The right choice for Camoranesi

Mauro Camoranesi may have been born in Argentina, but the gifted midfielder is now an important part of the Italian set-up as national coach Giovanni Trapattoni does his last minute fine-tuning before Euro 2004.

Juventus midfielder Mauro Camoranesi (L) vies with Milan's defender Alessandro Nesta , 01 November 2003 at San Siro stadium in Milan, during the italian Serie A soccer match between Milan AC and Juventus Turin. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK HERTZOG

He has known a spectacular rise in the world of football since quitting South America to ply his trade in Europe and recently went from the modest ranks of Hellas Verona to becoming an undisputed starter for mighty Juventus.

During this spell, he also made his international debut for Italy in a friendly against Portugal in February, 2003.

"These last months have been fabulous...but I must still look ahead and not live in the past," he enthused.

At Juve, coach Marcello Lippi has been forced to reshuffle his pack switching international Gianluca Zambrotta to left back to accommadate Camoranesi in midfield, but the results speak for themselves.

Real Madrid's Guti fights for the ball Juventus Mauro Camoranesi during their semi final first leg Champions League match in Madrid 06 May 2003. AFP PHOTO CHRISTOPHE SIMON

"The Old Lady" as Juve are known lifted the Italian title in 2003 and came within a whisker of lifting the Champions League title. Camoronesi was subsistuted at half-time in the final and witnessed his teammates losing the penalty shoot-out to AC Milan.

In December that year he extended his contract with Juventus until 2007, a deal that will earn him 1.5 million euros per season. Lippi is seen as largely responsible for the fiery winger staying at the club after the Juventus president threatened to sell him as punishment for showing up weeks late for pre-season training

Snubbed by Bielsa

The early stages of his career took him to Argentine second division outfit Banfield before a switch of countries and a purple patch era with Mexican club Cruz Azul where he banged home 32 goals in two seasons.

However like many good South American players, the lure of European football and its financial benefits were too exciting to turn down and Serie A club Hellas Verona brought the youngster to Italy in 2000.

Argentina-born, Italian wing-back Mauro Camoranesi controls the ball during the friendly match Italy vs Portugal, 12 February 2003 in Genoa. Camoranesi, 26, was born in Tandil, Argentina, but has Italian grandparents and is therefore eligible to play for either country. AFP PHOTO GABRIEL BOUYS

His displays soon caught the admiring glances of Juve and the mighty Italian giants brought him to the Stadio delle Alpi in 2002 where he was quick to settle in.

Ignored by Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa, he became an Italian citizen in February, 2003, a decision that thrilled fans of the Squadra and in particular Trapattoni as he donned the famous light blue jersey.

He has been warmly welcomed by other Italian internationals and played a key role in qualifying his adopted country for Euro 2004 where they will try to shake their cursed luck that has seen them fail to win a major tournament since the 1982 World Cup.