Hall of Fame: Giorgio Carpi in his son's words

On 18 July 2016, Giorgio Carpi was named as one of the four new inductees to the AS Roma Hall of Fame, alongside Arcadio Venturi, Giancarlo De Sisti and Toninho Cerezo.

The same Giorgio Carpi who featured in a Curva Sud choreography during Roma 2-2 Lazio on 11 January 2015.

"I really like the club's policy of creating a link with the past. Dad would have been proud of this recognition," says Andrea, 68, a professional musician.

Where did the relationship between Roma and Giorgio Carpi begin?

"It began way, way back from his playing days at Roman. My father was involved in the club in various guises: player, director, employee, even as coach on occasion. He is most often remembered for famously turning down wages as a player, evidence of his total loyalty to the club, his honestly and his attitude."

What kind of a player was he?

"A defensive midfielder. In his position he was up against top players like Fulvio Bernardini and Attilio Ferraris, so for this reason he adapted his game in order to cover a few positions and be ready whenever he was needed. But he wasn't obsessive about the competition, completely the opposite. He had a brotherly relationship with Ferraris. Drawing a comparison with the current crop of players, I'd say he was most like Alessandro Florenzi. He often told us children that he defined himself as the '12th man'. I tried to go down this career path as well but I soon gave it up. And that was the wrong decision."

Were you a midfielder like your dad?

"No, I was more attacking than him, a winger. My dad tried to help me but then I decided to do something completely different with my life. Nevertheless, I experienced Roma a lot as a child by his side. During the summer, he'd often take me to the club's headquarters on Viale Tiziano where I'd meet the stars of that era like Dino Da Costa, Pedro Manfredini, Alcides Ghiggia, Enzo Menegotti, Paolo Pestrin and Giacomo Losi. I actually made good friends with Giacomo. For that matter, my dad was one of the directors who helped to bring him to the club."

When did Carpi leave Roma?

"After filling in the various positions mentioned above, he finally stopped working for the club in the early 1960s when Augusto D’Arcangeli was president (of the football section). Giorgio was particularly close to Renato Sacerdoti and Anacleto Gianni. At that point he decided to dedicate himself to his beloved club from a distance as an ordinary fan."

Does the rest of the family still support Roma?

"Absolutely, we're all Roma fans. We've never stopped following the ups and downs of the team, even if we haven't been to the stadium for a while. We often get together as relatives to watch the games. Seeing Dad's face in the choreography during the derby in 2015 was an emotional moment for all of us."

You were mentioning what you do for a living before.

"I'm a guitar player. I worked at Folk Studio, the hotbed of so many well-known musicians from Rome. I had the privilege of playing alongside Antonello Venditti on some of his albums. I knew Stefano Rosso well too. We dedicated an event to him a few years ago and his son David Rossi – one of your hosts at Roma Radio – took part."