Arcadio Venturi at 92: I was born with Roma

“I was born with Roma,” says Arcadio Venturi.

The legendary Giallorossi captain turns 92 today – just two years younger than AS Roma itself. A member of the club’s Hall of Fame since 2016, Venturi – a midfielder with a license to get forward during his playing days – is still blessed with a wonderful memory.

“If you like, I can tell you all the restaurants I used to eat at in Rome in 1948. I used to pay 300 lire for a meal.”

Venturi has a wealth of memories spanning his life and career, making this an interview like no other. Born on 18 May 1929, he’s one of the last people alive who played for Roma in the aftermath of the Second World War, after all.

He may have been born in Vignola, near Modena, but there’s no doubt that Venturi is one of us.

A proper Romanista.

Not least because he wore the Giallorossi shirt for nine seasons, between 1948 and 1957, making 290 appearances and scoring 18 goals along the way.

Being a Roma player

"When you’re a Roma player, you’re a Roma player for life. After Roma I joined Inter, and later worked for Juventus and Bologna, and I can assure you that there’s nowhere quite like Rome. Nowhere compares to Rome. Not even Genoa, despite the similarities.

"The passion in Rome doesn’t exist anywhere else. That bond with the club is embedded deep inside of the people.”

Venturi the player

"I used to sit in front of the defence. I was a deep-lying midfielder. I would have been the most technically gifted of the midfielders. I was the one who got the team playing.”

His most recent victory

"I’ve been quite ill, but I’m getting better. I’ve had coronavirus. I’m better now. It was hard.”

Arcadio Venturi and Arcadio Ghiggia

"I gave Alcides an earful. I didn’t want him to name his son Arcadio [Ghiggia did this as a sign of affection for Venturi, who was a great help to Ghiggia when he joined Roma]. It’s a strange name."

The legendary sporting director, Vincenzo Biancone

"Vincenzo Biancone always gave us advice. He was a great sporting director. In 1951, when I wanted to get a [Fiat] Topolino, I was worried that Biancone wouldn’t let me. Instead, he asked me what model it was. If it had been one of the sport models, he wouldn’t have let me. He was a father figure.”

The money in the sport

"We used to get 25,000 lire per point. That was a lot of money. In terms of the salary, living in a city with over 500,000 inhabitants, we earned 100 or 105,000 lire. To give you an idea, it was around 70,000 lire at Bologna. There were caps imposed by the FA. I would have done better playing in Serie A today… You could put a little something aside at the end of your playing career, but it wasn’t enough. You had to carry on working."

Saturday's derby win

"Of course I saw the last derby. We won even though I wasn’t expecting us to, because our opponents were very strong this year. Roma have played some good football, but they’ve been lacking something this season. I like the coach. Now [Jose] Mourinho is coming in. He’s a coach worthy of Roma – a leader."

His bond with Roma

"I keep in regular contact with the club, as does my son Maurizio. I’ve donated everything I had to Roma, even my kit from the Helsinki Olympics. I’m happy with that because I know that the club will put everything into a museum. Even my old contracts. That way, my grandchildren will be able to continue to see my name.

"Roma do something for their former players that no other club does – they reserve a seat at the stadium for them and a guest. All I have to do is call them the Friday before the game. I have to pay for a ticket at the other clubs I played for!"