Italy: Mussolini’s great-grandson plays football for Lazio youth team

Rome: Romano Floriani Mussolini, the great-grandson of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, is playing football for the under-19 team of the Serie A club S.S. Lazio.

The 18-year-old, son of right-wing Italian politician Alessandra Mussolini, plays in the right-back position for the ‘Primavera’ sector and has aspirations for a future career as a professional footballer.

Romano, who is completing his final year at St George’s British International school in north Rome, plays under his full surname, Floriani Mussolini.

Rome newspaper Il Messaggero has suggested that his “cumbersome” surname could be problematic for a football club whose fans have long been stereotyped as right-wing.

However despite his name and family background, Romano has no interest in politics – according to his mother – who said that her son only thinks of football.