Roma have had a fair few representatives at the World Cup over the years, including some winners – but which of those players have played in the most games?
Here are the top 10 players with the most appearances at a World Cup whilst their club was Roma.
As well as the number of appearances, the amount of minutes each player totalled at the World Cup is listed in brackets and used as a tie-breaker where necessary.
10. Rudi Völler – 6 (420)
Pipping fellow former striker Abel Balbo to 10th place via the tie-breaker of minutes played (363 in six games for Balbo; 420 for Völler) is one of the players to have won the World Cup whilst a Roma player.
Völler was three years into his Roma career at the time of the 1990 World Cup, which he went into on the back of a 16-goal season with his club.
He played in all six of West Germany’s matches, scoring three goals between their first two group games. He eventually drew the foul that led to the winning penalty in the final.
Those three goals make him Roma’s joint-top World Cup scorer with Brazil’s Paulo Roberto Falcão, who got his from five games.
Völler had also scored in the 1986 final, before he became a Roma player, and played for a unified Germany at the 1994 World Cup after he had left the Giallorossi.
9. Neil El Aynaoui – 6 (563)
Embed from Getty ImagesEl Aynaoui struggled to establish himself as a regular starter during his debut season with Roma, but he featured heavily for Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations halfway through it and then at the 2026 World Cup once it concluded.
The midfielder started all six of Morocco’s games at the World Cup until their journey ended at the quarter-final stage against Manu Koné’s France.
Koné, however, only played five times at the World Cup.
8. Giuseppe Giannini – 7 (588)
All seven of Giannini’s World Cup appearances were in the 1990 tournament, when he was 25 years old.
He scored the winning goal for Italy against USA in the group stage and assisted both goals against Czechoslovakia in the following game. Another assist followed in the round of 16 against Uruguay.
Italy were unable to go all the way in their home tournament, bowing out in the semi-finals before beating England in the third-place play-off, which Giannini played in.
He remained at Roma until 1996, five years after his last outing for Italy.
7. Thomas Berthold – 7 (599)
Berthold played at three World Cups, but was only a Roma player for a couple of years, either side of the 1990 edition.
The defender was a valuable part of the West Germany squad that won the competition on Italian soil, starting the final against Argentina at the Olimpico.
Berthold played in all seven of his side’s matches on their journey to glory.
6. Simone Perrotta – 7 (615)
Embed from Getty ImagesAlthough he played for Roma for nine years, Perrotta only went to one World Cup with Italy. But it was a good one, as it ended with the trophy.
The English-born midfielder was an underrated part of Italy’s successful 2006 squad, starting all of their games. In fact, he was ever-present until he was taken off in extra time of the semi-final against Germany.
Perrotta made one assist at the World Cup, but he had already played his last game for his country by the time of the next one.
5. Daniele De Rossi – 8 (626)
De Rossi holds the record for earning the most Italy caps while on Roma’s books. He represented his country at three World Cups: in 2006, 2010 and 2014.
He was the youngest member of Italy’s successful 2006 World Cup squad, although he could have played more at the tournament if it wasn’t for an act of stupidity that led to him being sent off in the second group game, causing him to be suspended until the final.
After replacing clubmate Francesco Totti, De Rossi redeemed himself by scoring in the penalty shootout as Italy defeated France.
De Rossi scored his only World Cup goal in Italy’s first game of their title defence in 2010 against Paraguay and made assists in the other two group games before the Azzurri’s early elimination.
The midfielder played twice in the 2014 group stage, but again, that was as far as Italy got. They then failed to qualify for the last World Cup that fell during De Rossi’s Roma career, with the player famously arguing with coach Giampiero Ventura in the play-off against Sweden that he should send on someone more attacking than himself.
4. Francesco Totti – 11 (813)
It took Totti until October 1998 to make his international debut, despite having more than 100 appearances and 30 goals to his name for Roma by then.
Thus, after inspiring Italy at Euro 2000, he had to wait until 2002, at the age of 25, to make his World Cup bow.
Totti made an assist for Christian Vieri seven minutes into his World Cup debut against Ecuador. He set up Vieri again on his fourth and final appearance at that World Cup, against South Korea, before being sent off in extra time.
It was at the 2006 World Cup that Totti really stood out for Italy. He once again made an assist in his first game, which would be one of four he made that tournament.
Totti’s goal from the penalty spot against Australia in the round of 16 was a landmark moment on Italy’s journey to winning the World Cup.
The Roma captain took time to consider his future after the tournament, having been taken off just over an hour into the final, and ultimately decided to retire from international football.
3. Bruno Conti – 11 (939)
Conti was one of Italy’s main sources of inspiration in their successful 1982 World Cup campaign. Aged 27 and at the peak of his powers, the winger didn’t miss a minute from the group stage to the final.
Along the way, he scored one goal (in the group stage against Peru) and provided three assists, including for Italy’s third goal in the final.
Conti subsequently played four times for Italy in the 1986 World Cup, but this time around he failed to score or assist and they turned out to be his last international appearances.
2. Aldair – 13 (1149)
By virtue of being one of Roma’s longest-serving players and consistently performing at a high standard, Aldair was able to make 13 World Cup appearances, split between the 1994 and 1998 editions for Brazil.
He played in both finals, being on the winning side (at Italy’s expense) in 1994 but then being part of the team that lost to France in 1998.
All but one of Aldair’s World Cup appearances were as a starter. Although he remained on Roma’s books by the time of the 2002 World Cup, his last international cap had come two years earlier.
1. Cafu – 13 (1170)
Embed from Getty ImagesOf all the players to have represented Roma over the years, few have as strong a connection with the World Cup as Cafu.
In fact, the Brazilian right-back is the only man to have lifted the World Cup as captain of his trophy while under contract with Roma at club level, doing so in 2002.
It was the third consecutive World Cup final he had played in, although he was still a São Paulo player for the first of those in 1994.
After joining Roma in 1997, Cafu played six games at the 1998 World Cup – only missing the semi-final due to a suspension for accumulated yellow cards – and then seven at the 2002 edition.
He also captained Brazil at the 2006 World Cup, which was his last tournament with his country. By then, he was an AC Milan player.
In total, 13 of Cafu’s 20 World Cup appearances – which, at the time of his last, made him the player with the joint-sixth most appearances in World Cup history – came while he was a Roma player.
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