The start of a new coach’s reign at Roma brings with it the anticipation for what fans hope will be a brighter future.
But which coaches have claimed victories in both their first home game and first away game (in either order) in charge of the club?
Gian Piero Gasperini has just become the 14th coach to do so in Roma’s history, so here’s the full list.
Gian Piero Gasperini
- First home game: Roma 1-0 Bologna (23rd August 2025)
- First away game: Pisa 0-1 Roma (30th August 2025)
By kicking off his reign with back-to-back 1-0 wins, former Atalanta coach Gasperini began his work towards enhancing his popularity in Rome.
A 1-0 win at home to Bologna was followed by beating Serie A newcomers Pisa by the same score the following week, although Roma actually had the ball in the net twice, only for their second goal to be disallowed.
Daniele De Rossi
- First home game: Roma 2-1 Hellas Verona (20th January 2024)
- First away game: Salernitana 1-2 Roma (29th January 2024)
De Rossi was no stranger to the Olimpico when he oversaw his first game in caretaker charge of Roma there during January 2024. This was, after all, the player with the second most appearances in the club’s history.
There were some concerns about De Rossi’s lack of managerial experience when he took the reins, but the fixtures fell kindly at first and he got off to a good start by overcoming Hellas Verona and Salernitana.
His full-time spell in charge at the start of the following season didn’t start as well, with De Rossi getting sacked after failing to win from the first four rounds of action.
José Mourinho
- First home game: Roma 3-1 Fiorentina (22nd August 2021)
- First away game: Trabzonspor 1-2 Roma (19th August 2021)
After his bombshell appointment in the summer of 2021, Mourinho had to start his journey with Roma in the Europa Conference League, winning the first leg of the play-off tie in Türkiye against Trabzonspor.
That journey, of course, would see Roma go all the way and win the trophy by the end of the season, but before, as the new dawn set in, Mourinho made a positive first impression by welcoming himself to the Olimpico three days later with a Serie A win over Fiorentina.
Rudi Garcia
- First home game: Livorno 0-2 Roma (25th August 2013)
- First away game: Roma 3-0 Hellas Verona (1st September 2013)
If you want the blueprint of how to start well as Roma coach, you’ll have to borrow it from Garcia. His reign in 2013 began with a string of 10 consecutive victories, which led Roma to top of the table.
He got off the mark away at Livorno with goals from Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Florenzi, before a 3-0 win on home debut against Verona, who’d just won promotion to Serie A.
Claudio Ranieri
- First home game: Roma 3-1 Fiorentina (20th September 2009)
- First away game: Siena 1-2 Roma (13th September 2009)
Ranieri went on to become one of Roma’s most popular managers over three spells in charge, the first of which began in September 2009 after Luciano Spalletti’s departure.
Roma won their first game after the changeover away at Siena, before backing it up with a home win over Fiorentina a week later (although, there was an away defeat in between in the Europa League against FC Basel).
In his subsequent spells in charge, Ranieri lost the first away game of his second and, despite the turnaround that would follow, lost both the first home and away games of his third.
Zdeněk Zeman
- First home game: Roma 5-3 Hellas Verona (3rd September 1997)
- First away game: Empoli 1-3 Roma (31st August 1997)
After directly crossing the divide by leaving Lazio and joining Roma in 1997, Zeman went unbeaten in his first nine matches in charge.
Roma took the lead just three minutes into his first game, when Marco Delvecchio scored away at Empoli, and went on to claim a 3-1 win. A few days later, attention turned to the Coppa Italia, with Roma winning 5-3 in the round of 32 first leg at home to Verona.
Zeman couldn’t repeat the trick of winning his first home and away games when he returned for a second spell in charge 15 years later.
Vujadin Boškov
- First home game: Roma 4-1 Taranto (26th August 1992)
- First away game: Taranto 1-3 Roma (2nd September 1992)
Boškov had the benefit of starting his Roma reign with a Coppa Italia double-header against Serie B side Taranto, who were comfortably dispatched on each leg by an aggregate scoreline of 7-2.
However, Roma went on to lose their league opener four days after the second leg.
Ottavio Bianchi
- First home game: Roma 1-0 Foggia (5th September 1990)
- First away game: Foggia 1-3 Roma (12th September 1990)
Like Boškov, Bianchi began his Roma career with a Coppa Italia clash against a Serie B side (although one that would go on to win promotion that season).
Rudi Völler scored the goal that gave Bianchi’s Roma their first win in the first leg against Foggia. After a 4-0 thrashing of Fiorentina in Serie A, the second leg saw Roma win as well, with Ruggiero Rizzitelli scoring a brace in a 3-1 win.
Nils Liedholm
- First home game: Roma 1-0 Monopoli (23rd August 1987)
- First away game: Triestina 0-2 Roma (26th August 1987)
Scudetto winner Liedholm returned for a third spell in charge, working with Angelo Benedicto Sormani at his side, in 1987. In those days, the Coppa Italia got underway with a group stage in August, giving Liedholm the chance to make a winning start against third-tier side Monopoli and second-tier side Triestina.
It meant Liedholm began with wins at home and away, unlike in his first reign (in which he lost his first home and away games) or second reign (in which he won his first away game but drew his first at home).
Gustavo Giagnoni
- First home game: Roma 3-2 Rimini (28th August 1977)
- First away game: Sampdoria 1-2 Roma (24th August 1977)
Giagnoni’s first games in charge of Roma were also in the Coppa Italia group stage. Roma won three of their four games, but later lost their first away game of the Serie A season after beginning with a win at home in that competition too.
Alfredo Foni
- First home game: Roma 3-1 Bologna (4th November 1962)
- First away game: Palermo 0-4 Roma (1st November 1962)
Foni returned to the Roma helm partway through the 1962-63 season after predecessor Luis Carniglia went four games without a win. Fortunes seemed to be instantly reversed when a Pedro Manfredini hat-trick helped Roma to a 4-0 win at Palermo, and a few days later, John Charles scored on his debut as Bologna were beaten.
Foni had been unable to win his first away game back in his first spell in charge three years earlier.
Mario Varglien
- First home game: Roma 1-0 Fiorentina (21st September 1952)
- First away game: Triestina 2-3 Roma (14th September 1952)
Following Roma’s return to Serie A in 1952, Varglien was entrusted with stabilising the club and he wasted little time in achieving that aim, starting the new campaign with wins by a single-goal margin against Triestina and Fiorentina.
Guido Masetti
- First home game: Roma 2-0 La Disperata (5th December 1943)
- First away game: Tirrenia 1-2 Roma (11th December 1943)
If you haven’t heard of the clubs Masetti beat in his first two games in charge, that’s probably because it was the Campionato Romano Di Guerra, a localised competition set up when Serie A was finally put on pause during the Second World War.
Masetti later had spells in charge of Roma when nationwide competition was underway again, but was unable to repeat his feat of winning at the first time of asking both home and away.
Herbert Burgess
- First home game: Roma 2-0 Ambrosiana (24th November 1929)
- First away game: Lazio 0-1 Roma (8th December 1929)
After quickly dispensing with their first Italian manager (Guido Baccani) and reverting to an English coach as they originally had when choosing Willy Garbutt as their first leader, Roma beat Ambrosiana (the club that would go on to become Inter) in Burgess’ first game in charge.
His first away game a couple of weeks later was the very first Derby Della Capitale, played at Stadio Della Rondinella, which had been Roma’s own home until their move to Campo Testaccio a month earlier. Roma claimed the bragging rights with a Rodolfo Volk goal.
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