Italy’s Daniele De Rossi baits the line, casts toward England

If Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi gets over valued for his Euro 2012 performance, rewarded lavishly for high quality over a short sample, he certainly won’t be the first.

At least with De Rossi, the longtime Italian international has a larger body of work to back up any high-dollar bids that might come tumbling in.

But the reality is that not everyone has De Rossi’s resume. It happens at every European Championship and every World Cup; a player or two or a handful reap big-euro contracts off a couple of splashy nights in their national shirts.

De Rossi (pictured in a Wednesday press conference) is certainly doing his part to make it happen, hoping to exploit the “Euro Championship gap” by baiting his line and casting it teasingly into English Premier League waters:

Says the Roma midfielder (who can also play in defense, as he has shown at Euro 2012):

I have received many offers from English football. And I must say that I feel attraction for it. I like English football very much. I think now it’s probably more interesting than Italian football. There are lots of outstanding and talented players, as is the case for Spain as well.”

In De Rossi’s case, he turns 29 soon. So this may be his attempt to cash in on one more contract in the “long and lucrative” lacing.

Oh, and nice touch to throw Spain in there, too. That’s what you call “covering your bases.”

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