Attilio Ferraris and Giovanni Degni, two key figures of Roma's early years

Much more than a team-mate, first and foremost, Giovanni Degni was Attilio Ferraris’s friend.

They were both midfielders who were born and raised in Rome with unmistakable attributes.

They were also quite similar, not so much in terms of technical ability on the pitch, but rather their facial features and even hairstyles. They were both part of the founding of Roma in 1927.

Degni even kicked off the club’s first ever game, a 2-0 win over Livorno at the Motovelodromo Appio.

Ferraris was perhaps the real man of firsts, however, as Roma’s maiden captain and the club’s first representative in the Italy national team.

“My grandfather, however, might have beaten him to it,” Degni's grandson, Stefano says.

On the anniversary of Ferraris' birth, 26 March 1904, we spoke to Stefano to learn a little more behind the relationship between the two men.

Stefano grew up watching the action at Campo Testaccio from his balcony and worked in the transport industry. He did not get to meet Ferraris, given that he was born in 1957, but he did get a feel for the individual through Giovanni’s plethora of stories.

Above all, he celebrated him.

“We would pay tribute to him and my grandfather every time we went to Verano Cemetery to see the family vault,” he said.

How did you pay tribute to him?

“Attilio’s monument – and I say that because it’s more than just a tomb – isn’t far from our family vault. It’s in the same section at Verano Cemetery. We used to go there often, at least once a week. I was six or seven years old.

"When we were there, my grandfather would get me to leave a yellow and a red flower each time, right under his epitaph: ‘Attilio Ferrari, world champion’. I remember it perfectly. It was a family ritual that we performed until I was around 14.”

What else do you remember?

“There were always so many people there. Going to see Ferraris was something that so many people did, above all Roma fans. My grandfather always stayed on his own so that he wouldn’t get recognised. He wanted to pay tribute to him every time, he cared about him as a friend, but he never put himself in the front line.

"My grandfather experienced life at Roma as a player and also coached the club soon after we won the Scudetto in 1942. He wasn’t just anyone. He wanted his relationship with Ferraris to remain very personal.”

When did their relationship begin?

“Around 1918-1919 when they met at Fortitudo. Still today I have a photo of the two of them with Silvio Sensi, Franco’s father. When you see it, the two players look very similar.”

So much so that a Milan defender got them mixed up during a match, resulting in the first red card in Roma’s history, which was shown to Giovanni Degni on 27 October 1929.

“That’s how it played out. A Milan player went in very hard on him at one point during the game in an unnecessary way. Roma were behind at the time and went on to lose 3-1. The player was convinced that he’d fouled Ferraris, but eventually realised his mistake and said to Degni. ‘Sorry, I thought you were Ferraris.’ My grandfather replied, ‘Oh really. This is from Attilio himself,’ and socked him in the head, which warranted a red card.”

Degni was close to being the first Roma player in the national team.

“This was another case of my grandfather’s temperament getting the better of him. At the time, the core of the national team was made up of players who played in the north at clubs like Ambrosiana, Milan, Juventus and Genoa.

"My grandfather was very quick, the fastest in Italy, and he wore boots with reinforced material around the toes. His pace led to him having a trial with the national team. The problem was that the other players either didn’t pass him the ball or they played it too far in front of or behind him.

When a training match finished, Giovanni went up to some of them and said, ‘Guys, I’m quick but give me a chance of getting to the ball.’ One of them replied, ‘Get out of here, Terrone (a derogatory term for those from the south of Italy).’ Grandpa reacted badly and went so far as to say to the coach, ‘If these players make up the Italy team, I can’t play here.’ The coach responded, ‘You see, Degni, you should’ve come to me to complain and not acted on your own accord.’ Grandpa didn’t fit in there and he didn’t like losing.”

How did he react when Attilio passed away at the age of 43?

“It was something that he always carried with him. He often told me about the loss of his friend. It remained one of the painful sport-related incidents that he never shook off. The other was the Grande Torino tragedy.”

What did Giovanni think about the rivalry with Lazio?

“I’ll tell you a story about that. Grandpa stopped playing football at an early age due to some physical ailments and he had to leave Roma. In order not to leave the city, on the advice of an insistent friend, he went for a trial with the other team. He played for half an hour, but did very badly.

"He put on a white kit, which wasn’t even the official one, but that’s as far as it went with those colours. Grandpa was Roma through and through.”