This summer marks 88 years since pince-nez sporting Italo Foschi founded Roma, one of Italy’s most celebrated and best supported clubs.
Roma began their life with a 2-1 victory against Ujpest of Hungary, the first of many triumphs the club were to go on to experience.
Yet, alongside their three Scudetto victories, with Amedeo Amadei, Agostino Di Bartolomei and Francesco Totti (all three Roman-born) lifting the crown, the Giallorossi’s history has been littered with what might have been.
Roma’s collection of silver medals began in the second season of Serie A; a team containing Rodolfo Volk and Fulvio Bernardini was never quite able to catch Juventus – a story that was to become all too familiar.
Moving forward, the Giallorossi’s first Scudetto came in 1942, making Roma the southernmost club to claim the title (a record they lost to Cagliari as late in 1970), which heralded the start of a glorious period – but for Torino and then Juventus, not for Roma.
The same happened in 1982-83, when Bruno Conti and Roberto Pruzzo’s side were able to fend off the Bianconeri tide, only to see their flag washed away by a sea of Platini-inspired silverware as the decade progressed. Yet even that Scudetto allowed the perennial bridesmaids an opportunity to crank up their record, as the 1984 European Cup Final was to be held in Rome.
Sure enough, the Giallorossi made it through to that final to face Liverpool. After battling their way back into the tie, two Romans (for Roma have always held a strong contingent born in their home province) blazed their penalties over the bar. Another runners-up medal.
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A couple of Serie A second places later, in 1991, Roma reached another European final, that of a UEFA Cup that had four Italian sides in the last eight. Eventually, with Bologna and Atalanta weeded out, the final took place between Inter and the Lupi.
Crushingly, Ottavio Bianchi’s side crumbled in Milan, slumping to a 2-0 first leg defeat that rendered Ruggiero Rizzitelli’s second leg winner moot.
Recovering from that disappointment, Roma were able to recover immediately to beat Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia final – which was their seventh such triumph. Indeed, having lost only twice in finals up to that point, it seemed the Coppa Italia was a welcome respite from the propensity to fall just short of victory.
However, before long that competition, too, joined the list of Roman bêtes noires as the early 21st Century came around; with the modern-day gladiators Totti and De Rossi winning their only Scudetto to date. That victory under Fabio Capello was the precursor to a rather amazing run of second places.
Since 2001, Roma have finished second in Serie A on eight occasions.
Since 2001, Roma have been losing finalists in the Coppa Italia five times.
To be teetering on the brink of greatness so regularly, only to not quite grasp the crowns, must be a heart-breaking thing to experience. Yet, for long-term Romanisti, their fate has been wall-to-wall disappointment.
They have seen first AC Milan, then Inter and now Juventus (the northern powerhouses who have been treading on their toes since that very first Scudetto) all grasp the opportunities that could have been their own. Perhaps the near-success that they have had is regarded the more highly as it has been done with such a focus on loyalty, and a great esteem for Rome-born players; never more evidently than with Francesco Totti.
“I would have liked to have more opportunities in my career,” the club captain has said, “but I wanted to stay in Rome. I’ve missed out on many things, things I might have been able to win elsewhere, like the Champions League.”
Totti, fittingly, is likely to end his career as Serie A’s second highest goalscorer of all-time.
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However, it remains something of an anomaly, that through all their changes, of owner, of coach, and of team, since the turn of the Millennium, that the Giallorossi have accrued a single Scudetto (and two Coppa Italias). That is scant reward for a team who have accrued more than 1,000 Serie A points in that time.
For all their seasons of nearly winning Serie A and all the Coppa Italia defeats which are now painfully hosted on home soil, the Giallorossi would do well to heed a proverb that will have been heard on the foothills of Rome long before the 88 years of the club’s creation that is as relevant to Rudi Garcia’s side as it has been to anything.
Qui non proficit, deficit. (They who do not progress, go backwards)
Having been the sole opposition to Juventus for the last two seasons, Roma need to ensure that this time around, they are able to eat into their 17 point deficit. Failure to improve may well allow a cavalcade of teams to surge past.
Second-place may not be everything, but it is better than slipping backwards.
