Romano Floriani Mussolini, the great-grandson of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, came off the bench to help Cremonese defeat Sassuolo 3-2 in his Serie A debut on Friday.
Introduced with eight minutes remaining, 22-year-old Floriani Mussolini earned the penalty from which Manuel de Luca struck the winner for the newly promoted side, who went top of the Serie A table with two wins in two matches.
The right-back, on loan from Lazio, was an unused substitute in Cremonese's 2-1 victory against AC Milan during their Serie A opener last week.
Too many things happened in too little time, I don't think I'll ever forget the night because I've always dreamed of making my debut in Serie A," said Floriani Mussolini. My goal was to make a difference and I'm happy that I managed to do that.
Floriani Mussolini wears the number 22 shirt at Cremonese and has 'Romano' on the back of his jersey. He came through the Lazio youth ranks but never made an appearance in the top flight for the Biancocelesti, having been loaned to lower division clubs.
He was sent out on loan to third-division side Pescara in 2023-24 and to Juve Stabia for the second division in the 2024-25 season. After scoring a winner against Cesena last December, some reports suggested that Juve Stabia supporters celebrated with fascist salutes, which were firmly denied by the club.
When joining Cremonese in the summer, Floriani Mussolini addressed his family's controversial legacy, stating, 'My surname bothers other people more than me.'
Benito Mussolini, his great-grandfather, was the founder of the National Fascist Party in Italy, leading the country from 1922 until his overthrow in 1943. He allied with Hitler during WWII and was captured and killed in 1945.
