Across their history, Roma have competed in various domestic and international competitions.
In the trophy cabinet are three league titles, nine Coppa Italia trophies and two Supercoppa Italiana titles, among others. They also added a European trophy to the collection by winning the Europa Conference League at the first time of asking in 2022.
It is not the first time they have made an instant impression in a tournament they were new to, although their records have been mixed over the years. Here is a look back at Roma’s first attempt in every competition they have entered.
Divisione Nazionale 1927-28 – 8th
In their first ever league campaign, the newly-formed AS Roma came eighth in their group of the Divisione Nazionale, which was split into two sections of 11 teams each. For comparison, one of the three clubs that merged to form Roma, Alba-Audace, had come ninth in a single, 10-team division the previous season.
Coppa CONI 1928 – Winners
At the end of Roma’s first season, came their first trophy. The Coppa CONI, bearing the name of the Italian Olympic committee despite being organised by the football association (FIGC), was held between the beginning of April and end of July. Roma topped a group above Brescia, Napoli, Novara, La Dominante, Pro Patria and Cremonese, to set up a final against Modena. The first game ended goalless, then the replay as a 2-2 draw, before Roma won at the third attempt, 2-1 after extra time. Mario Bussich scored the winning goal.
Serie A 1929-30 – 6th
When the Italian league structure was re-crafted to give birth to Serie A in 1929, Roma went on to finish sixth at the first attempt. After coming third in their last ever Divisione Nazionale group, it was about where they should have been. In total, they amassed 36 points from 34 games, with 15 wins, six draws and 13 defeats.
Central European Cup 1931 – Semi-finals
After a second-place finish in Serie A in 1930-31, Roma qualified for a continental competition called the Central European Cup, or Mitropa Cup. It took place in the summer before the subsequent season started; Roma kicked off with a 3-2 aggregate win over Slavia Prague in July’s quarter-final. The next hurdle would be their last, though, as eventual tournament winners First Vienna won 3-2 in Rome and 3-1 in Austria.
Coppa Italia 1935-36 – Round of 16
In 1935, the Coppa Italia was revived for the first time after Roma’s formation, with the last edition in 1926-27 having been cancelled partway through due to a lack of interest. It was now here to stay, though. Roma began with a 4-0 win over Foggia before losing 2-1 to Lazio in the Round of 16. Still, they have gone on to win this trophy nine times; only Juventus have won it more.
Campionato Romano di Guerra 1943-44 – 2nd
During the tough wartime years, Serie A was suspended in 1943 – the season after Roma had first won the competition. In the interim, more localised championships were organised. In Roma’s case, there were two editions of a tournament involving sides from in and around the capital. Roma would win the second version, but finished as runners up to Lazio in the first, by one point – despite going unbeaten across 18 matches.
Serie B 1951-52 – 1st
The first few years after the war were difficult for Roma, culminating in their first ever drop to the second tier in 1951. Thankfully, though, they earned their place back in the top-flight at the first attempt. It went down to the final day, but with 22 wins, nine draws and seven defeats from 38 games, they finished one point above Brescia to go straight back up as champions. To date, they have never gone back down.
Small Club World Cup 1953 – Runners up
An inter-continental competition for clubs, the Pequena Copa Del Mundo (Spanish for Small Club World Cup) began in 1952. Two editions were held the following year, the second – which took place in Venezuela in July and August – involving Roma. After a round-robin format, they finished as runners-up to Corinthians of Brazil but above Barcelona of Spain and Seleccion Caracas of the host nation.
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1958-59 – Quarter-finals
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was, until 2022, the only European trophy Roma had ever won. That came in the 1960-61 season, which was their second entry in the competition. The first time around, they had beaten Hannover 4-2 on aggregate in the first round, but lost 3-1 on aggregate to Union Saint-Gilloise in the quarter-final. Coincidentally, the victors that day would subsequently be the first team beaten by Roma on their route to glory in the next edition.
Coppa delle Alpi 1960 – Joint-winners
Originally comprising teams from Switzerland and Italy, the Coppa delle Alpi was formed in 1960. The eight entrants from Italy each competed once with a Swiss counterpart, with Roma winning 1-0 at home to Young Boys and drawing 2-2 with them away. Overall, Italian sides won seven of the games, drew five and lost four, so the FIGC emerged victorious. In future editions, in which teams from France, West Germany and Belgium began to filter in, clubs would be ranked individually; Roma came third three times but never higher.
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup 1969-70 – Semi-final
The first of Roma’s Coppa Italia triumphs came in 1964, but they did not take part in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup until the season after their second success in 1969. When the opportunity first came, they went far – beating Ards of Northern Ireland in the first round and then progressing past PSV in the second thanks to a coin toss. In the quarter-finals, they beat Goztepe, before this time a coin toss denied them an appearance in the final after a 3-3 aggregate draw with Gornik Zabrze – who had only prolonged the match with a last-minute equaliser in the second leg of the semi-final and then held them again in a decisive replay.
Anglo-Italian League Cup 1969 – Runners up
After winning the Coppa Italia, Roma went up against English League Cup winners Swindon Town in a two-legged showpiece – the first of its kind – in 1969. Roma won 2-1 at home, but in a result that would be incredulous today, lost 4-0 away, meaning they were runners up. The event drew plenty of interest though, leading to the establishment of the Anglo-Italian Cup with more teams.
Anglo-Italian Cup 1970 – Group Stage
Roma were one of Italy’s representatives in the subsequent first ever edition of the Anglo-Italian Cup. The format saw two Italian clubs face two English clubs in one of three groups, before teams from each country were ranked based on their points tallies. Starting out in Group 2 alongside Middlesbrough, West Brom and Vicenza, they lost to North Yorkshire outfit Boro and other English side Albion 1-0 and 4-0 respectively away. They drew each return fixture 1-1, which wasn’t enough for them to avoid the fate of finishing bottom of the six Italian competitors.
Trofeo Nazionale di Lega Armando Picchi 1971 – Winners
Essentially a precursor to what would become the Supercoppa Italiana, the Trofeo Nazionale di Lega Armando Picchi was set up in honour of a former Italy international and coach of the likes of Juventus, who had passed away in 1971 at the age of 35. In the first edition, taking place that June, Roma competed with Inter, Juventus and Cagliari, playing each side once in a group stage. They beat Cagliari 3-2, drew 2-2 with Juventus and lost 2-1 to Inter, finishing second in the standings. It allowed their involvement in a final with Inter, which they won 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Renato Cappellini.
UEFA Cup 1975-76 – Round of 16
Originally launched as a tertiary tournament in 1971 – and becoming Europe’s secondary competition in 1999 – Roma first competed in the UEFA Cup after a third-place Serie A finish in the 1974-75 season. Nils Liedholm oversaw their subsequent European adventure, which included wins over Dunav Ruse and Oster before back-to-back 1-0 defeats to eventual finalists Club Brugge in the Last 16.
European Cup 1983-84 – Final
One of the first things that will spring to mind when the words regret and Roma are mentioned together is their inaugural European Cup campaign. To qualify for the old version of the Champions League, clubs had to win their respective divisions, which Roma did for the second time in 1983. Coincidentally, the following year’s European Cup final would be held at their own Stadio Olimpico stadium. Roma got there thanks to aggregate victories of 5-1 against IFK Goteborg, 2-0 against CSKA Sofia, 4-2 against Dinamo Berlin and 3-2 against Dundee United. However, things did not go in their favour in the Rome final. Roberto Pruzzo scored the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool, but the English side won the subsequent penalty shootout 4-2 (Bruno Conti and Francesco Graziani missed for Liedholm’s side) to condemn Roma to heartbreak.
Supercoppa Italiana 1991 – Runners up
The Supercoppa Italiana was formally established in 1988 to put the reigning Serie A and Coppa Italia champions up against one another. After lifting the latter trophy in 1991 by beating Sampdoria, Roma met the same opponents in their competition bow after denying them the double the previous season. Sampdoria got their revenge in the head-to-head battle though, winning 1-0 via a goal from future Italy manager Roberto Mancini.
Champions League 2001-02 – Second Group Stage
Although entry to the Champions League became more widespread after its conversion from the European Cup in 1992 – multiple teams from the same country were permitted to play from 1997 onwards – it took Roma winning the league again in 2001 to qualify. The format of the time saw the competition begin with two group stages; Roma came second behind Real Madrid (and above Lokomotiv Moscow and Anderlecht) in the first one to reach the second. In that, though – despite a 3-0 win over Barcelona – they came third behind the La Liga giants and Liverpool, who were actually the only side to beat them in that group and thus edged the head-to-head record, with both sides tied on seven points from six games. That familiar foe would also eliminate Roma after their furthest run since the rebrand, in the 2018 semi-finals.
Europa League 2009-10 – Round of 32
After the UEFA Cup became the Europa League in 2009, Roma were involved straight away after coming sixth in the last full season of Luciano Spalletti’s first spell as coach. Spalletti oversaw aggregate wins to the tune of 10-2 and 10-4 against Gent and Kosice respectively in the qualifiers, before Claudio Ranieri took the reins for the competition proper. He guided Roma to the top of a group above Fulham, Basel and CSKA Sofia, but they then lost both legs of their Round of 32 clash with Panathinaikos 3-2.
Europa Conference League 2021-22 – Winners
Embed from Getty ImagesFor the 2021-22 season, UEFA introduced a new, tertiary tournament for clubs. After an unwanted seventh place finish in Paulo Fonseca’s final season in charge, Jose Mourinho got his reign underway with a play-off win over Trabzonspor to get into the group stage. From that point, Roma were classed as among the favourites to win the whole thing. However, it wasn’t so straightforward; they topped their group, but not without an infamous 6-1 loss to Bodo/Glimt. After beating Vitesse in the Round of 16, Roma reunited with their Norwegian conquerors in the quarter-finals, losing the first leg 2-1 before beating them 4-0 the following week to reach the last four. There, they met an English opponent in the shape of Leicester City – for the first time – and a 2-1 aggregate win booked a place in the final. Only Feyenoord stood between Roma and the trophy. Thankfully, a 1-0 win in the final secured the club’s first ever UEFA honour.
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