Legendary masseur from 1983 Scudetto-winning Roma team passes away

The head masseur in Nils Liedholm's squad, Boldorini had begun his sporting journey in the 1960s and ended up joining Banco di Roma in 1968. With ample experience in sports behind him – aside from football he had also worked in water polo, rugby and basketball – he earned the respect of the club's coach Giacomo Losi, who recommended that he try out for a job in top-flight football at Roma.

An offer was made and there was no way Boldorini could turn it down.

"I had hung a plaque on the wall in my home," he explained in 2013. "It read: 'In this household even the cat is a Romanista'. How could I say no to Roma?"

He soon put pen to paper and watched his first match as a Roma employee from the stands, invited by the president Dino Viola. That was back on 6 May 1979, when Roberto Pruzzo's goal removed the threat of relegation in a 2-2 draw against Atalanta at the Stadio Olimpico.

In the same month four years later, Pruzzo found himself on the scoresheet again but this time the setting was completely different: At the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa, a 1-1 draw ensured the Giallorossi were the champions of Italy for the second time in their history.

An exemplary professional and a passionate Giallorossi supporter, he decided to leave football and Roma at the end of 1985-86 after seven seasons at the club. After handing over the baton to his successor, he dedicated himself to his physiotherapy studio in Prati in the heart of Rome. Among the numerous memories of his Giallorossi fairy-tale that he kept in his office was a black-and-white photo of him and Paulo Roberto Falcao.

Proof of his love for the club was shown as recently as November 2015 when, against the advice of his doctors, he was determined to show up at the presentation of the book written by Luciano Tessari – Liedholm's assistant coach – on the 1982-83 title-winning squad.

That gesture of affection earned him a round of applause from everyone present. Today the club, along with Roma fans everywhere, would like to take a moment to applaud his memory once again.