Volpato’s father, Oscar, who lives in Sydney’s north-west, was cheering for his son on the other side of the globe.
“Cristian’s doing very well; he’s in the first 11,” Oscar said with pride.
“He’s number 10 for the U19 Roma team.”
Volpato is being managed by Francesco Totti, who has been instrumental in at assisting the young soccer player to establish his life in Italy, even helping him to find a home.
“Cristian is the only reason Totti went to the Roma vs Inter game, because he was told that he was going to debut,” Oscar said.
“Totti hadn’t been to the Stadio Olimpico for two years.”
Totti, who has been described as a “phenomenon” by current Ballon D’Or recipient Lionel Messi, has billed Volpato as a “future champion”.
After Volpato’s debut on Sunday, the young player began to attract attention from Roma fans.
“Cristian’s phone was in meltdown,” Oscar said.
“Everyone knows him in Rome.”
Oscar also received copious phone calls and messages from people congratulating him on his son’s success.
After Sunday’s game, Oscar spoke with his son, who described his debut.
“He said to me: ‘Dad, when I was on the sideline ready to go in, the noise and the atmosphere were unbelievable. All I remember was running onto the field, looking to my right, and seeing a sea of people and flags that just kept going into the sky – I couldn’t see the end of it!’,” Oscar recounted.
Having been overlooked by both Sydney FC and the Western Sydney Wanderers in Australia, Volpato knows the value of his role with AS Roma.
“They tell him all the time that there are 300,000 kids that want his spot,” Oscar said.
Such a high-profile sport comes with a variety of pressures, but Volpato’s father reports that his son is handling everything well.
Both the Italian and Australian representative teams have shown interest in Volpato, who was named in the U19 Azzurri team.
For now Volpato’s commitments lie with AS Roma, who Oscar describes as “very friendly and respectful” people who look after his son well.
“We’re over the moon,” Oscar enthused.
