In 1994, 10 years to the day that AS Roma lost the European Cup final to Liverpool, the former club captain Agostino di Bartolomei took his own life.
“It is a remarkably sad story of this figure who seemed to be revered – not just in Rome – but in Italian football as a bastion of manhood and a particularly intelligent, resolute leader,” said Kay, speaking on Tuesday's Off The Ball.
A figure beloved by the Giallorossi fans, Di Bartolomei was not your classic footballer. This was a man who valued stillness in the aftermath of an historic title victory with Roma and listed artist Giorgio de Chirico as his idol.
The majority of players who represent Roma in the present day will not use the club’s 1984 defeat as a source of motivation to beat Liverpool on Wednesday night. Miracles are the order of the day and fans will be praying for a repeat of their miraculous quarter-final victory over Barcelona in the same venue.
Progress appears unlikely and European glory still looks to be a mirage in the eyes of Giallorossi supporters. But few men in the colour of red and yellow came closer to grasping ‘Big Ears’ than Di Bartolomei did in front of his own in 1984.
After a goalless period of extra-time with the scores level at 1-1, Di Bartolomei fired the first penalty past the ‘jelly legs’ of Bruce Grobbelaar, and for a moment, Roma fans were allowed to be swept away with the thought of ending their night celebrating in the fountains of their beloved city.
But Di Bartolomei watched teammates Bruno Conti and Francesco Graziani miss their efforts as his European dream and his time with his hometown club came to an end.
Di Bartolomei left for AC Milan in the summer months, much to the fury of Roma fans, as Italy’s capital club looked to rebuild under the guidance of former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
A transfer to Milan brought little joy to Di Bartolomei, who spent three trophy less years with the Rossoneri before announcing his retirement in 1990 after finishing his career in relative obscurity with Cesena and Salernitana.
But it was on May 30, 1994, when Di Bartolomei walked onto the terrace of his villa in San Marco di Castellabate and took his own life with a gunshot, that the correlation between sporting failures and mental well-being struck an uncomfortable chord.
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