Club teams have a week off - a desperately needed week off, after squeezing in seven matches in a scant three weeks - which means a little less going on around Vila-Real for most. But not for Giuseppe Rossi, who, for the first time, has been called up to play for the Italian national team. He will go up against Bulgaria and Montenegro in the World Cup Qualifiers, but it is unclear what his playing chances are, considering he has only recently regained match fitness. Either way, this is a huge step for Rossi, but not an unexpected one. Lippi has talked about bringing in new blood, and mentioned previously that Rossi would have been called up for the September qualifiers if he had been match fit.
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