AS Roma

Roma

File:AS Roma.png
Full name	Associazione Sportiva Roma SpA
Nickname(s)	i Giallorossi (the Yellow-reds) La Magica (The Magic) i Lupi (the Wolves)
Founded	July 22, 1927 (by Italo Foschi)
Ground	Stadio Olimpico Rome, Italy
Capacity	72,700
President	Rosella Sensi
Head Coach	Luciano Spalletti
League	Serie A
2007–08	Serie A, 2nd
Home colours Away colours Third colours

File:ASRoma1927.jpg

Historic first ever Roma club shot.

Associazione Sportiva Roma, (BIT: ASR) commonly referred to as simply Roma, is an Italian professional football club from Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated at the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence bar one season in the early 1950s (in 1951-52). For their 57th season in a row, Roma are competing in Serie A for 2008–09.

Roma have won Serie A three times, first in 1941–42 then again in 1982–83 and 2000–01. As well as winning nine Coppa Italia trophies; on the European stage Roma won an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960–61, but have had come close to success finishing as runners-up in the European Cup in 1983–84 and the UEFA Cup in 1990–91. They are currently suffering from the fact that whereas Inter Milan has always been the better team of the two, Juventus and A.C. Milan are now back and have proven to be stronger than A.S. Roma. This demise of the Roman squad has lead to various commentaries regarding the standard of the referees in the Serie A. Except for Luciano Spalletti, Daniele de Rossi has been the most notable and bitter complainer, he claimed that the Scudetto for 07/08 was lost due to the referees helping Inter with penalties and offside goals and so forth.

Home games are played at the Stadio Olimpico, a stadium they share with rivals S.S. Lazio. With a capacity of over 72,700 it is the second largest of its kind in Italy, with only the San Siro able to seat more. Roma are the Coppa Italia holders, having won the 2007-08 trophy.

History

Main article: History of A.S. Roma

Associazione Sportiva Roma was founded in the summer of 1927 by Italo Foschi, who initiated the merger of three older Italian Football Championship clubs from the city of Rome; Roman, Alba-Audace and Fortitudo. The purpose of the merger, wanted by the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, was to give the Eternal City a strong club to rival that of the more dominant Northern Italian clubs of the time. The only major Roman club to resist the merger was Lazio who were already a well established sporting society.

The club played its earliest seasons at the Motovelodromo Appio stadium, before settling in the working-class streets of Testaccio, where it built an all-wooden ground Campo Testaccio; this was opened in November 1929. An early season in which Roma made a large mark was the 1930–31 championship, the club finished as runners-up behind Juventus. Captain Attilio Ferraris along with Guido Masetti, Fulvio Bernardini and Rodolfo Volk were highly important players during this period.

First title victory and decline

After a slump in league form and the departure of high key players, Roma eventually rebuilt their squad adding goalscorers such as the Argentine Enrique Guaita. Under the management of Luigi Barbesino, the Roman club came close to their first title in 1935–36; finishing just one point behind champions Bologna.

File:ASRoma1941-42.jpg

Serie A winners in 1941–42.

Roma returned to form after being inconsistent for much of the late 1930s; Roma recorded an unexpected title triumph in the 1941–42 season by winning their first ever scudetto title. The eighteen goals scored by local player Amedeo Amadei were essential to the Alfréd Schaffer coached Roma side winning the title. At the time Italy was involved in World War II and Roma were playing at the Stadio del Partito Nazionale Fascista.

In the years just after the war, Roma were unable to recapture their league stature from the early 1940s. Roma finished in the lower half of Serie A for five seasons in a row, before eventually succumbing to their only ever relegation to Serie B at the end of the 1950–51 season; around a decade after their championship victory. Under future national team manager Giuseppe Viani, promotion straight back up was achieved.

After returning to Serie A, Roma managed to stabilise themselves as a top half club again with players such as Egisto Pandolfini, Dino Da Costa and Dane Helge Bronée. Their best finish of this period was under the management of Englishman Jesse Carver, when in 1954–55 they finished as runners-up, after Udinese who originally finished second were relegated for corruption. Although Roma were unable to break into the top four during the following decade, they did achieve some measure of cup success. Their first honour outside of Italy was recorded in 1960–61 when Roma won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup by beating Birmingham City 4–2 in the finals. A few years later Roma won their first Coppa Italia trophy in 1963–64, by beating Torino 1–0. Their second Coppa Italia trophy was won in 1968–69 when it was competed in a small league like system. Giacomo Losi set a Roma appearance record during 1969 with 450 appearances in all competitions, the record he set would last for 38 years.

Time of mixed fortunes

File:Pruzzo 78-79.jpg

Pruzzo with Roma and a scudetto patch.

Roma were able to add another cup to their collection in 1972, with a 3–1 victory over Blackpool in the Anglo-Italian Cup. During much of the 1970s Roma's appearance in the top half of Serie A was sporadic. The best place the club were able to achieve during the decade was third in 1974–75. Notable players who turned out for the club during this period included midfielders Giancarlo De Sisti and Francesco Rocca.

The dawning of a newly successful era in Roma's footballing history was brought in with another Coppa Italia victory, they beat Torino on penalties to win the 1979–80 cup. Roma would reach heights in the league which they had not touched since the '40s by narrowly and controversially finishing as runners-up to Juventus in 1980–81. Former Milan player Nils Liedholm was the manager at the time, with prominent players such as Bruno Conti, Agostino Di Bartolomei, Roberto Pruzzo and Falcão.

The second scudetto did not elude Roma for much longer; in 1982–83 the Roman club won the title for the first time in 41 years, amidst joyous celebrations in the capital. The following season Roma finished as runners-up in Italy and collected a Coppa Italia title, they also finished as runners-up in the European Cup final of 1984. The European Cup final with Liverpool ended in a 1–1 draw with a goal from Pruzzo, but Roma eventually lost the penalty shoot-out. Roma's successful run in the 1980s would finish with a runners-up spot in 1985–86 and a Coppa Italia victory, beating out Sampdoria 3–2.

After that a comparative decline began in the league, one of the few league highs from the following period was a third place in 1987–88. At the start of the 1990s the club was involved in an all-Italian UEFA Cup final, where they lost 2–1 to Internazionale in 1991; the same season the club won its seventh Coppa Italia trophy and ended runners-up to Sampdoria in the Supercoppa Italiana. Aside from finishing runners-up to Torino in a Coppa Italia final, the rest of the decade was largely sub-par in the history of Roma; especially in the league where the highest they could manage was fourth in 1997–98.

In the new millennium

Roma returned to form in the 2000s, starting the decade in great style by winning their third ever Serie A title in 2000–01; the scudetto was won on the last day of the season by beating Parma 3–1, edging out Juventus by two points. The club's captain, Francesco Totti was a large reason for the title victory and he would become one of the main heroes in the club's history, going on to break several club records. Other important players during this period included Aldair, Cafu, Gabriel Batistuta and Vincenzo Montella.

Francesco Totti, current captain, with the 2007-08 Coppa Italia

The club attempted to defend the title in the following season but ended as runners-up to Juventus by just one point. This would be the start of Roma finishing as runners-up many times in both Serie A and Coppa Italia during the 2000s; they lost out 4–2 to Milan in the Coppa Italia final of 2003 and lost out to Milan again by finishing second in Serie A for the 2003–04 season.

A Serie A scandal was revealed during 2006 and Roma were one of the teams not involved; after punishments were handed out Roma was re-classified as runners-up for 2005–06; the same season in which they finished second in the Coppa Italia losing to Inter. In the two following seasons Roma finished as Serie A runners-up, meaning that in the 2000s Roma have finished in the top two positions more than any other decade in their history. Meanwhile in the UEFA Champions League during both of these seasons they reached the quarter-finals before going out to Manchester United. Despite the sloppy start in UEFA Champions League 2008–09, Roma managed to reach the knockout stage ahead of Chelsea in their group, thus finishing for the first time in their history as winners of the group stage. However, the giallorossi would lose to Arsenal F.C in the knockout stage on penalty kicks, ending their Champions League campaign.

Presidential history

Roma have had numerous presidents over the course of their history, some of which have been the owners of the club, others have been honorary presidents. Franco Sensi was the chairman until his death in 2008, with his daughter Rosella Sensi in place as honorary president. Here is a complete list of Roma presidents from 1927 until the present day.

Name Years Italo Foschi 1927–1928 Renato Sacerdoti 1928–1934 Vittorio Scialoja 1934–1936 Igino Bettini 1936–1941 Edgardo Bazzini 1941–1943 Pietro Baldassarre 1943–1949 Pier Carlo Restagno 1949–1952 Romolo Vaselli 1952 Pier Carlo Restagno Renato Sacerdoti 1952–1953 Renato Sacerdoti 1953–1958 Anacleto Gianni 1958–1962

Name Years Francesco Marini-Dettina 1962–1965 Franco Evangelisti 1965–1968 Francesco Ranucci 1968–1969 Alvaro Marchini 1969–1971 Gaetano Anzalone 1971–1979 Dino Viola 1979–1991 Flora Viola 1991 Giuseppe Ciarrapico 1991–1993 Ciro Di Martino 1993 Franco Sensi 1993–2008 Rosella Sensi 2008–

Managerial history

Main article: List of A.S. Roma managers

Roma have had many managers and trainers running the team during their history, here is a chronological list of them from 1927 onwards.

Name Nationality Years William Garbutt 1927–1929 Guido Baccani 1929–1930 Herbert Burgess 1930–1932 Lászlo Barr 1932–1933 Lajos Kovács 1933–1934 Luigi Barbesino 1934–1938 Guido Ara 1938–1939 Alfréd Schaffer 1939–1942 Géza Kertész 1942–1943 Guido Masetti 1943–1945 Giovanni Degni 1945–1947 Imre Senkey 1947–1948 Luigi Brunella 1948–1949 Fulvio Bernardini 1949–1950 Adolfo Baloncieri 1950 Pietro Serantoni 1950 Guido Masetti 1950–1951 Giuseppe Viani 1951–1953 Mario Varglien 1953–1954 Jesse Carver 1954–1956 György Sarosi 1956 Guido Masetti 1956–1957 Alec Stock 1957–1958 Gunnar Nordahl 1958–1959 György Sarosi 1959–1960 Alfredo Foni 1960–1961 Luis Carniglia 1961–1963 Naim Kryeziu 1963 Alfredo Foni 1963–1964

Name Nationality Years Luis Miró 1964–1965 Juan Carlos Lorenzo 1965–1966 Oronzo Pugliese 1966–1968 Helenio Herrera 1968–1970 Luciano Tessari 1970 Helenio Herrera 1971–1972 Tonino Trebiciani 1972–1973 Nils Liedholm 1974–1977 Gustavo Giagnoni 1978–1979 Ferruccio Valcareggi 1979–1980 Nils Liedholm 1980–1984 Sven-Göran Eriksson 1984–1986 Angelo Sormani 1986–1988 Nils Liedholm 1988 Luciano Spinosi 1988–1989 Gigi Radice 1989–1990 Ottavio Bianchi 1990–1992 Vujadin Boškov 1992–1993 Carlo Mazzone 1993–1996 Carlos Bianchi 1996 Nils Liedholm 1996 Ezio Sella 1996 Zdeněk Zeman 1997–1999 Fabio Capello 1999–2004 Cesare Prandelli 2004 Rudi Völler 2004 Luigi Del Neri 2004–2005 Bruno Conti 2005 Luciano Spalletti 2005–present

Players

Current squad

As of March 6, 2009

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
2	DF	ITA	Christian Panucci
3	DF	BRA	Cicinho
4	DF	BRA	Juan
5	DF	FRA	Philippe Mexès
7	MF	CHI	David Pizarro
8	MF	ITA	Alberto Aquilani
9	FW	MNE	Mirko Vučinić
10	FW	ITA	Francesco Totti (captain)
11	MF	BRA	Rodrigo Taddei
12	GK	ITA	Pietro Pipolo
13	DF	ITA	Marco Motta (on loan from Udinese)
14	MF	BRA	Filipe Gomes
15	DF	ITA	Simone Loria

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	MF	ITA	Daniele De Rossi (vice-captain)
17	DF	NOR	John Arne Riise
19	FW	BRA	Júlio Baptista
20	MF	ITA	Simone Perrotta
21	DF	MLI	Souleymane Diamoutene (on loan from Lecce)
22	DF	ITA	Max Tonetto
23	FW	ITA	Vincenzo Montella
24	FW	FRA	Jérémy Menez
25	GK	BRA	Artur
27	GK	BRA	Júlio Sérgio
32	GK	BRA	Doni
33	MF	ITA	Matteo Brighi
77	DF	ITA	Marco Cassetti

For all transfers events pertaining to Roma for the current season, please see: A.S. Roma 2008-09

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	ITA	Marco Andreolli (at Sassuolo Calcio)
—	DF	POR	Vitorino Antunes (at Lecce)
—	MF	GHA	Ahmed Barusso (at Siena)
—	MF	ITA	Aleandro Rosi (at Livorno)
—	MF	HON	Edgar Álvarez (at Pisa)
—	FW	ITA	Claudio Della Penna (at Pistoiese)
—	FW	ITA	Alessio Cerci (at Atalanta)
—	FW	ITA	Keivan Zarineh (at Paganese)
—	MF	FRA	Ricardo Faty (at Nantes)
—	FW	ITA	Simone Palermo (at Pistoiese)
—	FW	ITA	Mauro Esposito (at Chievo)
—	FW	ITA	Stefano Okaka Chuka (at Brescia)
—	MF	ITA	Valerio Virga (at Novara)

Non-playing staff

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Luciano Spalletti
Assistant Coach	Marco Domenichini
Goalkeeping Coach	Adriano Bonaiuti
Technical assistant	Aurelio Andreazzoli
Technical assistant	Daniele Baldini
Physical fitness Coach	Paolo Bertelli
Physical fitness Coach	Vito Scala
Physical fitness Coach	Luca Franceschini
Head of health staff	Stefano Del Signore
Masseur	Giorgio Rossi
Director for Referees	Vittorio Benedetti
Team Manager	Salvatore Scaglia

Last updated: 9 September 2008
Source: AS Roma Official Website

Retired numbers

Main article: Retired numbers in football

6 – Aldair, centre back, 1990–2003

Notable players

Main article: List of A.S. Roma players

For a list of all former and current Roma players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:A.S. Roma players.

Club statistics and records

Main article: A.S. Roma statistics and records

Historical A.S. Roma positions in Serie A

Francesco Totti holds Roma's official appearance record, having made 496 (as of March 2008) appearances in all competitions, over the course of 15 seasons from 1992 until the present day. He also holds the record for Serie A appearances with 388, as he passed Giacomo Losi on March 1, 2008, during a home match against Parma.

Including all competitions, Francesco Totti is the all-time leading goalscorer for Roma, with 188 goals since joining the club, 151 of which were scored in Serie A (another Roma record). Roberto Pruzzo, who was the all-time topscorer since 1988 comes in second in all competitions with 136. In the 1930–31 season, Rodolfo Volk scored 29 goals in Serie A over the course of a single season, not only was he the league's topscorer that year, but he set a Roma record for most goals scored in a season, which still lasts today.

The first ever official game participated in by Roma was in the Italian Football Championship of 1928–29, the predecessor of Serie A, against Livorno; Roma won 2–0. The biggest ever victory recorded by Roma was 9–0 against Cremonese during the Serie A season of 1929–30. The highest defeat Roma have ever suffered is 7–1, this has happened three times; first against Juventus during 1931–32, then against Torino in 1947–48 and most recently against Manchester United in 2006–07.

Colours, badge and nicknames

Roma's colours of maroon red with a golden yellow trim represents the traditional colours of the Eternal City, the official seal of the comuni features the same colours. The gold symbolizes God in Roman Catholicism, while the maroon represents imperial dignity. White shorts and black socks are usually worn with the maroon red shirt, however in particularly high key games the shorts and socks are the same colour as the home shirt.

File:ASRomaOldBadge.png

Roma's crest used since 1979 until 1997

The kit itself was originally worn by Roman Football Club; one of the three clubs who merged to form the current incarnation in 1927. Because of the colours they wear, Roma are often nicknamed i giallorossi meaning the yellow-reds. Roma's away kit is traditionally white, with a third kit changing colour from time to time.

Maybe because of modern sport marketing, the last few years have seen the golden trim and details substituted by light orange. Modern alternate kits have included all orange and orange-maroon versions.

A popular nickname for the club is i lupi (the wolves), the animal has always featured on the club's badge in different forms throughout their history. Currently the emblem of the team is the one which was used when the club was first founded. It portrays the female wolf with the two infant brothers Romulus and Remus, illustrating the myth of the creation of Rome, superimposed on a bipartite golden yellow over maroon red shield.

In the myth from which the club take their nickname and logo, the twins (sons of Mars and Rhea Silvia) are thrown into the River Tiber by their uncle Amulius, a she-wolf saved the twins and looked after them. Eventually the two twins took revenge on Amulius, before falling out themselves; Romulus killed Remus and as thus was made king of a new city named in his honour, Rome.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1970–1971	Lacoste	None
1972–1976	None
1977–1979	Adidas
1979–1980	Pouchain
1980–1981	Playground
1981–1982		Barilla (Pasta)
1982–1983	Patrick
1983–1986	Kappa
1986–1991	NR
1991–1994	Adidas
1994–1995	Asics	Nuova Tirrena (Insurance)
1995–1997		INA Assitalia (Insurance)
1997–2000	Diadora
2000–2002	Kappa
2002–2003		Mazda (Automobile)
2003–2005	Diadora
2005–2006		Banca Italease (Banking Group)
2006–2007		None
2007–	Kappa	WIND (Telecommunication)

Supporters and rivalries

Roma fans at the Stadio Olimpico.

Roma are the fifth most supported football club in Italy behind Juventus, Internazionale, Milan and Napoli with around 6% of Italian football fans supporting the club (according to the Doxa Institute-L'Expresso’s research of April 2006). Historically the largest section of Roma supporters in the city of Rome have come from the inner-city and south parts, which is the working-class area of the city, especially Testaccio.

The traditional ultras group of the club was the politically left-leaning Commando Ultrà Curva Sud commonly abbreviated as CUCS; this group was founded by the merger of many smallers groups and was considered one of the most historic in the history of European football. However, by the mid-1990s CUCS had been usurped by rival factions and ultimately broke up. Since that time, the Curva Sud of the Stadio Olimpico has been controlled by more right-wing groups; A.S. Roma Ultras, Boys, Giovinezza and others. The oldest group Fedayn is apolitical however and politics is not the raison d'être of Roma, just a part of their overall identity.

Stadio Olimpico during a Roma match

The club anthem and motto is La Roma non si discute, si ama by local singer Antonello Venditti. The title roughly means "Roma is not to be questioned, it is to be loved" and is sung before each match, the song Grazie Roma, by the same singer, is played at the end of victorious home games. Recently, the main riff of The White Stripes song Seven Nation Army has also become widely popular at games.

In Italian football Roma are a club with many rivalries; first and foremost is their rivalry with Lazio, the club who they share the Stadio Olimpico stadium with. The derby between the two is called the Derby della Capitale, it is amongst the most heated and emotional footballing rivalries in the world.

With Napoli, Roma also compete in the Derby del Sole rivalry meaning the "Derby of the Sun"; the two cities are within close proximity to each other and the two clubs are the most successful in Central and Southern Italy. The fans also consider Juventus, Milan and Internazionale amongst their rivals.

Hooliganism

• A Lazio fan, Vincenzo Paparelli, was killed at one of the derby games during the 1979–80 season after being hit in the eye by a flare thrown by a Roma fan.

• After the 1984 European Cup final, numerous Liverpool fans were stabbed in a night of violence after Roma lost on penalties. The trouble went largely unreported in the British media in an era when English hooliganism dominated the headlines.

• In February 2001, Fourteen Liverpool supporters suffered stab wounds in Rome before and after a Uefa Cup tie.

• In December 2001, when Liverpool returned to the Italian capital for a Champions League game, five more visiting fans were hospitalised after being knifed.

• The Rome derby in 2003, was called off after Roma ultras spread untrue rumours that a child had been killed by police during the game. The game was called off but there was trouble on the streets outside of the stadium, with battles between police and ultras in which 150 police officers were injured, as well as a number of tifosi; nobody was killed.

• In March 2006, three Middlesbrough supporters were stabbed and ten others injured the night before the club secured an aggregate Uefa Cup victory over Roma. Officials at the Riverside Stadium, who were urged by the Italian authorities to provide fans with detailed safety advice, described the policing of the game as a "cesspool of mismanagement".

• In December 2007, seven Manchester United supporters were taken to hospital before the Champions League match against AS Roma at the Olympic Stadium. Three of the seven suffered stab wounds to the "stomach and buttocks", according to local police, while the others were injured after being beaten and kicked.

• In March 2009, an Arsenal fan was attacked as a coach carrying supporters, who had travelled independently but had tickets, was attacked by a group of Roma "Ultras" just outside the Olympic Stadium. The coach's windows were smashed and at least one hooligan entered the vehicle, letting off a flare and "allegedly" stabbing a supporter in the knee.

Arsenal posted advice to their fans on how to avoid routes taken by Roma Ultras.

Honours

National titles

A mural of Francesco Totti painted after Roma's 2000–01 Serie A title victory, their third in total

Serie A:

• Champions (3): 1941–42; 1982–83; 2000–01
• Runners-up (11): 1930–31; 1935–36; 1954–55; 1980–81; 1983–84; 1985–86; 2001–02; 2003–04; 2005–06; 2006–07; 2007–08

Coppa Italia:

• Winners (9): 1963–64; 1968–69; 1979–80; 1980–81; 1983–84; 1985–86; 1990–91; 2006–07; 2007–08

• Runners-up (6): 1936–37; 1940–41; 1992–93; 2002–03; 2004–05; 2005–06

Supercoppa Italiana:

• Winners (2): 2001; 2007
• Runners-up (3): 1991; 2006; 2008;

Serie B:

• Winners (1): 1951–52

European titles

European Cup / UEFA Champions League:

• Runners-up (1): 1983–84

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup / UEFA Cup:

• Winners (1): 1960–61
• Runners-up (1): 1990–91

Anglo-Italian Cup:

• Winners (1): 1971–72

Anglo-Italian League Cup:

• Runners-up (1): 1969

Youth titles

Campionato Nazionale Primavera:

• Winner (6): 1972–73; 1973–74; 1977–78; 1983–84; 1989–90; 2004–05

Coppa Italia Primavera:

• Winner (3): 1973–74; 1974–75; 1993–94

Torneo di Viareggio:

• Winner (3): 1981; 1983; 1991
• Runners-up (7): 1950; 1957; 1978; 1985; 1989; 1992; 2007

Associazione Sportiva Roma as a company

Since 1999, during Franco Sensi's period in charge, Associazione Sportiva Roma has been a joint stock company. Currently Roma's shares are distributed between; 67.1% to Compagnia Italpetroli SpA (the Sensi family holding), 2.7% to Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, 2.5% to Danilo Coppola and 27.7% to other shareholders.

Along with Lazio and Juventus, i Lupi is one of only three Italian clubs quotated in Borsa Italiana (Italian stock exchange). According to The Football Money League published by consultants Deloitte, in the season 2005–06, Roma was the twelfth highest earning football club in the world with an estimated revenue of €127 million.

In April 2008, after months of speculation, George Soros was confirmed by Rosella Sensi, CEO of Italian Serie A association football club A.S. Roma, to be bidding for a takeover. The takeover bid was successively rejected by the Sensi family, who instead preferred to maintain the club's ownership. On August 17, 2008 club chairman and owner Franco Sensi died after a long illness; his place at the chairmanship of the club was successively taken by his daughter Rosella.

External links

• Official Site Template:It icon