Historic XI: When Losi became 'Core de Roma'

We take a look back at the starting line-up on another notable day in club history...

Roma’s 3-2 win over Sampdoria on 8 January 1961 is one of those games that will remain in the hearts and minds of Giallorossi fans forever.

One of those games that simply matters, despite there not being a trophy on the line and regardless of its effect on the overall outcome of the season.

It was one of those victories that felt different – almost unexpected, snatched from the jaws of defeat when all seemed lost. It was a match when everything that could go wrong, did: injuries, the scoreline and even the weather.

Roma had taken the lead through Francisco Lojacono at the start of the second half, but Samp equalised through Ernesto Cucchiaroni before going ahead courtesy of a goal from Sergio Brighenti.

Yet Alfredo Foni’s Roma side didn’t give up – instead, they hit back immediately through Pedro Manfredini, who found the net to make it 2-2.

Soon afterwards, Giacomo Losi – the Roma captain – appeared to pull up with a muscle injury. Yet he remained on the field of play, despite the pain, because Egidio Guarnacci had already been forced off with an injury of his own. Losi took up a position on the wing, where the team could carry him. But in reality, far from being simple damage limitation, Losi’s new enforced position proved to be a stroke of genius.

Lojacano took a corner from the right. Losi was there waiting, in the heart of the penalty box. He jumped into the air, waiting for his head to connect with the ball, closing his eyes as the pain grew. It caught the Doria defence off-guard – Losi was going to score.

Sure enough, as if in a dream, the ball hit the back of the net and Roma went on to win the game.

It was Losi’s first-ever goal for the Giallorossi.

He would score just one more, in 455 appearances for the club.

It was in that 3-2 win over Sampdoria, in 8 January 1961, that Losi became the 'Core de Roma' – the Heart of Rome.

Born in Soncino, in Lombardy, Losi had secured his place in the hearts of the Roma fans and in the collective memory of the Eternal City. The television presenter Walter Chiari is credited with coming up with the nickname, a few days before the clash with Sampdoria.

Introducing the defender on an episode of L’oggetto misterioso, Chiari said: “Here he is, er Core de Roma, Giacomo Losi!”

Here are the 11 stars of that historic match.

Fabio Cudicini: A talented, agile goalkeeper, he won a Coppa Italia and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup with Roma. Cudicini was eventually forced to leave the club at the request of coach Oronzo Pugliese. “I left this city in tears,” he said later. “I got on well with everyone, but I had a particularly good relationship with Giacomo Losi. Our wives were friends too and we’d often spend time together. We both lived in Monte Mario and our kids went to the same school. Giacomo was the captain. His bond with the club rubbed off on the other players.” Cudicini made 210 appearances of the club in total.

Alfio Fontana: A solid full-back who held down a starting spot between 1960 and 1964. Scored just one league goal for Roma, against AC Milan – the team he’d joined from. It just goes to show that it’s not just us that former players come back to haunt… He made 164 appearances for the club, scoring two goals.

Luigi Giuliano: A good midfielder signed by president Renato Sacerdoti from Torino in 1954, when Jesse Carver was the Giallorossi coach. Giuliano stayed at Roma for eight years, but had bad luck with injuries. Scored in a derby, but it wasn’t enough for the Giallorossi to avoid defeat. He scored 11 goals in 161 appearances for the club.

Paolo Pestrin: A central midfielder who was good at building the play and providing cover. Pestrin had a nose for goal too, at least during his time for Roma. He scored in the second leg of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final against Birmingham City, as Roma beat the English side 2-0. He made 230 appearances for the club, scoring 23 goals.

Giacomo Losi: Third in the list of players with the most appearances for Roma in all competitions. Without Francesco Totti (786) and Daniele De Rossi (616), his 455 appearances for the club would have made him the Giallorossi’s all-time appearance maker since the club’s foundation in 1927. “Records are there to be broken and I’m pleased to have Francesco and Daniele ahead of me,” Losi once said. The Core de Roma scored two goals for the club in his 455 appearances.

Egidio Guarnacci: The midfielder was compared by Rai commentator Sandro Ciotti to Attilio Ferraris, with Ciotti describing him as a “world-class midfielder”. Guarnacci sustained a serious knee injury in the game against Sampdoria on 8 January 1961. He made 147 appearances for the club, scoring five goals.

Alberto Orlando: A versatile forward, Orlando was known for his deep love of Roma. “I adapted to an unfamiliar position for Roma,” he later said. “I was a centre-forward, but the arrival of Manfredini and the decline of Ghiggia forced me to move out to the right wing. I’m a son of Roma. Roma taught me everything. Romanità is a wonderful thing. Roma is everything.” He scored 42 goals in 177 appearances for the club.

Francisco Ramon Lojacono: A striker with great technical ability, Lojacono was born in Argentine but became a naturalised Italian. He joined Roma in 1960 and had an instant impact, scoring five goals in his first six appearances for the Giallorossi. He would finish up at Roma with an average of nearly one goal every two games. In total, he scored 36 goals in 74 appearances for the club, contributing to the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup triumph in 1961.

Pedro Waldemar Manfredini: An atypical No.9, Manfredini was pacey and loved the one-on-ones, but he was a generous player too. With 104 goals in 164 competitive appearances for the club, he’s Roma’s fifth-highest scorer after Francesco Totti, Roberto Pruzzo, Amedeo Amadei and Rodolfo Volk. Manfredini’s goals per game ratio is an impressive 0.63 goals per game, bettered only by Volk (0.66) and Enrique Guaita (0.68).

Juan Alberto Schiaffino: Recognised as one of the all-time greats, and not just in Uruguay – he was part of the Maracanazo that saw Uruguay pip Brazil to the World Cup in 1950. He played for AC Milan and Roma in Italy, joining the Giallorossi towards the end of his career. He brought experience which benefited the young players around him, including one Giancarlo De Sisti: “All I can say is that he was one of the most important people in my professional development. He always showed his class, both on and off the pitch. The thing I admired the most about him was his humility. He’d turn up for training in his [Fiat] Seicento or even on the bus.” Schiaffino scored three goals in 47 games for Roma.

Arne Selmosson: The Swedish forward was the first player to score in the Rome derby for both Roma and Lazio. Many years later, Aleksandar Kolarov would emulate this feat. He scored 33 goals in 101 matches for Roma.