Roma mourns historic goalkeeper Luciano Tessari, dead at 98

Luciano Tessari, Roma's historic goalkeeper and assistant to Nils Liedholm during the 1982–83 Scudetto season, has died at 98.

Luciano Tessari, a cornerstone of AS Roma's history across six decades, has passed away at the age of 98. The legendary goalkeeper joined Roma from Verona in 1950 and made 63 appearances before retiring in 1958. After hanging up his gloves, Tessari returned to the club in a coaching capacity, managing the youth academy and later the first team, winning the Coppa Armando Picchi in 1971.

Tessari's most celebrated chapter came when Nils Liedholm returned to Roma's bench in 1979. As Liedholm's assistant, Tessari was instrumental in the club's greatest era, winning the Serie A title in 1982–83, three Coppa Italia trophies, and reaching the European Cup final.

Bruno Conti, who trained under Tessari as a youth player and later won the Scudetto alongside him, paid tribute on Instagram, writing: "You coached me as a boy in the representative team, until we found ourselves at Roma winning a Scudetto. Thank you Luciano for your advice and for what you taught me alongside the Baron."

AS Roma released an official statement mourning the loss of "a piece of our history, a man who left his mark on the Giallorossi family." Tessari remained connected to the club throughout his life, attending the 2018 derby victory at the Olimpico to celebrate his 90th birthday.