Samuele Inacio: Italy vs Brazil for Young Forward's Future
Italy and Brazil are bracing for a straight fight over one of Europe’s most intriguing young forwards, with 18-year-old Samuele Inacio at the centre of an international tug-of-war.
Reports on Thursday indicate that Italy are ready to fast-track the Borussia Dortmund striker into competitive action as early as September, desperate to secure his allegiance before Brazil make their move. The plan is clear: get him capped in an official fixture and close the door on the Selecao.
Inacio sits at the crossroads of two footballing giants. Born in Bergamo to an Italian mother and a Brazilian father, Pia – a former forward who turned out for Atalanta, Napoli and several other Italian clubs – he carries both passports and both traditions. One of the standout products of Italy’s youth system, he is eligible for either national team and has suddenly become a priority target for both.
Italy made the first move. Interim head coach Silvio Baldini handed Inacio his senior debut in June, a friendly against Luxembourg that gave the teenager his first taste of the Azzurri shirt. It was a symbolic step, but not a decisive one. Because it came in a non-competitive match, FIFA rules still allow him to switch to Brazil.
That loophole has kept the door wide open – and Brazil have walked straight through it.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Brazilian scouts were in London recently to watch Inacio closely during Borussia Dortmund’s pre-season clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Cup. Under the lights at Emirates Stadium on August 9, with the usual mix of summer experimentation and sharp audition, the teenager was being assessed not just as a club prospect, but as a potential long-term piece of Brazil’s future.
The message from South America is simple: Brazil are ready to cap him in a competitive game and lock him in for years to come.
Italy, though, still hold the lead in this race. Thursday’s reports insist that Inacio’s priority remains the Azzurri, and that the Italian federation are already working on a concrete plan to give him minutes in an official fixture as soon as possible. September has been floated as a realistic window, with the idea of bringing him into the squad and putting the debate to bed on the pitch.
For now, Inacio continues his development in Germany, having left Atalanta for Borussia Dortmund as a teenager. His rise there has only sharpened the focus on his international future. Two nations, one decision, and a deadline that suddenly feels very close.
