The story of Rolf Buddle reads like a movie script, as an ordinary moment during a football match turned into an adventure lasting a full 11 years. The event began on August 24, 2004, when he traveled from Switzerland to Milan to support his beloved team, FC Basel, in a Champions League qualifying match against Inter. Shortly before the end of the game, the 59-year-old left the stands to go to the restroom at San Siro Stadium. However, he got lost in the stadium corridors, exited through the wrong gate, and could no longer find the return bus.
Without a phone and with only a little money in his pocket, he made an unusual decision: to stay in Milan. For the 11 years that followed, he lived as a homeless person in the Baggio neighborhood, where he became known to the locals as "Rudy." According to accounts, the local community took care of him, and he later shared that he had enjoyed that life, free from the pressures he had previously experienced in an institution in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, back in his homeland, Swiss authorities declared him dead in 2011 after searches yielded no results. The truth came to light in October 2015 when "Rudy" broke his leg and was taken to a hospital in Italy. During identification, authorities discovered he was the long-missing person, causing astonishment both in Italy and Switzerland.
Subsequently, Swiss authorities organized his return to his homeland, where he rejoined the Dietisberg community, now in his 70s. Buddle himself admitted that "ten years were enough" and that, although he had experienced a unique period in Italy, he now values the security and care he finds in his own country.