Juventus’ goal poacher, Amauri finally received the call to play for A Seleção. Dunga called Amauri to the team for the friendly against Italy on February 10th after original call up Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano ruptured two ligaments in his left knee in the 2nd leg Copa del Rey quarterfinal match vs. Valencia. Amauri was called as a replacement to Fabiano, however it has yet to be seen if he will play for Brazil.
Juventus has the option to stop Amauri from appearing because the late call-up was after the FIFA deadline for selecting overseas players for the match. Both Corriere Dello Sport and Gazzetta Dello Sport suggest that the Italian Football Federation (FGIC) & Juventus could work together to stop Amauri from playing for Brazil so that Marcelo Lippi can incorporate the São Paulo born forward into future Azzurri sides. The ball is clearly in La Vecchia Signora‘s court.
Amauri, who’s full name is Amauri Carvalho de Oliveira, has applied for Italian citizenship but is still waiting on his passport. His wife, Cynthia is close to gaining Italian citizenship which would qualify him automatically. Amauri’s mother has weighed in on the matter. In a Gazzetta article, Janete Oliviera advised her son to play for Italy because Brazil has given him nothing and only called him because Luis Fabiano is injured. She states that her son always tells her that he wants to wear the Azzurri jersey because its the country that’s given him everything.
The ex-Palermo player could still play for Italy if he reports to Brazil for the February 10th match. If he remains on the bench and doesn’t step on the pitch for A Seleção, he could be an Azzurri player after his passport is obtained. Amauri has consistently said that it would be his dream to play for Brazil.
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Sorry George I'm hearing different, Amauri will not play this match
Thanks Kevin. The article isn’t about whether he would play its about his selection to Brazil and the conflict he faces in choosing between Brazil & Italy. I hope he’s not playing both sides. He needs to choose, Dunga is not a big fan while Lippi appears to be. As a Brazil fan, I think Dunga is slipping and needs to play him quickly.
I wonder if Juve would play the same tune if Luca Toni was injured and they called him up like this? According to Globoesporte, he's going to just wait and let CBF and Juventus duke it out. If he doesn't play now he'll play when it counts in March.
Actually George it is about playing in this match or “potentially” playing in this match even though your words might not be about actually match time.
My best guess says Lippi wants him and Juventus is helping both club and country by supporting their former manager in blocking Amauri’s call-up to Brasil.
Okay Kevin, let me clarify. The article didn’t mention whether Amauri would be named to the Starting XI, be on the pitch, and kick the ball around. So you didn’t really hear anything different to the article, you just heard that Amauri was wasn’t going to play.