First impressions count for a lot in football – so scoring for your new club early on can be a big confidence booster for a player.
Recently, Paloma Lazaro became the first player to score in each of her first two games for Roma Women. She netted a header against Sassuolo and an instinctive finish against Pink Bari to show what she can bring.
But which players across the men’s team’s history have done the same?
Eight players have managed it over the years, with one of them even scoring in his third game as well.
Here are their stories.
Mario Tontodonati
The man who replaced the legendary Amedeo Amadei in 1948, Mario Tontodonati had big boots to fill when he joined Roma from Bari.
He certainly made a good first impression, scoring in just the ninth minute of his debut against Bologna in the first game of the season.
The Italian striker followed it up with not just one, but two goals in his second appearance for the club.
Tontodonati scored 10 minutes into a 4-2 win over Triestina before adding another in the 68th minute to ensure Roma maintained their winning start to the season.
It didn’t last long, as Roma lost 4-0 in their third game, and eventually finished 14th. Tontodonati was their top scorer that season, though, and remained fairly reliable for two more years before leaving after being part of the club’s only ever relegation in 1951.
John Charles
The first British player to represent Roma, John Charles’ time in the capital was not as famous as the spells he had with Leeds United and Juventus.
After he returned to Italy in November 1962 aged 30, Roma hoped to benefit from Charles’ vast experience.
At first, the signs were positive. The Wales international scored in the second half of his debut against Bologna, mere days after signing for the club.
Ten days later, Charles was back in action, this time against Fiorentina. He opened the scoring inside half an hour as Roma claimed a 2-2 draw.
Sadly, the Gentle Giant found playing time harder to come by for the rest of the season, and those two goals accounted for half of his tally for the club. Still, the ratio of scoring four goals in 10 appearances for Roma meant Charles left with an impressive record.
Guido Ugolotti
While only a handful of players have scored on their first two Roma appearances, Guido Ugolotti is the only one who can say he scored in his first three games for the club.
He did so having emerged from Roma’s own academy, making his senior debut at the age of 19 on the opening day of the 1977-78 Serie A season.
Ugolotti scored a late winner to beat Torino 2-1, completing a comeback that Agostino Di Bartolomei had set in motion with a penalty.
The following week, Ugolotti netted again, but Roma lost 3-2 at Perugia. Coincidentally, in that game as well, Ugolotti’s goal followed a Di Bartolomei penalty.
And in Roma’s third and final league game of that September, Ugolotti scored another late winner. His 77th-minute strike was the only thing that separated the Giallorossi and Foggia.
Despite the early promise, Ugolotti’s career failed to take off as he would have hoped. He scored just once more that season, having to wait until February to do so.
Ugolotti added six goals from 23 games in the following season, and two from 14 in his third year. He subsequently spent a year on loan at Avellino, making just four appearances after he returned in 1981.
The Tuscan forward then spent the Scudetto-winning 1982-83 season out on loan, never playing for the club again. However, he still holds two unique achievements, as the only Roma academy graduate to score in his first two games and the only player overall to have scored in his first three.
Francesco Vincenzi
Brought in to strengthen the Roma squad that had just won the Scudetto in 1983, Francesco Vincenzi arrived from Pistoiese in Serie B.
The former AC Milan striker made a quick start to his return to the top flight, but first, made his presence known in the Coppa Italia.
Making his debut in the group stage against Rimini, Vincenzi scored the first two goals of the game as Roma won 2-1.
Three days later, in the same competition, he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Arezzo.
While he didn’t score in his third appearance, his bright start to the season continued with a goal against his former club Milan in the third game of the Serie A season.
In the week before that game, Vincenzi also scored the first goal of Roma’s run to the European Cup final.
He left at the end of that year, having only scored once in the league for the Giallorossi. However, he did contribute six goals from 12 games in cup competitions.
Renato Portaluppi
Renato Portaluppi never scored a Serie A goal in his single season at Roma, but the Brazilian winger did get off the mark 38 minutes into his Coppa Italia bow.
He scored the middle goal of Roma’s 3-1 win over Prato, before scoring their third goal in a 3-2 win at Empoli three days later.
He later went on to score the decisive goal in extra time of his second UEFA Cup game for Roma, sending Nurnberg out. However, despite the promise shown in cup competitions, he couldn’t replicate it in 23 league appearances before returning to Brazil.
Sinisa Mihajlovic
One of the quickest ever debut goals for Roma, Sinisa Mihajlovic scored inside three minutes of his first appearance.
Having arrived from Serbian side Red Star Belgrade, he got his first taste of Italian football in the Coppa Italia, when Roma faced Taranto in the second preliminary round.
A fine set piece taker, Mihajlovic scored free kicks in both legs – the first a 4-1 win and the second a 3-1 triumph – to get his Roma career off to a good start.
He even scored a brace in the next round, too, after he had made a non-scoring debut in Serie A. In fact, he only ever scored once in the league across his two years on the red-and-yellow side of Rome.
Cristian Chivu
Perhaps the most surprising name on this list, defender Cristian Chivu scored one-third of all his Roma goals in his first two games for the club.
Chivu debuted in a 5-0 win over Brescia in September 2003, with fellow debutant John Carew also scoring that day.
One week later, the Romanian defender scored his new side’s first equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Juventus. It was the last goal he scored that season.
Chivu scored two goals in each of his first three seasons in Rome, before drawing a blank in his fourth and final campaign.
Stephan El Shaarawy
The most recent player to score on his first two Roma appearances was Stephan El Shaarawy, at the beginning of a productive run of form in 2016.
After arriving at the club in the January transfer window, the winger hit the ground running with eight goals in his first 16 games.
That spell started in the most spectacular fashion, when the ex-Milan star opened his account with a scorpion-style flick with the outside of his boot on debut against Frosinone.
Just three days later, he was on the scoresheet again – but he left it later than anyone else here to score on his second appearance.
El Shaarawy eventually found the net in the third minute of stoppage time in a 2-0 win over Sassuolo, ensuring he kept up his scoring start to his Roma career.
Plenty of big goals followed in subsequent weeks, as El Shaarawy became an instant hit in the capital.
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