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Not every museum jersey arrives with a handshake. The one from Salvatore “Totò” Perugini, for instance, came after a feud, a rekindled friendship and one of the best pranks in Italian rugby history. Telling the story at the Scampata di Malamocco is Corrado Mattoccia, founder of the Fango e Sudore museum.
The refused jersey
It all starts at an Italy training camp. Mattoccia asks the prop for a jersey and gets an answer that sticks with him:
Who are you to have one of my jerseys?
A small cold war follows. Perugini was Fabio Ongaro’s business partner in a restaurant in Parma, and whenever Mattoccia went to dinner at Ongaro’s, the partner would vanish into the kitchen rather than face him. An attempt to clear the air over dinner, set up by a mutual friend, falls through. Mattoccia replies by text, in decidedly undiplomatic terms.
Ongaro and Bergamasco’s prank
Then comes the 2007 World Cup in France, and with it the friends’ revenge. Ongaro and Mauro Bergamasco get hold of Perugini’s phone and swap the contacts: Ongaro’s number is saved under Mattoccia’s name. For the whole tournament, that “Mattoccia” bombards Perugini with insults and relentless demands for the jersey.
The best part is that Mattoccia knew nothing. In Marseille he waited for the Italy bus to say hello, and Perugini stepped off convinced he was face to face with his tormentor, phone in hand, ready to show him the latest messages.
How did the Perugini–Mattoccia feud end?
With peace. In the end the pranksters had to own up, and the tension eased little by little. The final reconciliation came at a birthday party for Mauro Bergamasco, with the whole Italy squad around the table. Today Perugini and Mattoccia are friends, and the prop has left the museum the ten most important jerseys of his career.
A story that says a lot about rugby: you argue, you wind each other up, and in the end you are on the same side.
Read also
- Fango e Sudore museum: the jerseys that tell Italy’s rugby story
- Edwards, Pienaar, McCaw: rugby’s legendary jerseys
- Scampata di Malamocco: Italy’s most incredible third half
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DANPAT Rugby