The 2025-26 season turned out to be one of unexpected success for Roma Women, who bounced back from a disappointing previous season to claim the domestic double.
Some new protagonists emerged to inspire Roma to their third Scudetto in four years, as well as the Coppa Italia. But who were the standout players for Luca Rossettini’s side?
These are the Giallorossi Yorkshire awards for the 2025-26 Roma Women season.
Signing of the season: Rachele Baldi
The re-signing of Baldi from Inter was not supposed to solve the issue of how to replace the departing starting goalkeeper Camelia Ceasar, but she became one of the success stories of the season.
Initially expected to come back as the deputy goalkeeper in support of Olivie Lukášová, who was making her comeback from a long-term injury, Baldi became the more dependable option and ended up starting the majority of Roma’s matches in Serie A.
From her 19 appearances in the league, she only conceded 11 goals. Her performance in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus, in which she kept a clean sheet, was also influential.
Now in her thirties, Baldi’s seniority was a positive influence for Roma. More so than in her previous spell with the club, when she was mainly Ceasar’s backup, she provided calmness in goal.
Highlighting her progress, her original spell at Roma had also seen her concede 11 goals in the league, but from 10 fewer games and thus at a significantly worse ratio.
She was even a backup at Inter last season, but gained the starting duties at Roma by merit and didn’t let her team down.
Most improved player: Shukurat Oladipo
It’s hard to think of a season in which any Roma Women player has improved as much as Oladipo has in 2025-26.
Signed in February 2025 from Robo Queens in her native Nigeria at the age of 20, Oladipo wasn’t expected to be a regular starter this season, even after the departures of Elena Linari and Moeka Minami in the summer.
But as the season progressed, Oladipo began to earn her place in the team and never let it go.
Ironically, her potential first really started to become noticeable during a heavy defeat: to Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League.
From that point on, she began to show maturity beyond her years. By the end of the season, she was being named the best defender in Serie A, the culmination of her extraordinary progress over the past few months.
Young player of the season: Shukurat Oladipo
And for all Oladipo’s improving in 2025-26, there is still margin for further growth given she’s still only 21.
Roma have started looking at a longer contract for their number 19, beyond its original expiry date of next year. It’s a warranted sign of their faith in Oladipo to maintain these levels and perhaps take them even further.
The other main contender for the young player of the season award, if only considering those under the age of 21, would be Giulia Dragoni, while the 18-year-old Giulia Galli has started to show what she’s all about over the past 12 months (and, unlike Barcelona loanee Dragoni, is Roma’s to keep).
But Oladipo is the winner of the award thanks to how she has earned a fixed role in the team, even becoming their defensive leader for a decent portion of the campaign.
Assist of the season: Evelyne Viens to Manuela Giugliano v Inter
Evelyne Viens found goals harder to come by in her final season with Roma, despite becoming the outright first-choice striker after the departure of Valentina Giacinti.
However, Viens led the way for assists, for which she was the only player to hit double figures across all competitions.
Her most memorable was the one for Manuela Giugliano to wrap up a convincing win over eventual runners-up Inter in November.
With the game already in added time and Roma two goals up, this was an icing on top of the cake moment, rather than one to break a deadlock.
As Inter struggled to clear their lines, Giugliano fed the ball towards Viens. The Canadian judged the bounce of the ball and used the outside of her boot to set up her captain for a volley from close range.
Thanks to Viens’ pass looping over the defender, Giugliano was left with a one-on-one strike. From how close she was to the goal, all she really needed to do was hit the target, which she successfully managed.
Goal of the season: Giulia Dragoni v Parma
The official Serie A Women goal of the season was Valentina Bergamaschi’s effort for Roma against Juventus, but the Giallorossi Yorkshire award goes to Dragoni for her solo strike against Parma.
Granted, there wasn’t as much at stake as there was in the clash with title rivals Juventus, with Roma already three goals to the good by the time Dragoni scored past her former teammate Ceasar, but it was a moment of individual brilliance.
Dragoni was in her own half when she received the ball. With two of her teammates down on the floor, she took it upon herself to take Roma forward.
A bit of trickery while shielding the ball helped her evade her first opponent before skipping past another and letting fly for the top corner.
One of the ways Dragoni developed in her second season on loan from Barcelona was a realisation of when to release the ball, but this was an example of her taking the initiative herself.
Player of the season: Manuela Giugliano
Giugliano’s efforts two seasons ago, when Roma also won the double, earned her a nomination for the Ballon d’Or. She has been in that kind of form again this season, when her side have needed her most.
There was an exodus of long-serving, talented players from Roma last summer. Ceasar, Linari, Minami, Giacinti and Benedetta Glionna were among those who left, and then Lucia Di Guglielmo departed partway through the season as well.
Roma needed a leader to glue their new project together and that’s where Giugliano stepped up. Talk of a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia was nipped in the bud and Roma’s number 10 set out on her seventh season in the capital.
With 19 goals in all competitions, she was Roma’s top scorer. In Serie A alone, she was five better off than any of her teammates.
She also made eight assists in total, meaning there were 27 goals that she directly contributed to (one better than her return last season, when she was also Roma’s best player) – equating to about 30% of the team’s output.
Highlights of her season included a goal from the edge of the box against Parma in October, a volley against Inter in November and a strike from distance against Napoli in February.
Excellence is expected from Giugliano these days, but it should not be taken for granted.
This season was yet another in which she stood out with her technical ability. But best of all, it was her making as a captain – the one who got to lift two trophies by the end of it.
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