AS ROMA

The history of Associazione Sportiva Roma begins with its founding in the summer of 1927 by Italo Foshi,[1] who initiated the merger of three older Italian Football Championship clubs from the city of Rome; Roman, Alba-Audace and Fortitudo.[1] The purpose of the merger was to give the Eternal City a strong club to rival that of the more dominant Northern Italian clubs of the time.[1] The only major Roman club to resist the merger was Lazio who were already a well established sporting society.[2]

The club played its earliest seasons at the Motovelodromo Appio stadium,[3] before settling in the working-class streets of Testaccio, where it built an all-wooden ground Campo Testaccio; this was opened in November 1929.[4] An early season in which Roma made a large mark was the 1930–31 championship, the club finished as runners-up behind Juventus.[5] Captain Attilio Ferraris along with Guido Masetti, Fulvio Bernardini and Rodolfo Volk were highly important players during this period.[6]

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.[7] Under the management of Luigi Barbesino, the Roman club came agonisingly close to their first title in 1935–36; finishing just one point behind champions Bologna.[8] Roma returned to form after being inconsistent for much of the late 1930s; AS Roma recorded an unexpected title triumph in the 1941–42 season by winning their first ever scudetto title.[9] The eighteen goals scored by local player Amedeo Amadei were essential to the Alfréd Schäffer 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.[10]

In the years just after the war, Roma were unable to recapture their league stature from the early 1940s.[5] Roma finished in the lower half of Serie A for five seasons in a row, before eventually circumming to their only ever relegation to Serie B at the end of the 1950–51 season;[5] around a decade after their championship victory. Under future national team manager Giuseppe Viani, promotion straight back up was achieved.[11]

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.[5] 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.[5]

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.[12] A few years later Roma won their first Coppa Italia trophy in 1963–64, by beating Torino 1–0.[13] Their second Coppa Italia trophy was won in 1968–69 when it was competed in a small league like system.[13] Giacomo Losi set a Roma appearance record during 1969 with 450 appearances in all competitions, the record he set would last for 38 years.[14]

Time of mixed fortunes

Roma were able to add another cup to their collection in 1972, with a 3–1 victory over Blackpool in the Anglo-Italian Cup.[15] 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.[5] 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.[13] Roma would reach heights in the league which they hadn't touched since the '40s by narrowly and controversially finishing as runners-up to Juventus in 1980–81.[16] Former Milan player Nils Liedholm was the manager at the time, with prominent players such as Bruno Conti, Agostino Di Bartolomei, Roberto Pruzzo and Paulo Roberto Falcão.[17]

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.[18] The following season Roma finished as runners-up in Italy[5] and collected a Coppa Italia title,[13] they also finished as runners-up in the European Cup final of 1984.[19] 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.[19] Roma's successful run in the 1980s would finish with a runners-up spot in 1985–86[5] and a Coppa Italia victory, beating out Sampdoria 3–2.[13]

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.[5] 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;[20] the same season the club won its seventh Coppa Italia trophy[13] and ended runners-up to Sampdoria in the Supercoppa Italiana. Aside from finishing runners-up to Torino in a Coppa Italia final,[13] 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.[5]

In the New Millennium
Current captain of Roma; Francesco Totti.

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,[17] going on to break several club records.[17] Other important players during this period included Aldair, Cafu, Gabriel Batistuta and Vincenzo Montella.[21]

The club attempted to defend the title in the following season but ended as runners-up to Juventus by just one point. [5] 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 AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final of 2003[13] and lost out to Milan again by finishing second in Serie A for the 2003–04 season.[5] 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;[22] the same season in which they finished second in the Coppa Italia losing to Inter.[13]

In the Champions League of 2006–07 Roma reached the quarter-finals before going out to Manchester United,[23] they also finished second in Serie A meaning that in the 2000s Roma have finished in the top two positions more than any other time in their history.[24]