forward has already been able to shoulder. The focus has been primarily on allowing Rossi to be himself on the field, the coach said, before working on channeling that emotion toward his specific role within the offense.
When it comes to assimilating into an attack that loses Zelarayan but retains prolific players Cucho Hernandez (five goals, team-high 10 assists) and Christian Ramirez (eight goals, three assists), Rossi’s former teammate at LAFC, Nancy said he will help the Crew put more pressure on opposing defenses. He became the youngest player to win MLS' Golden Boot award, scoring 14 goals in 19 games during the 2020 season, and has 48 goals and 21 assists in 104 regular-season games.
In Turkey, Rossi scored 10 goals in 64 league games.
“We are a really good team to try to manipulate the opposition and we need also to put more doubt on the opposition, and to do that is to make the run in behind,” Nancy said. “Diego, this is natural for him to make this kind of run in behind. That’s also why we decided to get him.”
Rossi said he has felt welcomed by his new teammates both on and off the field and that he’s excited to get started. The transition has helped validate his feelings about returning to MLS with the Crew being the correct one.
Now it’s time to see if those feelings will turn into action.
“I can say that this is the correct decision, but then the timing is going to show if it’s the correct one,” he said. “For me right now, it’s the correct one. I can see a good atmosphere to work. I can improve myself and also we can improve all together.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Diego Rossi feels he made 'correct' choice to sign with Columbus Crew
