Born on April 1 in the province of Genoa, there was little to indicate to anyone that Roberto Pruzzo was different to any other infant brought into the world on that All Fools Day. However, 20 years later the tricks and jokes would be played on the defences of Serie A as he embarked on a career which would ultimately make him Roma’s all-time leading scorer – a record that stood until he was usurped by Francesco Totti last season – and a legendary fans’ favourite still spoken of on the Curva Sud today.
“It was an honour to keep this record for all these years and to be in the hearts of the people for so long – now I am happy that Francesco will be my heir,” he stated. “The No 10 has the potential to be the best player Roma has ever had. Totti is a player who scores as a striker should, but he can play in midfield and as a trequartista too. I would say that his evolution is complete now.”
Pruzzo made his professional debut for Genoa in 1973 but, although he featured in 19 games that term, he was unable to find the net and the Rossoblu found themselves relegated. The following two campaigns would be vital for the Genovese striker as he learned his trade on the second rung of the Italian football ladder. His grounding in Serie B allowed him to make a phenomenal impact on his return to the top flight, hitting 18 goals in 1976-77, which was just under half of Genoa’s total tally.
Inevitably, his performances attracted attention from the bigger clubs and in 1978 he transferred to Roma, not before advances from Juventus had been seen at Marassi, in a then record transfer deal worth three billion lire. Over the following decade ‘Il Bomber’ rifled in 106 Serie A goals for the Giallorossi, taking the Capocannoniere crown three times – in 1980-81, ’81-82 and ’85-86. He also scored five goals in one Serie A match against Avellino during the 1985-86 term.
His feats were not all individual moments though. During his time in the Eternal City, I Lupi won their second Scudetto, lifted the Coppa Italia on four occasions and reached the European Cup Final – only a penalty shoot-out defeat cost him a winners’ medal in the continent’s top competition. He was also denied the chance to prove his worth for Italy, receiving just six caps at international level despite his prowess on the peninsula. Sharing his debut with Sampdoria Coach Walter Novellino, he made his Azzurri bow just after the 1978 World Cup, but could never get past the trio of Roberto Bettega, Paolo Rossi and Ciccio Graziani, while later on it was Alessandro Altobelli and Antonio Di Gennaro who were the regulars standing in his way.
His spell with Roma ended in 1989 when he switched to Fiorentina for one year, and following his retirement he took almost a decade out of the game before returning as a Coach at several lower League clubs including Viareggio, Teramo and Alessandria. For five days in the summer of 2002 he warmed the bench at Palermo – during the handover from Franco Sensi to Maurizio Zamparini – and most recently he has been assistant Coach at Sambenedettese. But his disappearance from the calcio stage has not dimmed his position in the eyes of Roma fans who still talk of his passion for the club and performances on the pitch – as well as his trademark goal celebration run underneath the fans in the Curva.
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