Agostino Di Bartolomei włoski piłkarz. His passes were long, and perfect. Agostino Di Bartolomei italiensk fodboldspiller. They were a mere three points short of third place and qualification for the UEFA Cup. He always ran with great elegance, with his head up.” Some years later, the Liverpool scouting report ahead of that fateful Rome final would concur, detailing that he “dictates the play from the centre of the field. Thirty-three league games later, he returned to the Italian capital a more rounded player and ready to contribute to the club. He was a standard-bearer, a leader of men. Moments of exaltation mixing freely with others spent in sad reflection of errors made or chances missed can be a toxic and highly volatile cocktail. Latest. In such circumstances, with the weight of pressure hanging heavily on their shoulders, lesser players, lesser men, would wilt. It’s rarely the case however that the absolute zenith and nadir of a career can occur at almost one and the same time. Nils Liedholm had led the club for four seasons in the mid-seventies, but his second coming would be much more productive. On 30 May 1994, precisely ten years to the day after the defeat in the European Cup Final, Agostino di Bartolomei walked onto the balcony of his villa in San Marco di Castellabate, pointed a pistol at his heart and ended the pain. The Giallorossi retained the Coppa Italia though, again defeating Torino in a penalty competition, but only after a Di Batolomei penalty had squared the scores in the second leg in Turin. There he spent three years and earned the nickname of Sant’ Agostino (Saint Agostino) because of his reluctance to go out and party, despite the city’s famous night spots. ( Log Out /  It was these qualities that endeared him to the Roma fans, particularly those in the Curva Sud, who idolised him through song. Many years later, Riccardo Viola, a Roma director and son of the club’s late president Dino Viola revealed, on the Italian TV station, Mediaset Premium, that indeed things were not as they should have been. Di Bartolomei had become subdued and melancholic. The captain was compelled to watch as, after he had converted his spot-kick, both Conti and Graziani failed and Liverpool lifted the trophy. Up to this point, Roma had appeared comfortable, if not in total command. For one particular player, that may have been a significant understatement. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Two late German goals were the slenderest of compensations. The summer of 1980 saw a significant strengthening of the club’s squad, with the arrival of the Brazilian playmaker Falcão. He was told that the club to which he had dedicated so much didn’t require his services anymore. The Turin club had defeated Di Bartolomei’s team in both league encounters by 2-1 score lines, but across the season, the Giallorossi won out and Agostino Di Bartolomei became only the second ever captain of AS Roma to hold the Serie A trophy aloft, sending the club into their first ever European Cup journey. Instead, defeat marked the beginning of the end. It had been a declaration of intend by the Roma skipper though. Roma had messed up their date with history and no one felt this more than their captain. […] READ ‘Ciao Capitano: the Life and Tragic Death of Roma Legend Agostino di Bartolomei’ […], […] Read ‘Ciao Capitano: The Life and Tragic Death of Roma Legend Ago Di Bartolomei […], […] READ ‘Ciao Capitano: The Life and Tragic Death of Roma Legend Ago di Bartolomei’ […], […] Agostino Di Bartolomei and Graeme Souness exchanging […]. For the next half-hour or so, Roma pressed with Di Bartolomei at the centre of every Roma move. Games won or lost. AGOSTINO DI BARTOLOMEI. It’s a reasonable stance, but to favour steel over silk, artisan over artist, feels somewhat ascetic at the very least. Unsurprisingly nothing came of it. He was lauded by the tiffosi on the Curva Sud, not only for his play, but almost as their representative on the field of play and, under the new manager, things would take off, as trophies began to find their way into the Giallorossi’s welcoming arms with increasingly impressive regularity. For Di Bartolomei however, that descent may have begun much earlier than retirement, when his world was shattered into shards that sliced deep into his spirit during in the weeks between late May and the end of June 1984. Agostino di Bartolomei Yes he scored his release but the English side took the title by winning the penalty for 2-4. For Agostino Di Bartolomei, captain of AS Roma at the time, some would argue that is precisely what happened on the penultimate day of May 1984, when his club faced Liverpool in the European Cup Final staged at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. A tragic end to the life of a man of few words but many achievements. What a sad story. The bald score line of 3-0 to the home team, thus overturning the deficit from the first leg and moving to the final, hardly covers the back story. Cool and calculating he probed the opposition and prompted his team-mates, jealously protecting possession and looking to instigate attacks whenever possible. Some versions go as far to suggest that Di Bartolomei pinned Falcao to the wall, such was his anger at the Brazilian’s defection when his club needed him most. With a full half-hour still to play, Roma were on the ropes and another strike would leave them with a mountain to climb. Despite having home advantage and a team comprising the likes of Falcao, Cerezo and Bruno Conti, as well as the imperious Di Bartolomei himself, the Giallorossi lost a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw. Just a dozen minutes later with the Scots pressing and the crowd calmouring for more goals, Derek Stark hit a speculative shot from distance that appeared to deceive Tancredi to find the net. This page provides you with information about the stadium of the selected club. A banner displayed on the Curva Sud at the game spoke for many, proclaiming that, “They took away your Rome, not your curve!” It was a clear message that the fans too were against the move and would always hold a place in their hearts for their Roman hero. His talent was apparent from an early age to anyone who bothered to look. Now entering the peak years of his powers, Di Bartolomei was both tactically astute and versatile. At the time, it seemed that this was a sign of Di Bartolomei’s maturity and realisation that he wouldn’t be able to go on playing if he spent his time in nightclubs. An opportunity to take possession from his defence and initiate moves tapped into his game knowledge and tactical acumen. Agostino Di Bartolomei doesn’t belong to the past but to the future. The fans took umbrage to the rejection, protesting against the decision and creating a huge banner with the slogan: ‘Ti Hanno Tolto La Roma Ma Non La Tua Curva’ – ‘They’ve Taken Roma Away From You But Not Your Curva’. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Only smart thinking by Hamish McAlpine, hurrying from his goal to boot clear saved the day. If they could notch another goal, Roma would need to score at least four times; something they had failed to do even once in the first leg. Two eighth place Serie A finishes were followed by one four rungs lower on the league ladder. Soon, however, the first of those was taken away. Agostino Di Bartolomei – Diba o Ago per la curva Sud – sembrava essere l’unico a rimanere imperturbabile sotto il peso di quel frastuono che, soffocato da una spessa coltre di fumogeni, arrivava deformato alle orecchie. It’s an impossible question to answer. Press Esc to cancel. Jim McLean’s team had shaken up the Old Firm dominance of Scottish football by winning the title the previous season and had reached the heady heights of the tournament’s final four after scrambling past Rapid Wien on the away goals rule. Another astute pass from the captain to Chierico saw the midfielder cross for Graziana to thump a header against the bar and over. He would never regain the form so regularly displayed in the eternal City, but nothing is forever, not even in Rome. You can get a copy here. It just kept increasing the pressure. Vautrot was allegedly advised to take dinner at a particular restaurant ahead of the day of the game. 1:56. I didn’t feel he was right down the middle. Rarely has victory seemed more improbable. The more the years go by, the more evident it becomes that the world of football was simply not ready to comprehend the depth of a man like Agostino Di Bartolomei. Related articles. A loan he had been pursuing to assuage some of his debts had been refused, and a suicide note said “I feel locked inside a hole. In a coquettish flutter of her eyelashes, fate offered a glimpse of glory to Roma when Nichol fired his first penalty over the bar. Join Facebook to connect with Agostino Di Bartolomei and others you may know. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. “Oh Agostino, Ago, Ago, Agostino Gol”, they would bellow. For Agostino Di Bartolomei, captain of AS Roma at the time, some would argue that is precisely what happened on the penultimate day of May 1984, when his club faced Liverpool in the European Cup Final staged at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. Agostino Di Bartolomei italiensk fotbollsspelare. Could a defeat in a game of football, perhaps added to a perceived loss to an injustice, create an ever-deepening cloud of depression that, in the end, simply becomes too heavy a burden, crushing even the strongest of spirits with its all-enveloping pain? The ball was rolled back to him and he fired in a shot from inside his own half, but Grobbelaar was alert and comfortably caught the audacious attempt. A cross into the box caused uncharacteristic panic in the usually well marshalled defence. L'ultima partita, 2000: t.p. His career fizzled out at Cesena and Salernitana, after which no one seemed to want to know about him. That didn’t bother Di Bartolomei. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Whether suffering from the pressure or not, Graziani copied Conti’s effort, clipping the bar in its errant flight the ball sailed off into the Rome night, and while Liverpool rejoiced in anticipation, Roma, and Di Bartolomei feared the worst as the sands of hope slipped through their fingers. He could have delivered performances in a number of positions for the club, ranging from a back-line sweeper, through the Regista role he would make his own, producing the template for later similar players such as Pirlo, to midfield playmaker. Having endured the loss of a potential ‘double’ triumph snatched away in the most dubious of circumstances, Agostino di Bartolomei now experienced defeat in the ‘game of his life’ as a contested goal, and then the heartbreak of a penalty shootout doomed Roma to the bridesmaid’s role once again. Ago lives on when we speak of him and in the example he set for us. The other semi-final would be between Liverpool and Dinamo Bucureşti of Rumania. When the breakthrough came however, just three minutes after the restart, it was Dundee who went ahead. Divided and united: The paradoxical politics of the Rome Derby, The 10 most controversial transfers in Serie A history, Juventus vs. Roma (1983): A titanic tussle between ruthless rivals – The Gentleman Ultra, Ciao Capitano: The life and tragic death of Roma legend Ago di Bartolomei – Soccerlit, Roma vs. Dundee United (1984): Hatred and hostility in the European Cup – The Gentleman Ultra, Rome 1984: Running the gauntlet with a looted dream – The Gentleman Ultra. This would be the cover for a sum of 100mlillion lire being handed over. If Falcão was now the attacking creative brain of the team Di Bartolomei was its heart, beating out the rhythm of play and pumping passes through the arteries of the Giallorossi. In the following season, Roma climbed to second spot in Serie A, losing out to Juventus by a couple of points, on the back of the hotly disputed defeat in Turin, and the gol di Turone controversy. Di Bartolomei was never one to let things he did not like pass. Rarely has the final of Europe’s elite competition been played in front of such a partisan crowd. Di Bartolomei moved to AC Milan, a club then recovering from the Totonero betting scandal that had seen them relegated to the Serie B. Fate can be a cruel mistress though, and after Neal had buried his penalty, Conti reprised the effort by Nichol and fired his kick too high. This was until he could stand those thoughts no more. It was a rapid promotion and, in truth, one that probably came a little too early. Four years later, he made his first team debut and, after a season spent at Vicenza to gain experience, he returned to cement his place in Roma’s first team.