Ex-Italy striker Rossi joins Serie B's SPAL in latest comeback attempt

Milan, Nov 19, 2021 (AFP) - Former Italy forward Giuseppe Rossi has signed for SPAL until the end of the season, the Serie B club announced on Friday.

American-born Rossi, 34, returns to Italy after three years away, a career dogged by serious knee injuries mostly behind him.

He last turned out for Real Salt Lake in the Major Soccer League after being released by Genoa in 2018, a half-season spell which ended with a failed doping test.

He was also a Fiorentina player between 2013 and 2017 but the most successful spell of his career came before that at Villarreal, where over six years he became the Spanish club's all-time top goalscorer with 82 goals.

A striker of undoubted talent, Rossi also made 30 appearances for Italy, scoring seven times.