10 facts about Falcao's first game for the club

14 September 1980: a landmark day for the Giallorossi – the day that Paulo Roberto Falcao ran out on the pitch for the club for the first time.

The game took place in Como, at the Stadio Sinigaglia – the start of a glittering club career that would see the brilliant Brazilian etch his name firmly into the club’s history.

Forty years on, here are 10 things to know about that afternoon…

1. A little bit before the game kicked off, Don Giovanni Lanfranconi – priest at the church nearest to the Sinigaglia – blessed both the players and the pitch. Perhaps it was a sign for Falcao, who would go on to be known as ‘Il Divino’ (‘The Divine One’) by supporters.

2. Here are the 10 other Roma players who started the game alongside Falcao: Tancredi, Spinosi, Maggiora, Turone, Romano, Conti, Di Bartolomei, Pruzzo, Ancelotti, Amenta. Francesco Rocca came on later.

3. The only other player making his debut for Roma that day was Vincenzo Romano. An appropriate surname, perhaps, but the defender only lasted one season with the Giallorossi – making 30 appearances in all competitions.

4. This was the first game of the 1980-81 season – and Como would mark the occasion by giving a top-flight debut to a young Pietro Vierchowod, a player who would end up helping Roma win the Scudetto in 1983 (his only season with the club).

5. This was also the first game where the side wore arguably one of the most iconic white away shirts in the club history – complete with the circular tricolore to signify the reigning Coppa Italia winners. The Giallorossi had won that title just a few months earlier against Torino, after a penalty shootout.

6. The game was decided by an own goal from Piero Volpi. Volpi would go on to be something of a familiar name to fans of Italian football – rising to become head of the medical department at Inter Milan in his post-playing days.

7. All the Italian newspapers - Corriere dello Sport, Il Messaggero, Il Tempo, Paese Sera – were full of praise for Falcao’s debut display in Italy, all of them giving him a 7.5 rating in the following day’s match reports.

8. About 2000 Roma fans followed the club to Como, with the away section seeing the usual Olimpico banner raised by the famous Commando Ultra Curva Sud (CUCS) group. This was unusual for most away games for the group – who often substituted the usual longer home banner for one reading ‘Ultra Roma’ at away games.

9. Falcao’s impact on the side, from a mental perspective too, was clear almost immediately. The Brazilian acknowledged as much himself years later, saying: “Speaking with some of my teammates [that day], I got the sense that they were happy enough to settle for an away draw on the opening day. I made it clear we needed to make sure we won, that we couldn’t ever think like that.”

Coach Nils Liedholm shared that sentiment, at half-time coming in and telling teammates to make sure Falcao got on the ball as much as possible. “He shouldn’t touch it four times, he should touch it 400 or more,” he said. And it worked – Roma winning 1-0 in the end.

10. The referee that day was Alberto Michelotti, from Parma. The same referee who, eight years earlier, oversaw the famous Roma-Inter game where fans invaded the pitch after Michelotti awarded a penalty to the opposition.

Many years later, Michelotti spoke about that game: “I’m still sure it was a penalty. The Roma president, Gaetano Anzalone, was crucial in getting me out of that situation – he helped me get back to Parma. I took the coastal road back – I couldn’t take the motorway, there was the risk fans would be there at the toll booth.”