Juventus forward Amauri is handling things the best way he can, similar to me when I was being fought over by the US and Colombia to play in 1998.  I can understand his situation.  For me it was a stressful situation, but I settled the situation as best as possible- I woke up.

Amauri got his chance with Brazil, good for him.  Hey, so what if it took an injury to make that happen. He got his chance and he should shine. If there is a player that deserves it is him.  If you were to look at the verdeamarelha roster, he would be the man that would inspire the most fear in that lineup.  With all of that in mind, Juventus will have to take care of their big off-season acquisition.  This is why they exercised their option to block his debut with the Brazilians on February 10th against- you guessed it- Italy.

Here is some food for thought, would Juve do if Luca Toni, Alessandro Del Piero, Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta, or even Giuseppe Rossi… if any of those players suffered an injury like Luis Fabiano’s- would they deny Amauri the chance to the azzurri… just food for thought!

It is just a combination of a bunch of things.  He just happens to be yet another example the mess that is the club vs. country controversy is.  There are no guarantees, there are no security blankets for players… they are the ones that have to put their bodies at risk.

Then he is a victim of Dunga’s hardheadedness and desperation.  Let’s be honest, Dunga needed him earlier and refused his services and never called him up.  Is there a forward in Brazil better than Amauri right now?  If anyone says Keirrison I will slit my wrist!    What about Jo?

Robinho?  His escapades and court troubles could hurt Brazil’s pretensions if anything materializes from the latter.

I can’t remember a time when there are no prominent Brazilian strikers  in the game.  I mean there hasn’t been a moment in history when there hasn’t been one.  A

So right now all he can do is just let the big boys fight it out, they will both benefit in the end.  His moment wil come now quicker than ever.  If there are signs that point to anything, it’s that he will most likely wear the canarinha when it counts.  The five-time world champions are in the middle of a dogfight in the CONMEBOL quallies and Amauri would be a welcome scoring option (no pressure).    At that moment, he will be the man that will be looked at as their ticket to South Africa.

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.

VS.

The 5-time World Champion (and official national team of the Metellus Family) Brazil announced their roster for the highly anticipated Feb. 10th friendly vs. 4-time and current World Champion, Italy. Its a roster that was surprising due to its omissions and additions.

The most glaring omission is the red-hot Juventus striker, Amauri who has carried Juve all season after his move from Palermo.

His omission from the squad could push him to play for Italy. The Brazilian born goal poacher has Italian citizenship and Marcelo Lippi could use a hungry striker to spice up the Azzurri attack. It looks like Dunga chose Adriano of Inter Milan instead of Amauri.

Another surprise was the addition of Fiorentina midfielder, Felipe Melo.

The central midfielder got his 1st call up and looks to be the successor to players like Emerson and Gilberto Silva. Dunga regular, Diego will not appear for the Seleção and it appears that Ronaldinho’s inclusion came at the expense of Diego.

No surprise however that Dunga pilaged the Italian Serie A for this friendly against Italy. 11 of the 22 players called to the team draw checks from Serie A teams with AC Milan having 4, Inter & Roma with 3 each and Felipe Melo representing Fiorentina. Here is the complete list of players for the February 10th friendly vs. Italy.

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Doni (AS Roma)

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (FC Barcelona), Adriano Correa (Sevilla), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Lucio (Bayern Munich), Luisao (Benfica), Juan (AS Roma), Thiago Silva (AC Milan)

Midfielders: Elano (Manchester City), Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Josue (Wolfsburg), Anderson (Manchester United), Felipe Melo (Fiorentina), Julio Baptista (AS Roma), Kaka (AC Milan), Ronaldinho (AC Milan)

Forwards: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Robinho (Manchester City), Adriano (Inter Milan)

According to the official website of the Italian National Team, figc.it, Marcello Lippi will announce his roster on February 7th. The match will be played in London at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.