Rodolfo Volk (Sometimes italianized in ''Rodolfo Folchi'') (14 January 1906 – 2 October 1983) 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 lea ...

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) ** Smal ...

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

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

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 A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

Career

Volk was born in

Fiume Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and in 2021 had a po ...

in 1906 and began to play football for

U.S. Fiumana Unione Sportiva Fiumana or U.S. Fiumana was an Italian football club based in the present-day Croatian city of Rijeka and the predecessor of HNK Rijeka. The club was active between 1926 and 1945, at the time when the city was part of the Kingdom ...

, 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 Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

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 Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: ) 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 exis ...

and became one of its most important players during the 1920s and the 1930s. He was the first official goalscorer in

Campo Testaccio Campo Testaccio was a multi-use stadium in Rome, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into th ...

, 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 (), 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 Association football, football local derby in Rome, Italy, between SS Lazio, Lazio and ...

, a 1–0 victory against cross-city rivals

S.S. Lazio (; ; ''Lazio Sport Club'') 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 spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian footba ...

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 Wo ...

and Elvio Banchero, and was signed up by

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) 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 the Leaning Tow ...

Personal life

Rodolfo Volk was born in 1906 in the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

port city of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(today

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

), 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 grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

, a symbol of the club Roma where he spent his most prolific playing days and is considered a club legend. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

and the fascist state policy of forced

Italianization Italianization ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or assimilation. It is also known for a process organized by the Kingdom of Italy to force cultural and ethnic assimilation of the nati ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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. The Romito di Laterina, the bridge in the background of the ''M ...

. Later in life he moved to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

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

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 ...

Honours

Fiumana *

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, 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 ...

: 1940–41 Individual * Serie A top scorer: 1930–31 (29 goals) * A.S. Roma Hall of Fame: 2018

References

External links

Rodolfo Volk's Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volk, Rodolfo 1906 births 1983 deaths US Fiumana players HNK Rijeka players AS Roma players Pisa SC players Italian men's footballers Footballers from Rijeka Italian people of Slovenian descent Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Men's association football forwards World War II refugees 20th-century Italian sportsmen