One is immediately struck by his gaze and calm voice, both reminiscent of someone who has lived through a vast array of treasured moments.

Anyone who has spoken with Renato Serafini will know how proud he is of his origins, his relationship with his family and how aware and grateful he is for what he has achieved in life.

These achievements were often the result of major sacrifices.

Having become a football player for Fitzroy at a young age, Serafini never abandoned his other passion; continuing to teach thousands of students throughout his career.

"I have to thank my parents for sending me to a good school to get a good education," he revealed.

"It’s so important.

“[My parents] taught us manners and the work ethic to work hard.”

Renato's parents came from Baronara and Crosaro, two small towns not far from Marostica, Veneto.

His father, born in 1916, spent ten years of his youth enlisted in the ranks of the Italian Army.

After the 1943 armistice, along with many others, he was interned in a prison camp in Germany.

“He didn’t speak about the war, he never mentioned it,” Serafini recounted.

"He always said, ‘no child of mine will have a gun, because I carried one for ten years’.

“Then when the war ended, he and a few friends had to walk back."

Later, due to a lack of work, Serafini senior was pushed to emigrate to Belgium as there was work in the mines.

Then, to Buenos Aires along with a large group of fellow countrymen.

After an economic crisis hit Argentina, however, he returned to Italy.

In 1952, he decided, together with his wife and eldest son Giancarlo, to move to Australia.

It was in Australia, shortly after their arrival, that Renato was born.

The three Serafini brothers - Lorenzo, Giancarlo and Renato - with a Brisbane Lions guernsey from their 2003 premiership winning season

The first few years were a struggle, but they passed quickly.

"When my parents arrived in Melbourne, they all lived together in one house on Charles Street in Carlton [with another family]," the former player recounted.

"One day I took my children there and we all said, ‘wow! How small is this house’.

“I remember how, in those years, we all slept top to toe [heads on opposite ends]!”

After a few years of living in Carlton and Fitzroy North, the Serafini family moved to Myrtleford, as Serafini senior got a job at a tobacco plantation near Wangaratta.

During his schooling, Serafini’s parents decided to return to Italy for a few months with their youngest son, Lorenzo (Laurie, who himself played 146 games for Fitzroy).

They left Renato and older brother, Giancarlo, in Australia to not interrupt their education.

The boys were enrolled at Assumption College in Kilmore.

"There were no Italians there,” Serafini recalled.

“I always promoted the Italian side.

“I took one boy to have his first pizza in the city, he couldn’t believe how good it was.”

Going to an elite school took some getting used to for the two boys.

“We had to learn to tie our own ties and get used to wearing a uniform every day," said Serafini.

It was during these years that the Serafini boys distinguished themselves both academically and, more notably, athletically.

“I think I tried harder because I was from an Italian background. I wanted to do well,” said Serafini.

And do well he certainly did.

While he was still attending Year 12, Serafini was recruited by the Fitzroy Football Club, giving him a chance to participate in the last two games of the VFL season.

"For me, [school] sport saved me because it took away the homesickness," revealed Serafini who played for Fitzroy from 1971 to 1977, then Carlton from 1977-78.

From left to right: Renato, Lorenzo (Laurie) and Giancarlo (Carlo)

Serafini continued to pursue a career outside the world of sport, becoming a primary school teacher who often passed on lessons from the football field to his students.

On the footy field one learns to have respect for the opposition, respect for the rules of the game and the importance of cooperation with others.

"Sport in Australia is held in relatively high regard. I firmly believe that, especially at a young age, it can be used as an outlet and a tool for social support," the former teacher concluded.