Bologna and Italy icon Bulgarelli dies

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Italian football is mourning the loss of "a real gentleman of football" after former Azzurri and Bologna FC midfield player Giacomo Bulgarelli died aged 68. He had been suffering from a long-term illness.

'Figurehead'
"He was an extraordinary player, a fantastic midfield schemer with great skills and a good sense of where the goal was. I don't think there are many players like him now," said AC Milan legend José Altafini, who worked alongside Bulgarelli as a television pundit. "He was also great off the pitch as he was a figurehead for footballers throughout his career. He was a terrific servant of the game."

'An icon'
Bulgarelli won 29 caps for Italy, representing the side at the 1962 and 1966 FIFA World Cups, and he was a member of the squad that claimed the 1968 UEFA European Championship. Yet it is his association with Bologna for which Bulgarelli will perhaps be most remembered, the one-club man making 392 appearances for Rossoblu, scoring 43 goals, in a career that spanned 16 years. "Our thoughts are with the family of Giacomo, an icon in the history of Bologna FC," the club said in a statement.

'Great loss'
Born in Medicana on the outskirts of Bologna, Bulgarelli captained the side to their seventh – and as yet last Scudetto – in 1964, the title race famously going down to a play-off against FC Internazionale Milano which the Rossoblu won 2-0. He hung up his boots in 1975 and went on to work as a television commentator. "We have lost a real gentleman of football, a stalwart," said Italian Football Federation president Giancarlo Abete. "He remained close to his beloved Bologna for his entire career and was a principal character in the Italian national team for years, including the group of great champions that won the European Championships in 1968. It's a great loss for Italian football."


Source: UEFA