Fans' advice taken as three legends enter Hall of Fame

After the unilateral decision to induct Francesco Totti into the Roma Hall of Fame – the day after his 786th and final game for the club – as the sole member of the Class of 2017, this year the club decided to take the advice of the fans in selecting the Class of 2018.

In Taccola, Volk and De Micheli, the club’s Hall of Fame now contains 15 of the 16 players highlighted by the Curva Sud in one of the most famous pre-match tifos in Roma history – the ‘Figli di Roma, Capitani and Bandiere’ (‘Sons of Rome, captains and icons’) design that was unveiled before the Derby della Capitale in January 2015.

The other player depicted, Daniele De Rossi, continues to play for the Giallorossi and is thus not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration.

The decision to honour the three players was announced by Hall of Fame members Roberto Falcao and Bruno Conti on Tuesday night, as they presented Totti with his Hall of Fame shirt prior to the Champions League game against Real Madrid.

“Now every one of the retired players in your amazing choreography is included in our Hall of Fame,” Conti told the Curva Sud.

“Today we induct an unforgettable full-back who was both Roman and a Romanista, the first great centre-forward in our history and another brilliant forward who remains beloved by all of us.”

As Falcao added: “Joining us in the Hall of Fame: Mario De Micheli, Rodolfo Volk and Giuliano Taccola!”

The three players will make up the official Class of 2018, and brings the total number of members to 31. The Hall of Fame was introduced in 2012.

“We take particular pride in this annual decision, as we do in all the activities that help remember and relive the memories and history of this club,” said chief executive Mauro Baldissoni.

“In the case of Taccola, Volk and De Micheli, our deliberations were linked to the recent past. All of us remember the moment when, ahead of the derby in January 2015, the Curva Sud unveiled a display that highlighted 16 captains and leaders from throughout our history; men that Roma fans both lived through and felt represented by.

“That display instantly became on of the most iconic images in the history of our fans. For that reason it seemed logical that we should take the fans’ advice, and make sure those players selected by them all had a place in our Hall of Fame.”

Taccola, a prolific goalscorer in his time, tragically passed away just two years after signing for the Giallorossi - still in the prime of his career. Yet he made a big impression in that time, scoring 18 goals in just 41 appearances for the club.

Volk, with a 106 goals for the club, was perhaps its first true star player - a vital factor in the club's early years who remains high in the list of the club's all-time leading goalscorers.

De Micheli, meanwhile, may well have been the first great defender in the club's history after making his debut 1928 - a man who remains immortalised as a line in one of the Curva Sud's most common chants.