A striker for US Fiumana
Icilio Zuliani celebrated a spectacular debut in the Divisione Nazionale, the highest Italian football league at the time, on 1 November 1928. The 19-year-old scored two goals in a 4-0 win for his team, Union Sportiva Fiumana, against Reggiana. The club was the sporting flagship of Fiume, now Rijeka in Croatia.
Icilio Zuliani was born in 1909 in the harbour town, which had belonged to Italy since 1924. He was a sportsman through and through, but his passion was football. His debut was followed by six more games in the first division. In 1929/30, US Fiumana competed in the second and then only in the third division. The speedy striker "Ici" nevertheless remained loyal to his club. He played a total of 120 games for Fiumana until 1937 and scored 47 goals. His main job was as an accountant for an energy supply company. He made no secret of his socialist convictions, which is why he was temporarily imprisoned in 1942/43. After Italy's capitulation, German troops occupied Fiume in autumn 1943.
Icilio Zuliani coordinated the supply of clothing and food to the local partisans in his home town. The Gestapo arrested and deported him to Dachau concentration camp in April 1944. He was sent to Buchenwald in mid-December 1944. From there, the SS sent him to the construction sites in the
