With the appointment of Gian Piero Gasperini, Roma have welcomed a coach who finished above them in the Serie A table last season.
It’s the 13th time in the club’s history that they’ve managed to make that kind of move and they will be hoping it can help them turn the tables back to leapfrog Atalanta – and maybe some of the other three sides who finished above them in 2024-25.
Here’s a look back at the other times Roma have appointed a coach from a higher position in the league system and how it went.
A * indicates the coach didn’t complete the season with their previous club, but by the time they left it was impossible for Roma to finish above them. However, any coach who was sacked while it was still possible for Roma to finish above them isn’t included.
Gian Piero Gasperini (2025)
2024-25: Atalanta 3rd, Roma 5th
In the season prior to Gasperini’s appointment by Atalanta in 2016, La Dea had finished 10 places and 35 points below Roma. Over the following nine years, though, Gasperini transformed Atalanta into contenders for the European spots. They finished two places and 15 points behind Roma in his first season – and remember that was the season with Roma’s record points tally in Serie A. In fact, in four of his nine seasons at the Atalanta helm, Gasperini finished above Roma, including in his final campaign in Bergamo, which he ended in the Champions League spots and with the Giallorossi just outside.
Claudio Ranieri (2009)*
2008-09: Juventus 2nd, Roma 6th
Ranieri first took the Roma job in September 2009, some 35 years after leaving as a player. It marked his return to work after being sacked by Juventus that May, two games before the end of the season. By that point, the Old Lady were already guaranteed to finish above Roma, with an 11-point buffer. Both teams won their last two games of the season, so that gap remained. Ranieri inspired Roma to a resurgent, title-challenging run in his debut season. Ultimately, in 2009-10, Roma finished 2nd and Juventus were 25 points behind in 7th.
Luciano Spalletti (2005)
2004-05: Udinese 4th, Roma 8th
Characterised by their need for four different coaches, the 2004-05 season was infamously turbulent for Roma after the departure of Fabio Capello. Although 8th was a top-half finish, points-wise, Roma were just three away from the relegation zone. Meanwhile, one of the success stories of the season was overseen by Spalletti at Udinese, who built on their emergence as a UEFA Cup outfit and broke into the top four to reach the Champions League for the only time in their history. Spalletti enjoyed four years at Roma, who became regular runners up in Serie A. The 2005-06 table was warped because of the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal, but Roma earned 69 points – putting them 2nd in the revised standings – and Udinese only got 43, enough for a final ranking of 11th.
Carlo Mazzone (1993)
1992-93: Cagliari 6th, Roma 10th
Mazzone realised a dream come true in 1993 when his hometown club Roma approached him to become their new coach. He had previously played twice in Serie A during the 1958-59 season for his beloved side. To take the reins at Roma, he left a Cagliari side he had just steered into the UEFA Cup with a 6th-place finish, four points above his hometown team (this was in the two-points-for-a-win era). The next season, he couldn’t quite replicate European qualification with Roma, who came 7th, but his former club Cagliari were three points behind down in 12th.
Nils Liedholm (1979)
1978-79: Milan 1st, Roma 12th
Two years after his first spell in charge of the club ended, Roma succeeded in recalling Liedholm to the bench in 1979, which was quite a coup given that he’d just won the Scudetto with Milan. That same season, Roma had finished just two points above the relegation zone. The Swede’s second spell with Roma was his most successful. In his first season, they technically finished on four fewer points than Milan, but his former club were demoted to Serie B for a match-fixing scandal. Meanwhile, there was Coppa Italia glory for Liedholm’s Roma, who soared over the next few years and won the Scudetto for themselves in 1982-83.
Nils Liedholm (1973)
1972-73: Fiorentina 4th, Roma 11th
Liedholm had also finished in a higher standing than Roma the first time he came to the capital in 1973. His Fiorentina side qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing 4th in 1972-73, whereas Roma avoided relegation on goal difference. The rebuild began, spearheaded by the big signing of striker Pierino Prati from Milan, and culminated in Roma coming 8th in 1973-74, this time just two places behind La Viola.
Helenio Herrera (1968)
1967-68: Inter 5th, Roma 10th
Bringing a wealth of experience with him to Roma, Herrera had led Inter to 5th in the 1967-68 season, which was a downturn in fortunes for them after finishing one point off top in 1966-67. Still, Roma had come way down in 10th before appointing the former La Liga and Serie A winner. Their initial progress under Herrera wasn’t quite as dynamic as they’d hoped, as their points tally increased by just three and they finished 8th in 1968-69, but they did claim the Coppa Italia. In the league table, though, they were still four places behind Herrera’s former club.
Oronzo Pugliese (1965)
1964-65: Foggia 9th, Roma 10th
There was nothing to separate Pugliese’s Foggia and Roma in the 1964-65 Serie A table other than goal difference, which was two in Foggia’s favour. Pugliese was welcomed to the capital that summer and ensured Roma ranked four places higher than the team he had just left in the 1965-66 standings: 8th compared to 12th. It was the highest he ever came in his three seasons with Roma.
Juan Carlos Lorenzo (1964)
1963-64: Lazio 9th, Roma 12th
1964 was the year in which Roma won the Coppa Italia for the first time, achieved by Lorenzo thanks to the final taking place early into the 1964-65 season. The season before, he’d been in charge of arch-rivals Lazio, who finished one point above Roma in the table. Lorenzo was brought in for some stability after Roma went through three coaches in 1963-64. He ultimately guided Roma to 10th in his debut season, while Lazio slipped to 14th, one point above the relegation places.
Mario Varglien (1952 – note Roma were in B)
1951-52: Pro Patria 10th in Serie A, Roma 1st in Serie B
To herald their return to the top flight after a single-season absence, and amid the resignation of Giuseppe Viani, Roma handed the reins to Varglien, a former Juventus player and unused member of the victorious Italy squad in the 1934 World Cup squad. He had just spent the 1951-52 season at Pro Patria, guiding them to 10th in the Serie A table. His former club suffered after his exit, finishing bottom of the league. Meanwhile, Roma adapted instantly to life back in the top tier, coming 6th.
Giuseppe Viani (1951)
1950-51: Palermo 10th, Roma 19th
The coach entrusted with taking Roma back into Serie A after their relegation was someone who had finished mid-table in the top flight during that deflating year. Viani put Palermo in a mid-table position – which they wouldn’t drift too far from the season after his exit – before accepting Roma’s offer. He achieved the main target asked of him, guiding Roma back into Serie A by winning Serie B, but ultimately resigned over a transfer dispute.
Pietro Serantoni (1950)
1949-50: Padova 10th, Roma 18th
Serantoni is a bit of an outlier here, as he was only in charge of Padova for the final five games of the 1949-50 season. At the time he took over, though, they were only above Roma by one place with a two-point advantage. In the end, they finished four points – but eight places – above a sinking Roma side. Midway through the season in which Roma would be relegated, they called Serantoni as their second coach of the campaign. He was responsible for 18 league matches, but was replaced by Guido Masetti with five games left. Roma were relegated on 28 points in 19th place, one place behind Padova themselves on 29.
Adolfo Baloncieri (1950)
1949-50: Sampdoria 13th, Roma 18th
Roma’s first coach during the relegation season was Baloncieri, fresh from three years in charge of Sampdoria. They were two points better off than Roma in his last before the move. However, Baloncieri only lasted 15 league games in the capital, struggling to knit together a selection of new signings. His former club Sampdoria finished 13th again while Roma were relegated in 1950-51. Baloncieri didn’t manage in Italy again for another four years.
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