The player has been at the centre of a tug-of-war between the two nations for almost a year and the Selecao seemed to win this afternoon when Carlos Dunga gave him his debut call.

“We will respect the player’s wishes,” commented FIGC spokesman Antonello Valentini.

“In this matter we are merely spectators, so we have not spoken to Juventus or Amauri.”

However, there is still hope of seeing the forward in an Azzurri jersey in the near future, even though he is in the Brazil squad to face Italy on February 10 in London.

Amauri would only be ‘tied’ to one country if he actually played, so by remaining on the bench in that international friendly he would still be able to choose between Brazil and Italy.

Juventus could theoretically block the move, too, as the Selecao call arrived late as a replacement for the injured Luis Fabiano.

Because it is past FIFA’s deadline, the club is not forced to release Amauri for the international friendly.

Italy would have already called Amauri, but he has not yet received an Italian passport, as first his wife Cynthia must gain citizenship due to her Italian ancestors.