Rodolfo Volk (Sometimes

italianized Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 85 m ...

in ''Rodolfo Folchi'') (born 14 January 1906 in

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primorj ...

– died 2 October 1983 in

Nemi Nemi is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome (central Italy), in the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Nemi, a volcanic crater lake. It is northwest of Velletri and about southeast of Rome. The town's name derives from the Lati ...

) was an Italian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Volk is regarded as one of the most prolific goalscorers in history of

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

and is remembered as the club's first goalscorer in an official match. As of May 2020 he is the fourth best goalscorer in Roma's history, having scored 103 goals in 157 league appearances. In 2018, he was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame.

Career

Volk was born in

in 1906 and began to play football for U.S. Fiumana, the team of his city; he was known to be a powerful striker. He played a non-official match with

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

under the fake surname of ''Bolteni'', this was because he was serving in the military, and was not permitted to do any other activity. In 1928 he was signed up by the newly formed Italian club

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

and became one of its most important players during the 1920s and the 1930s. He was the first official goalscorer in Campo Testaccio, the club's first ever stadium. Playing a total of 150 games with the ''Giallorossi'', he scored 103 goals for the club, and scored the first goal in the first ever

Derby della Capitale The Derby della Capitale ( en, Derby of the capital city), also known as Derby Capitolino and Derby del Cupolone, as well as The Rome Derby in English and Derby di Roma in Italian, is the football local derby in Rome, Italy, between Lazio and R ...

, a 1–0 victory against cross-city rivals

S.S. Lazio Società Sportiva Lazio (; ; ''Lazio Sport Club''), commonly referred to as Lazio, is an Italian professional sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, plays in the Serie A and have spen ...

in 1929. During the 1930–31 season, he was the Serie A top-scorer with 29 goals in 33 games, helping Roma to finish as runners-up in the league. He left Roma in 1933, due to personal problems with

Enrique Guaita Enrique Guaita (; 11 July 1910 – 18 May 1959), also known as Enrico Guaita (), was an Italian Argentine footballer who played for both Argentina and Italy as a forward. He helped win the 1933-35 Central European International Cup & the World ...

and Elvio Banchero, and was signed up by

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ...

Personal life

Rodolfo Volk was born in 1906 in the Adriatic port city of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

), to an ethnic Slovene family. The meaning of his family name Volk in Slovene is

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

, a symbol of the club Roma where he spent his most prolific playing days and is considered a club legend. During the interwar period and the fascist state policy of forced

italianization Italianization ( it, italianizzazione; hr, talijanizacija; french: italianisation; sl, poitaljančevanje; german: Italianisierung; el, Ιταλοποίηση) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or a ...

he was known under the italianized name of Rodolfo Foschi (or Folchi). In 1934 his first wife Giovanna died prematurely. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he and his second wife Maria, together with his two sons, were forced to leave Rijeka and were eventually settled in a refugee camp in

Laterina Laterina is a '' frazione'' of Laterina Pergine Valdarno in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about northwest of Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Ar ...

. Later in life he moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and made a living with the help of a number of low-paying jobs. Volk died, on the night between 2 and 3 October 1983, impoverished and forgotten in a nursery home in a small town of

Honours

Club

;Fiumana *

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega ...

(1): 1940–41

Individual

* Serie A Top-scorer: 1930–31 (29 goals) *

A.S. Roma Hall of Fame This is a list of A.S. Roma players who have been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. A.S. Roma's Hall of Fame has been launched in 2012 as part of the initiatives for the club's 85th anniversary. Exceptionally for the starting 2012 Class, e ...

: 2018

References

External links

Rodolfo Volk's Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volk, Rodolfo 1906 births 1983 deaths U.S. Fiumana players HNK Rijeka players A.S. Roma players Pisa S.C. players Italian footballers Footballers from Rijeka Italian people of Slovene descent Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Association football forwards World War II refugees