Roma icon Daniele De Rossi put on a complex disguise so he could watch the Derby della Capitale in the Curva Sud – and filmed the experience.
De Rossi quit as a Roma player in May after 18 years playing for his hometown team, briefly turning out for Argentine giants Boca Juniors before announcing his retirement from the game earlier this month.
In want of a new experience, the former midfielder decided to watch the side he captained between 2017 to 2019 as nothing but a normal fan.
To achieve this, De Rossi had to be in disguise and employed a make-up artist to transform him into a regular ultra for the day.
His wife, Sarah Felberbaum and an actress helped with the preparations.
“This is what happens when your husband decides to infiltrate the Curva Sud to make his dream come true of watching the derby! We spent a whole afternoon on this, hours of make-up, traumatised the kids, but he was as happy as a child. (I love you)” she said.
The World Cup winner watched his team draw 1-1 with Lazio, ending the Aquile’s run of 11 consecutive Serie A victories.
The 36-year-old won little in his time at Roma, lifting the Italian Cup in 2007 and 2008, but was an integral part of teams that came to within one game of beating Inter Milan to the Serie A title in 2008 and 2010.
He made 616 appearances and is the second most capped AS Roma player after Francesco Totti.
12 Notable Things About De Rossi
1) Daniele De Rossi was born in Rome, Italy on 24 July 1983.
2) De Rossi is a product of A.S. Roma’s youth system where his father, former professional player Alberto De Rossi is a coach. He began his career playing as a striker until being switched to the holding midfield role, a position he played till the end of his career.
3) In October 2001 Rossi made his first team debut for Roma in a Champions League match with Belgian side Anderlecht. He did not make his Serie A debut until May 2003 in a game with against Calcio Como.
4) Rossi received his first senior international call-up in a 2006 World Cup qualifier with Norway when he was 21-years-old. He scored on his debut and went on to be part of the Italian World Cup winning side in 2006.
5) De Rossi’s World Cup was fueled with controversy, as a player, he was known for his bad temper and during a match with the USA, De Rossi received a straight red for a vicious elbow on Brian McBride. After serving a four-match ban, he came on in the final and scored a vital penalty in the shoot-out with France, helping Italy lift the trophy.
6) De Rossi made 117 appearances for Italy and registered 21 goals.
7) De Rossi has a tattoo on his leg of a mocked-up triangular “hazard” sign of a tackle being performed, reflecting his tough-tackling reputation.
8) In 2006, he was praised by referee Mauro Bergonzi for admitting he handled the ball into the back of the net during a match with Messina. Roma were already 1-0 down and the referee had given the goal before De Rossi admitted his fault. Still, nothing bad came of it as Roma went on to win the match 2-1.
9) In 2009 De Rossi won the prestigious Italian Player of the Year award.
10) He married Tamara Pisnoli on 18 May 2006, the mother of his daughter Gaia and ex-dancer of Mediaset, Sarabanda. The couple separated in early 2009. On 26 December 2015, De Rossi married current partner, English-born Italian actress and model Sarah Felberbaum, in a private ceremony in the Maldives; the couple had been in a relationship since 2011, and together have a daughter Olivia Rose and son Noah.
11) De Rossi has played in 616 matches for Roma, second on the all-time appearance list to Francesco Totti. He also scored 63 times.
12) On 6 January 2020, De Rossi announced his retirement from professional football citing family reasons for his decision.
