Turin falls for Camoranesi
By Marcus Christenson & Paolo Menicucci
The last eight months have been rather hectic for Juventus FC winger Mauro Camoranesi. Last summer, he had just finished a highly impressive season with Hellas-Verona FC when Juventus came calling and convinced him to swap tranquil Verona for tempestuous Turin.
Italian debut
In February, the Argentinian-born midfield player, who has Italian grandparents, made his Italy debut in a 1-0 friendly win against Portugal after a series of scintillating performances on the right flank which aided Juventus' push for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Calm attitude
Still, the Camoranesi of March 2003 seems much the same as the one of August 2002. He has kept both feet on the ground - a tough task considering the praise that has been heaped on him. "These last months have been great because I have had the opportunity to play a lot," he told uefa.com. "But now I have to look forward and into the future and not look at what I have done already.
Different strokes
"I feel very comfortable and settled quickly into life at Juventus although the mentality between here and Verona is obviously different," he added. "When you are playing for a big club like Juve you always have to try to win games and take the game to your opponents, whereas with Verona the most important thing was not to lose."
No certainties
Camoranesi's brilliance on the right wing has forced Juventus coach Marcello Lippi to play Italian international Gianluca Zambrotta at left-back in order to fit both players into his starting lineup, but the midfield player is keen to point out that there are no certainties on the Juve teamsheet. "No player at Juve has a fixed role and we are changing formation quite often so every player has to adapt to the system we are playing," he said. "It is not important where you play but how you play."
Sizzling form
In that respect, Camoranesi has no problems. Carrying on where he left off at Verona, he has bamboozled defenders with his tricks and speed, teasing balls through to the forwards as well as scoring important goals himself - most notably a sizzling 25-metre volley in the 1-1 draw with Feyenoord in the Champions League first group stage.
International class
It was no surprise that he eventually earned a call-up to the national side - although more of a shock was that his decision to play for Italy was based in part on Marcelo Bielsa's refusal to select him for Argentina. He may not be a thoroughbred Italian, but Camoranesi enjoyed playing for Giovanni Trapattoni's side immensely.
Warm welcome
"My team-mates welcomed me very well indeed and I have already thanked them several times for the way they did that," he said. "I am really happy with that and hope that I will get the opportunity [to play for Italy] again."
Tough test
Italy face an uphill struggle to qualify for the finals of UEFA EURO 2004™ after drawing with Serbia and Montenegro and losing against Wales in Cardiff in qualifying Group 9, a section which also includes Azerbaijan and Finland. Italy are five points behind leaders Wales but Camoranesi is still hopeful that they can qualify for next summer's finals.
Faith in Italy
He said: "We have the means to qualify. We have the right players and we still have the mathematical possibility to qualify and we have to believe that we can do just that." Having calmly achieved extraordinary footballing feats in the last eight months, Camoranesi's faith could be just what Italy need.
uefa.com
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But I think I'm gonna watch the tape again and scrutinise every move :LOL:
