Forza New Jersey?

In the opening round of the Confederations Cup in South Africa, the United States was defeated 3-1 by defending World Cup winners Italy. Two of the Azzuri's goals were scored by Giuseppe Rossi, a native of New Jersey. The question must be asked, why is Rossi, an American citizen who was born and raised in the United States, playing for Italy? Situations like this are common in international soccer. Manchester United's Owen Hargreaves, a Canadian with British parents, chose to play for England over his native Canada. However, Hargreaves can be forgiven, as Canada is highly unlikely to qualify for a World Cup in the forseeable future, so playing for England was his one chance to play on the biggest stages. Freddy Adu is currently in the U.S. side and was born in Ghana. However, Adu emigrated to the U.S. at a young age and became an American citizen, so his choice of teams is perfectly legitimate. In contrast to these two cases, Rossi's choice of teams is nefarious. Rossi could've made a real difference playing upfront for the U.S. team that is almost always assured of World Cup qualification due to the weakness of CONCACAF. Italy's team may have a brighter spotlight and better chances of winning trophys, but aren't national teams supposed to be about representing your country?