Marco Bollesan passed the ball. He was 79, he was the most iconic captain in the history of Italian rugby. Third central line, born in Chioggia but Genoese by adoption: a lion, a warrior who in recent seasons – guest of a structure in Bogliasco, on the outskirts of the Ligurian capital – has fought for a long time and has never given up: not even at Covid, which he had overcome in the past summer. “I have more (sutures) in my body than can fit in a suit,” he used to say. Forty-seven appearances in the national team, when he wore the blue jersey for a few times in an entire season, leader of that unlikely and courageous band that in ’72 was the protagonist of the first, true international tour in Rhodesia and South Africa with the success of the Leopards, the national team black South African.
A champion “revered” by the world of rugby
Two championships won with Brescia and Partenope Napoli, the shirt of Cus Milano and Amatori Milano, but his team has always been only one: Cus Genova, who welcomed him as a teenager and rebel tearing him from the alleys of the corner (” barrel: if it hadn’t been for rugby, who knows where I would have ended up “) and with which he touched the title of Italian champion three times, mocked at the last by Petrarca Padova. And then coach of the national team protagonist of the best edition of the World Cup ever: that of 1987, with the quarter-finals touched despite a group with New Zealand, Argentina and Fiji. Coach of several Italian clubs (Milan, Livorno, Alghero, Cus Genova) in which he brought the enthusiasm for a sport of which he was the absolute interpreter, almost “venerated” by those who stood by him and came after him. Serie A, B or C: the important thing was the battle, and a beer in the third half with the “friends” who had challenged him. “The henchman face and the lion head”, wrote Giorgio Cimbrico of him.
Rugby, Massimo Cuttitta has died: 70 times national, crushed by Covid at the age of 54
by Massimo Calandri
April 11, 2021-
The historic clash with “le Mongol”
His debut in blue in 1963 in Grénoble was historic, against a France that seemed to be from another planet but the very young Bollesan put all his proverbial courage into it, earning the respect of a legend of the time, Michael Crauste known as ‘le Mongol’, a giant with a drooping mustache that broke an eyebrow at the first melee but Marco – after the umpteenth stitches – returned the blow: that day, remembered by all as the MalaPasqua, Italy lost by only 2 points, winning the respect of the noblemen opponents. Genoa was as proud of its champion as it is of Eraldo Pizzo, the Caimano of water polo: the two, great friends, have always been united as a great sporting example. His name is included in the Walk of Fame of Italian sportsmen, at the Foro Italico. Gabriele Remaggi, rugby player and journalist who also died, had written an extraordinary biography: “One destination after another. Of life and rugby”. Widower, two daughters who adored him and were close to him in this long ordeal that he faced head-on, as he always did on the pitch.
The condolences of Innocenti, president Fir
“For the rugby players of my generation, for anyone who practiced the sport between the 60s and the 80s, but also for those who came after Marco Bollesan he was an example, the epitome of the brave rugby player, the symbol of a Game where mud, sweat and blood represented the best honorific titles. He contributed to making rugby known in our country well before the professional revolution of 1996, embodying the spirit of Italian rugby for over two decades and also covering in the years following his retirement from the field a series of strategic roles for the Federation. We will be eternally grateful to him for his extraordinary contribution and I, in particular, will always carry in my heart his teachings and the honor that he recognized me by assigning me, as Technical Commissioner, the degrees of captain of the National team during its management. We are close to the daughters Miride and Marella and to all his family. The Italian rugby has lost one of its favorite sons “, he declares to the President of FIR, Marzio Innocenti, expressing the condolences of the Federation.
Funerals in Boccadasse
He is gone to a few hours from Massimo Cuttitta, 54, another blue champion killed yesterday by Covid. The funeral of the Captain will take place tomorrow at 11.30 in the Boccadasse church, facing the sea and a bay where only 13 years ago Bollesan threw himself into the raging waves to save some drifting boats, fracturing his right arm: “It’s nonsense. , I don’t even feel the pain “, he smiled as always. The pain, on the other hand, remains unbearable in all those who have known and loved it.
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