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The date is 15 March 1931.
Roma v Juventus.
An event in its own right, as well as battle for top spot.
It’s been a year and a half since the opening of Campo Testaccio, located in the working-class neighbourhood in the heart of the capital, and Roma’s record so far there reads 21 wins, four draws and two defeats from 27 games.
The Giallorossi’s first defeat at Testaccio came just over a year ago, at the hands of none other than Juventus. Indeed, in five previous attempts against Juventus, Roma have managed just one draw and four defeats. But that hoodoo is about to end.
The mood music is very different this time, as Hurbert Burgess’ Giallorossi run out 5-0 winners over Juventus with Nicola Italo Lombardo, Rodolfo Volk, Fulvio Bernardini (2) and Cesare Augusto Fasanelli scoring the goals.
The match is so memorable that the director Mario Bonnard immortalises it in a film, entitled simply “5-0”.
Below is the Roma line-up on that historic day, listed in the same order the names appear in the famous “Canzona di Testaccio” ('The Song of Testaccio').
Guido Masetti: The Roma goalkeeper of the first title win in 1942 and a Roma manager in subsequent seasons. A World Cup winner with Italy on two successive occasions (1934, 1938). Born in Verona, but a Rome man through and through. 364 appearances.
Mario De Micheli: Nicknamed “Er faciolaro” – a reference to his family’s fruit and veg business – De Micheli was a tough, battling defender. His derby performances were legendary. 75 appearances.
Renato Bodini: “And then there was Bodini the bull – with the great Furvio Bernardini – schooling the Argentines,” as the song goes. A solid full-back, Bodini joined Roma from Cremonese and quickly established himself as a key player. 143 games, three goals.
Fulvio Bernardini: A brilliant midfielder, a true talent and a symbol of Romanismo. It was no coincidence that his was one of the 16 faces displayed by the Curva Sud in the famous “Sons of Rome, captains and icons” display ahead of a Roma v Lazio game in 2015. 303 appearances, 47 goals.
Attilio Ferraris: The first of them all. The first captain of Roma. The first Roma player to represent Italy. A hard-working, versatile midfielder, his grave in Verano reads: “Attilio Ferraris, world champion.” It was a feat he achieved in 1934. 231 appearances and four goals from Roma.
Arturo Chini Luduena: Holds the honour of being the first-ever foreign player to play for Roma. A quick striker with great feet. 181 appearances, 63 goals.
Cesare Augusto Fasanelli: The second player to score a goal for Roma in the club’s first-ever competitive match. Luigi Ziroli and he were the scorers that day, at the Motovelodromo Appio, as Roma got off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory over Livorno. It was just the beginning. 184 appearances, 69 goals.
Raffaele Costantino: A right-winger of notable technical ability combined with impressive substance. Signed from Bari, Costantino’s assists were the perfect complement to the finishing prowess of Volk. 161 appearances, 43 goals.
Nicolas Italo Lombardo: A midfielder whose game reached new heights in the company of greats like Bernardini and Ferraris, earning him the appreciation of the fans. A skilful player when it came to building the play, Lombardo’s passing was often masterful. 49 appearances, nine goals.
Raffaele D’Aquino: Signed from Novara on the say-so of Renato Sacerdoti, D’Aquino established himself as a midfielder of some pedigree at Roma. A very popular figure in the dressing room. 199 appearances, two goals.
Rodolfo Volk: The first great Roma goalscorer. The first No. 9 to get the Roma fans dreaming with his goals. “I don’t think, I shoot” was his football philosophy. He scored the winner in the first-ever derby too, a 1-0 victory in 1929. “Volk is a goal wizard,” as the lyrics of Canzona di Testaccio go. 161 appearances, 106 goals.
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