Bologna and Italy icon Bulgarelli dies

Italian football is mourning the loss of "a real gentleman of football" after former Azzurri and Bologna FC midfield player Giacomo Bulgarelli died aged 68. He had been suffering from a long-term illness.

'Figurehead'
"He was an extraordinary player, a fantastic midfield schemer with great skills and a good sense of where the goal was. I don't think there are many players like him now," said AC Milan legend José Altafini, who worked alongside Bulgarelli as a television pundit. "He was also great off the pitch as he was a figurehead for footballers throughout his career. He was a terrific servant of the game."

'An icon'
Bulgarelli won 29 caps for Italy, representing the side at the 1962 and 1966 FIFA World Cups, and he was a member of the squad that claimed the 1968 UEFA European Championship. Yet it is his association with Bologna for which Bulgarelli will perhaps be most remembered, the one-club man making 392 appearances for Rossoblu, scoring 43 goals, in a career that spanned 16 years. "Our thoughts are with the family of Giacomo, an icon in the history of Bologna FC," the club said in a statement.

'Great loss'
Born in Medicana on the outskirts of Bologna, Bulgarelli captained the side to their seventh – and as yet last Scudetto – in 1964, the title race famously going down to a play-off against FC Internazionale Milano which the Rossoblu won 2-0. He hung up his boots in 1975 and went on to work as a television commentator. "We have lost a real gentleman of football, a stalwart," said Italian Football Federation president Giancarlo Abete. "He remained close to his beloved Bologna for his entire career and was a principal character in the Italian national team for years, including the group of great champions that won the European Championships in 1968. It's a great loss for Italian football."