Romeo Menti was an Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player.

Born at Vicenza

Vicenza

Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

, Menti debuted in his city's Serie C

Serie C

The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico , commonly known as Lega Pro , is the governing body that runs the third and fourth highest football divisions in Italy, the Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione respectively. It also includes the sole professional club of San Marino...

 club in 1935, in the same stadium

Stadio Romeo Menti

Stadio Romeo Menti is the name of three stadiums in Italy:* Stadio Romeo Menti * Stadio Romeo Menti * Stadio Romeo Menti...

 that was to be dedicated to him a few years later.

His older brothers Mario Menti and Umberto Menti

Umberto Menti

Umberto Menti was an Italian professional football player and coach.His older brother Mario Menti, younger brother Romeo Menti and nephew Luigi Menti all played football professionally, with Romeo representing Italy...

 and nephew Luigi Menti (son of Mario) all played football professionally, with Umberto playing for Juventus F.C.

Juventus F.C.

Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...

, S.S.C. Napoli

S.S.C. Napoli

Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....

 and A.C. Milan

A.C. Milan

Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...

. To distinguish them, Mario was known as Menti I, Umberto as Menti II, Romeo as Menti III, and Luigi as Menti IV. In some sources, Mario was ignored and Umberto and Romeo were listed as Menti I and Menti II respectively.

In 1938 he was sold to Fiorentina, where he played for three seasons before moving to Torino FC. His abilities became evident also with national team

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

, for which he received 5 caps with 7 goals.

Menti played for the then almost unbeatable Torino FC (dubbed Grande Torino, "Great Torino") until his death, with the exception of the 1945-46 season, when he played again for Fiorentina. Menti died in 1949 with almost his entire team in the Superga air disaster

Superga air disaster

The Superga air disaster took place on Wednesday, 4 May 1949, when a plane carrying almost the entire Torino A.C. football squad, popularly known as Il Grande Torino, crashed into the hill of Superga near Turin killing all 31 aboard including 18 players, club officials, journalists accompanying the...

, after scoring the last goal of "Grande Torino" in Lisboa.