Giuseppe Rossi started his career at Manchester United but struggled for game time under Sir Alex Ferguson, before enjoying much more success with teams like Villarreal and Fiorentina
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Updated 13:22, 21 Mar 2025
Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
Ex-Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will return to the dugout during a friendly in Italy this weekend, according to Giuseppe Rossi
(Image: Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Former Manchester United star Giuseppe Rossi has revealed Sir Alex Ferguson will make his return to the dugout in a friendly match in Florence this weekend. Rossi joined the Red Devils as a 17-year-old but only played 14 times for the club in total.
Rossi enjoyed much bigger success with Villarreal in Spain and later returning to his native Italy with Fiorentina. He also picked up 30 caps for the Azzurri.
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He rounded off his career in the MLS before playing his last two years with SPAL in Serie B before retiring in 2023 - and now his career spanning nearly 20 years will be celebrated with a friendly game featuring some of the biggest names in Italian football.
Rossi said Ferguson had agreed to manage of one of the teams at the event known as 'Pepito Day' - 13 years after he retired as a coach following 26 trophy-laden years at United.
The Italian has previously claimed Ferguson treated him "like a son" after talking up the youngster's ability and huge potential when he arrived.
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He hailed the Scot for taking part, despite not featuring under him for too long at United, having left Old Trafford after just three seasons. "Ferguson will be there as a coach. He was my first coach, I signed when I was 17," Rossi said, as reported by the Daily Mail.
"I only did three years with him and played little, but he immediately said yes and this shows what kind of person he is. I did little at United but he treats me like Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 1000 goals."
The game will take place this Saturday, with Rossi's former Manchester United team-mate Nemanja Vidic also set to feature. A number of iconic Italian football figures will line up in the game too, as well as ex-Fiorentina stars who played with Rossi - including Gabriel Omar Batistuta, Luca Toni, Francesco Toldo, Sebastian Frey, Borja Valero, Joaquin and Gonzalo Rodriguez.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Giuseppe Rossi
Rossi struggled for game time at United under Ferguson but hailed the Scot for taking part in his friendly game
There will also be players who played with Rossi in the Italian national team, such as Danielle De Rossi, Fabio Grosso and goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.
Ferguson is usually seen watching Manchester United games in the stands - despite being cut from his lucrative £2million-a-year ambassador role at Old Trafford.
This won't be the first time Ferguson has taken to management since his retirement. He took to the dugout for Michael Carrick's testimonial in 2017 and managed a United treble reunion game two years later.
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