It’s rare for an academy player to be thrust into the action right from the start of the season, but sometimes they get a chance.
Young prospects are more likely to work their way into a team as a season progresses and not right as it starts, but it occasionally happens the other way.
Emanuele Lulli’s debut for Roma in their first game of the 2026-27 season was a rare opportunity, so whose footsteps has he followed in by making his Serie A debut for the club whose academy he has developed in on the opening day of a season?
Emanuele Lulli – 2026
Lulli was thrown in at the deep end out of necessity on the opening day of the 2026-27 season, although he had been relied upon in pre-season.
With Devyne Rensch and Nahuel Molina unavailable, Lulli was given a start at right-back against Fiorentina for his first ever competitive appearance at the age of 19.
To his credit, he lasted the full 90 minutes as well.
Riccardo Pagano – 2023
After being an unused sub in Roma’s penultimate league game of the 2022-23 season, Pagano came on for the final minute of their 2023-24 opener against Salernitana.
It was the first of seven appearances that season for the midfielder, although all were from the bench and none occurred beyond Christmas.
Alessio Scarchilli – 1993
Another Rome-born midfielder, Scarchilli spent the 1992-93 season on loan in Serie B with Lecce, helping them win promotion.
It led to his reintegration by Roma for the 1993-94 season. He made his debut by coming on for the second half of the 2-0 loss to Genoa on the opening day, a couple of weeks before his 21st birthday.
Stefano Impallomeni – 1986
Prior to Lulli, the last Roma academy product to make their Serie A debut as a starter on the opening day of a season was Impallomeni, 40 years before.
It wasn’t an absolute debut for Impallomeni, though, since the midfielder had already played 11 times in the Coppa Italia for Roma.
His league debut, two and a half years after his cup debut, was in a goalless draw against Como. He was still only 18 at the time.
Sandro Tovalieri – 1985
After loan spells at Pescara and Arezzo, Tovalieri made an impactful start to his Roma career with five goals from five games in the early stages of the 1985-86 Coppa Italia.
In those days, the initial rounds took place just before the league season started. Tovalieri’s exploits earned him a shot at starting the league opener away to Atalanta, which finished as a 2-1 win.
It took him until his fourth league appearance to score again, though, and he moved on the following summer.
Guido Ugolotti – 1977
Although born in Tuscany, Ugolotti came to Roma as he was about to turn 15. Four years later, he did something unprecedented with how he started his senior career by scoring on not just his debut, but each of his first three appearances.
Brought on for the second half of Roma’s season opener against Torino, he scored the winning goal. Starting a week later against Perugia, he found the net again. And the next week against Foggia, his was the only goal of the game.
A cruel injury blow halted his momentum shortly after and he never quite found that same burst of form, eventually leaving in 1982, just before Roma went on to win the Scudetto the following season.
Ippolito Ippoliti – 1940
Ippoliti was the last player before Lulli to emerge from the Roma academy and debut as a starter on the opening day of a Serie A season without having played for the club in cup competitions before, way back in 1940.
The Rome-born goalkeeper made his bow against Bologna on the opening day of the 1940-41 season, conceding twice in a 2-1 defeat.
Marco Belladonna – 1933
Also known to some as Fernando Belladonna, this attacking prospect played his first game for Roma on the 1933-34 season’s opening day at just 17 years of age. However, it was the only time he ever played for the club, and ended in a 1-0 defeat to Brescia.
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