Concerning the Amauri-Dunga issue, I actually read some bad news (vis-a-vis Italy fans) in Gazzetta today, namely that the Brazilian manager may be ready to call our striker up in the next international friendlies. Dunga still says however that he “will not be bullied into making Amauri a starter right away”, and that the player’ll have to fight for his place in the team.
http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Primo_Piano/2008/12/24/dunga.shtml

If you ask me, I don’t think Amauri ever expected to be a starter in the Brazilian team. Just that Dunga opened his fu**ing eyes and recognize a growing talent. Now that he did, what I’m worried about is that a big door has just been opened for Amauri towards becoming an Auriverde. Now that’s something which was never clearly defined before, hence all the talking concerning a possible Azzurri call-up.

Until now.

I really wish the Italian bureaucrats would just hurry with the paperwork.

If Amauri is now on the verge of representing Italy then we shouldn’t blame the player himself. We shouldn’t hold Azzurri boss Marcello Lippi responsible either. There is one culprit and his name is Carlos Dunga. His job? To supposedly lead Brazil to world football domination. The former Fiorentina hard man’s refusal to give Amauri his first international call-up is a managerial faux pas of incompetent proportions. Not only would his inclusion undoubtedly be of some value to his Selecao side, but it would also rule out the possibility of the big Brazilian defecting to a rival country.

Amauri again showed on Sunday night just what a quality player he is with a brace against Milan. While Dunga could have used the small club excuse while he was banging in the goals for Palermo, the 28-year-old’s move to Juventus has given the striker a stage big enough to prove his worth. Yet Dunga has continued to snub the former Chievo man in favour of the likes of Inter’s troubled Adriano. Surely the November friendly against Portugal would have been an ideal opportunity to just have a look at the Old Lady’s newest star? Apparently not.

Brazil may have scored six past the sorry Portuguese on that night, but Dunga netted one colossal own goal. He left Amauri on the international transfer market and it could come back to haunt him – perhaps as soon as the February London test against Italy. With reports on Tuesday suggesting that Amauri is edging closer to the Italian paperwork he requires, it would be no real surprise if a player who is so desperate for international football swears allegiance to La Nazionale.

It may not ethically be right, but if the rules will allow Amauri to wear Italy blue then Lippi – whose job is to retain the World Cup – will do what Dunga has incredibly refrained from. And if that happens, on purely footballing terms at least, it will be Brazil’s loss and Italy’s gain.

-Channel4

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/blogs/al75.html

Damn, I was wrong.