Since joining Roma in 2015, Edin Dzeko has gone on to become one of the club’s greatest ever strikers.
His first season may have had its struggles, but ever since, he has been the focal point of Roma’s attack. He now lies third on the club’s all-time list of top goalscorers.
But there are some areas in which the former Manchester City star stands above the rest. Here are nine of the records that Dzeko has achieved at Roma.
Top all-time foreign scorer
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen Dzeko became just the seventh player ever to score 100 goals for Roma in February 2020, it signified how firmly he had cemented his name into club history.
Having already overtaken a number of legends in the goalscoring chart, only a few remained for Dzeko to catch. One of the next in his sights was former Argentine ace Pedro Manfredini, who with 104 goals was Roma’s previous top non-Italian scorer.
It took Dzeko a little while longer to reach that landmark than he would have expected – due to the break in the season in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic – but he eventually got there in July 2020 after the re-start.
Top scorer in European knockout competitions
Dzeko has always been useful for Roma in Europe, whether that be in the Champions League or Europa League.
For example, he was the Europa League’s top scorer in 2016-17, despite Roma only reaching the Round of 16 stage. And the following season, he scored in every round of the Champions League as the club reached the semi-finals.
Always a player for the big occasions, his contributions in Europe have been pivotal for Roma – and they have not slowed down as his age has increased.
In February 2021, Dzeko scored in both legs of the Europa League Round of 32 win over Braga. And by netting in the second leg, he overtook Francesco Totti as the player with the most goals in Europe (excluding qualifying rounds) for Roma, with that being his 29th strike in continental competitions.
Top scorer of the 2010s
One record of Totti’s that Dzeko will never beat is his overall goals tally for Roma (307). But in the decade that they were briefly teammates, the number 9 outscored the number 10.
Totti may have been in the later years of his career, but still managed nearly 70 goals during the 2010s.
Dzeko, though, surpassed that tally despite being a Roma player for fewer years of that decade than his former captain, finishing the 2010s with 97 goals for the club.
Top scorer of the Pallotta era
A record that goes hand in hand with the previous one, Dzeko was also the top scorer during James Pallotta’s reign as club president.
Pallotta was in charge of Roma for most of the 2010s, before selling to the Friedkin Group in August 2020. The former’s reign was overshadowed by a number of the team’s best players leaving, but Dzeko was one who remained.
Roma reaped the benefits, with the ex-Wolfsburg hitman scoring more than twice as many goals as any other player during Pallotta’s tenure.
Most goals scored in a single season
Embed from Getty ImagesDzeko would not have reached the numbers he has for Roma without longevity across several seasons – but some have stood out more than others.
His second season at Roma was without doubt his best, as he scored 39 goals in all competitions. Winning the Capocannoniere award for Serie A top scorer thanks to 29 of those coming in the league, Dzeko was at the peak of his powers.
Only Rodolfo Volk could match him for that number of goals in a league season, having done so in 1930-31. Since Roma did not play in any other competitions during that season, though, Dzeko was able to surpass him thanks to his record in the cups – in particular the Europa League, which he was the top scorer of that season as mentioned earlier.
The previous record for the most goals in all competitions in one season was Manfredini’s, with his 34 in 1960-61. More than half a century later, Dzeko managed to set new heights for Roma.
Most international goals scored
Many of Roma’s best players have not had the same impact at international level as they have for their club.
The likes of Volk, Agostino Di Bartolomei and Rodrigo Taddei never even played for their countries, for example. And Totti may have won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, but he retired from international duty thereafter, allowing him to focus on getting more goals for Roma.
Dzeko, though, has balanced both his goalscoring duties for Roma and Bosnia-Herzegovina. One of the top 35 international goalscorers of all-time from any country, he has scored 17 of his 59 goals for Bosnia since his move to Roma.
Most goals for Roma without winning a trophy
Sadly, the one thing missing from Dzeko’s legacy with Roma has been a trophy.
He may have won league titles in England and Germany before arriving in Italy, but Roma’s highest league finish since Dzeko’s arrival has been second. It has been more than a decade since the club last won an honour of any kind.
The two players above him in the club’s goalscoring charts – Totti and Roberto Pruzzo – both won league titles and the Coppa Italia during their Roma careers. But perhaps Dzeko’s trophy drought in Rome emphasises his quality; to have scored so often in a less successful team speaks volumes.
Most headed goals for Roma in the 21st Century
Records for Roma matches in the past are not detailed enough to know the exact manner of all the goals scored by certain players in the 20th Century. However, in the modern day, thankfully there are measures to remember how the goals went in.
Despite standing at 6’4, heading has never actually been the strongest aspect of Dzeko’s game. It has still been good enough to come into use for Roma several times, though.
Considering only players in the 21st Century, Dzeko has scored more headers (20) for the club than anyone else.
He might have scored more headers than anyone from the club’s entire history, but sadly it is impossible to tell.
Oldest player to reach 100 goals for Roma
Embed from Getty ImagesOf the seven players to reach 100 goals for Roma, nobody did it at a later age than Dzeko, who was one month away from his 34th birthday at the time.
Scoring at the rate he has done in the autumn of his career says everything about Dzeko’s longevity and ability. Many players who have arrived in Serie A later in their careers recently have seen it as a retirement destination, but Dzeko has kept going at the rate he always has done.
Always ready to prove his doubters wrong, Dzeko has established himself as part of the club’s history.
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