Romano of San Lorenzo, with the Giallorossi he won two Italian Cups and an Anglo-Italian one, but the feat for which he will be remembered remains that ball blocked at O Rei in a friendly match with Santos in ’72: Pelé gave him the shirt
Alberto Ginulfi, goalkeeper of Roma between the mid-sixties and mid-seventies, and then of Verona and Fiorentina, has passed away at the age of eighty-one. Raised in the yellow and red youth sector, he who was Roman from the San Lorenzo district, linked a large part of his career to his favorite team: a privilege that Ginulfi was able to repay with commitment, with a spirit of sacrifice at the service of the group and, above all , with courage.
ginulfi courageous and reserved
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Yes, because Ginulfi was a courageous goalkeeper, he didn’t stay all the time in the middle of the posts waiting for the opponents’ shots: he often came out, with a high grip or between the feet of the attackers who came towards him, and thus showed that he had guts and conveyed confidence to the whole team. He had learned tenacity and the cult of work as a boy when, before trying his luck in football, he went to sell fish with his aunt at the market stall. He knew fatigue and knew it was a necessary ingredient for success. His Roma was not yet part of the Gotha of Italian football: between the 1960s and 1970s, despite the signing of the Magician Helenio Herrera, he often sailed in mid-table. However Ginulfi took away the satisfaction of winning the Italian Cup twice and the Anglo-Italian Tournament once. Medals that he willingly exhibited because they represented the prize of an entire career. In the national team he was closed by great numbers one like Albertosi and Zoff, there was no space and he, always very reserved, never complained about it: he recognized the value of others and applauded them as an authentic sportsman.
the magic moment of ginulfi
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His greatest joy, apart from the trophies raised in the sky, remains linked to a friendly match. Friendly upscale, though. Yes, because the legendary Santos led by Pele even went down to the Olimpico. It was March 3, 1972. And he, the great Ginulfi, saved a penalty against the immense O Rei. The chronicles of the time tell that the goalkeeper hypnotized the greatest footballer in the world by staring into his eyes and not giving him time to choose the right angle for the serve. A feat to be framed. At the end of the game, after shaking his hand for the save (only two other goalkeepers had succeeded in a similar feat), Pelé went to the Roma locker room and gave Ginulfi his shirt. He kept it until the last day as a gift of fate, and it’s nice to imagine that now, up there in the clouds, he can wear it and fly from one pole to another as he did when he was young to protect the treasure of his great love : Rome.
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