It took two phones, several calls and an overseas phone bill to reach the 57-year-old from the Pink Un’s Norwich headquarters.
Rosario has been based in North Carolina for more than 25 years now, having originally moved there from Nottingham for a quiet end to a storied career in the English top flight.
He’s since had two children, played for two clubs, been a manager and coached thousands of young footballers, but his memories of Norwich City remain clear as day.
“I had a great time there,” he says of the club where his professional career started. “I have a lot of friends, and I owe a lot to Ken Brown.
“I was Dale Gordon’s best man, and me and several others were very close. We were a fantastically entertaining team, we maybe even overplayed at times!
“There weren’t any big heads there, we all had fun together, we cared about each other. Life was different then. When I moved on it was time to move on, but I loved my time there.”
The former Harrow Borough striker’s Norwich career may not have been as glamorous as current players’, but that made the seven-year stint for him.
“For my debut against Watford I was in a bed and breakfast near the railway station,” he continues, “and I walked to the stadium from there in the only suit I owned. I didn’t have a car at the time, didn’t have much money, I walked and no one knew who the hell I was!
“It wouldn’t happen now, with so much money in the game, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I had the greatest time, a great experience.”
The Canaries face the club Rosario left them for this weekend, in a clash that brings positive association on both sides for the London native.
“I loved my time at Cov,” he says. “It was time for me to move on from Norwich, but my first game was back against them in the FA Cup. Seven years was a long time for me, and I needed to try something different.
“The first six months of my time there were the most miserable of my football career because I was struggling to replace Cyrille Regis, who had retired.
“But Terry Butcher got fired, and then Bobby Gould came in, and he was the best thing that had happened to me. He really got me and understood me.
“Our captain was injured, and we were playing Liverpool at home. We were sitting in the changing room, and Bobby said ‘Hey, big man, come on, you lead the team out today’.
“I said ‘Good one, Bobby, good laugh’. I’d never been a captain before. But he pulled me to the side and said ‘You’re a leader of men, do it, man!’
“I looked up at my mum before the game and she gave me this look that was like ‘What the hell are you doing?’”
“I had a great time there.”
It wasn’t all good for Rosario in the West Midlands, however. The forward had established legendary status by the time of his departure for Nottingham Forest, but wasn’t dealt with in kind.
“It was March and we were fifth in the Premier League at the time. I got called upstairs and told ‘Pack your stuff and get out of here, you’ve been sold’.
“But I loved it there, and I didn’t want to go. It crushed me, and when I told the dressing room everyone thought I was joking. I went to Forest, who were basically relegated.”
The memories that stick out to Rosario remain the positive ones, however, and he’ll be on the winning side whatever the outcome at the CBS Arena.
He may be thousands of miles away, but he’ll certainly have an eye on this one.
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