GIALLOROSSI YORKSHIRE BLOG
Arms held aloft, a little smile breaks out as his teammates surround him. It's a somewhat muted celebration compared to how Daniele De Rossi reacted whenever he scored for Roma, but it's a sign that there is life in the veteran yet.
It may have been for a new club, but it clearly still meant something to Roma's former captain, as he headed in a debut goal for Boca Juniors on Tuesday night. It will be impossible for him to replicate the passion he had for Roma in his new surroundings, but he could not have given a clearer sign: he has gone to Boca to win.
Many Roma fans are still taking time to adjust to the sight of De Rossi wearing another club's jersey. But throughout history, very few players have retired as a one-club man for the Giallorossi. Whether by their own choice or not, many of the club's biggest legends have curtailed their time at Roma to close out their careers elsewhere. Here are five of their stories. Agostino Di Bartolomei If given a choice, De Rossi would have stayed at Roma without hesitation. His decision to leave was made for him, though - a similar scenario to how Scudetto-winning captain Agostino Di Bartolomei was forced out of the club. Di Bartolomei had just led Roma to the European Cup final in their first ever appearance in the competition, but times were changing at the club. Legendary coach Nils Liedholm was on his way out, to be replaced by fellow Swede, Sven-Goran Eriksson. The new tactician favoured a faster-paced game, to which it was deemed that Di Bartolomei was not suited. Against his will, the 29-year-old was moved on to Milan, following Liedholm. The early 1980s had been the most difficult period in the Rossoneri's history, with two relegations to Serie B, and so Liedholm was entrusted with the task of getting things back on track. As fate would have it, Di Bartolomei came up against his beloved Roma as early as the fifth match of the new season. Naturally, the Italian midfielder scored the opening goal against the side for whom he had given so much in the previous decade. The game ended 2-1 to Milan, and Roma's decision to move on without their coach and captain started to look like a bad one. By the end of the season, thanks to that result, Roma finished below Milan due to their head-t0-head record, out of the European places altogether. Giuseppe Giannini One of the players who followed in Di Bartolomei's footsteps by coming out of the Roma academy and going on to make more than 300 appearances for the club, Giannini was idolised by fans - but his loyalty sadly never flourished with a key role in a league title win. His love affair with Roma began to take a sour turn in 1994, when, after returning from injury, he stepped up to take a crucial penalty in the Derby against Lazio - a spot kick won by his heir, Francesco Totti. Giannini's effort from 12 yards was saved by Luca Marchegiani, costing Roma the chance to equalise. After the game, club president Franco Sensi hit out at his captain, declaring: "Whoever misses a penalty so important doesn't seem worthy of belonging to the Roma of the future." The relations weren't cut as quickly as may have been expected, with Giannini lasting another two seasons with his hometown club. But the seeds were already sown for a farewell, and Il Principe moved to Austrian side Sturm Graz in 1996. Giannini's time in Austria was short-lived, and due to homesickness, he made a controversial return to Italy to play for Roma's great rivals, Napoli. He made just five appearances for the Partenopei, before seeing out his career with one-and-a-half seasons with Lecce. Roberto Pruzzo Star striker Pruzzo left Roma in 1988 as their leading goalscorer of all-time, with fans unveiling a banner at his final game in giallorosso reading "106 times thank you", in a nod to the number of goals he scored for the club in Serie A. His final game for Roma was against Verona, who had been the side he had made his club debut (and scored his first goal) against 10 years earlier. The Italian striker spent the final season of his career at Fiorentina, who became involved in a tight battle for the UEFA Cup places with, of all teams, Roma. Pruzzo did not score all season, but his new side managed to finish level on points with Roma, meaning a play-off was needed to determine who would qualify for Europe. In his last game as a professional footballer, as he lined up against his former teammates, Pruzzo finally scored his first goal for La Viola. Like Di Bartolomei for Milan a few years prior, there was an ironic element of fate about it, as someone who had contributed so much to Roma's history came back to haunt them. Pruzzo's goal was the only one of the game, meaning the Giallorossi went without European football the next season. He may have spoiled the party that day, but it did not take away from the mutual affection between Pruzzo and the Roma faithful. Amedeo Amadei Around half a century before Pruzzo, Roma's goal-getter in chief was Amedeo Amadei - who to this day remains the youngest player to have ever represented the club, having debuted at the age of 15. Amadei scored precisely 100 league goals for Roma, although this figure would likely have been more had the league championships not been interrupted by the Second World War. Whereas Roma were growing towards the start of the global conflict, culminating in their first Scudetto in 1942, the years after hit them hard, with severe financial problems forcing them to sell Amadei to Inter in 1948. Still only 27 years old at the time, he undoubtedly could have contributed so much more for Roma had fate allowed, but even after his departure, his love for the club remained. Legend has it that Amadei asked his new club not to play him against Roma if ever his former side were struggling. He did end up playing against the Giallorossi in his first season away from the capital, but contributed little to the game. By his own admission, he felt unable. The season after, though, he netted against Roma in a 3-1 win for Inter. By the time the Lupi had returned from their sole season in Serie B, Amadei had transferred to Napoli, for whom he lined up against his first ever club on a few occasions. Again, though, his contributions against Roma were limited. Of the 47 league goals he scored for Napoli before he retired, only one came against his former employers. Fulvio Bernardini One of the more senior players on the pitch when Amadei made his Roma debut all those years ago was Fulvio Bernardini, the second captain in the club's history. The technically gifted midfielder joined Roma one year after their amalgamation and immediately elevated their potential. Despite starting his career with Lazio (albeit before Roma were formed), Bernardini wrote his name in club folklore thanks to his incredible commitment over 11 seasons. When the time came to leave Roma, Bernardini was ready to go into coaching -a decision De Rossi is tipped to make when he hangs up his boots - but it wasn't time for him to give up playing just yet. He dropped down to the Italian third tier to become player-manager of local side MATER. Just like he had done at Roma, Bernardini inspired his new club to greater heights. After three seasons, he led MATER to promotion to Serie B, in which he played for them for one season before the division was temporarily halted for the Roman War Championship. Bernardini stayed in his role for two further years before retiring at the age of 39 upon the dissolution of the club. Four years after, he was back at Roma as manager - a fate that many fans would love to see for De Rossi as well one day. The former number 16 would hope to have a better fate than Bernardini, who lasted less than a full season in the dugout in what was, as mentioned above, a difficult time for the club. Nonetheless, he went on to have a distinguished coaching career thereafter, winning Serie A with both Fiorentina and Bologna, and has long since taken his place alongside De Rossi in the history of the club.
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samuel bannister
Founder and editor of Giallorossi Yorkshire, who is also a columnist for Roma's official website about the women's team. Categories
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