EURO 2008 INFO

The 27-year-old is Brazilian by birth, however he has never played or received a call-up to play for his home country.  

The classy striker is set to receive an Italian passport in the very near future, possibly in the next few weeks, and this will make him eligible to represent the Azzurri.  

"I have not heard from Dunga [Brazil national team coach] and I must admit that I am disappointed that I have not been called,” said Amauri.  

“In the meantime, however, I hope to obtain an Italian passport shortly and maybe I will go to the European Championships.  

“I am keen to stress though that my goal is to do well with the shirt of Palermo.”  

There is a split opinion over whether Amauri should be allowed to play for Italy at Euro 2008.  

On the one hand, Italy are desperately short of alternatives for Luca Toni in the first striker role, a function that Amauri would be perfect for.  

On the other hand there are those who say that a naturalised foreigner should not be allowed to play for Italy. There was a similar furore in some quarters when the Argentine-born Mauro Camoranesi was permitted to play for Italy in 2003.