AS Roma were formed in 1927 out of a merger between four of Rome's smaller clubs who had for the most part up until this time, lived in the shadow of Lazio. The presentation of a united front has allowed Roma to become the city's most successful outfit, and they have spent only one season out of Serie A since it's formation in the 1929-1930 season.
In the period leading up to World War One, Roma were the only side from the capital other than Lazio to qualify for the second stage of the national championship. This was in 1915 when the championship was abandoned at the outbreak of the war. Fortitudo were the first Roman side to reach the southern final after the war. They first made it in 1920 only to lose two-nil to Livorno at the final in Bologna. They qualified from the Lazio area league again in 1921, but could not make it through the qualifying league for the southern final. They reached the final again the following season but lost out to Pro Vercelli. It was up to Alba Roma to pick up the baton in 1925, and they succeeded in reaching the Italian League final after beating Anconitana four-one over two legs in the southern final. Alba were to be disappointed however, and lost four-two on aggregate to Bologna. Alba reached the final again the following season, only to lose the two legs seven-one and five-one against new champions Juventus. None of these teams made any impact on their respective area leagues the following season, and in 1927, Roman, Fortitudo, Alba and Pro Roma, a team who never qualified from the regional leagues, merged to form Roma.
In 1929 the new club moved to the Campo Testaccio. Their improved home form was to become the springboard for high league positions and an Italian Cup win in the 1930s until the club moved home again in 1940 to share the Stadio PNF (Partido Nacional Fascista) with local rivals Lazio. In their time at the Campo Testaccio, Roma lost only twenty-six out of one hundred and seventy-five league matches and finished runners-up in Serie A in 1931 and 1936 and in third position in 1932. Their top scorer in this period Rodolfo Volk, set a club record that stood until the 1980s and in their first seven seasons in Serie A, Roma did not fail to finish in the top six. It was also during the Testaccio era that Roma reached their first Italian Cup final, although they lost it one-nil to Genoa. However, towards the end of the decade, Roma's league form began to dip and they had been languishing in mid-table for some years when they won their first scudetto in 1942. In only their second year at the Stadio PNF, Roma lost just once at home all season and conceded a meagre four goals in front of their own fans to win the title by a three point margin.
After that title, Roma's league form declined again, and this continued after World War II in the renamed Stadio Nazionale which would change its name again in 1949 to the Stadio Torino. Roma narrowly avoided relegation in 1947, 1948 and again in 1950 before the following season, the inevitable happened and Roma were relegated from the top flight for the first time in their history. The team only managed to win four points away from home all season, and finished one point off the bottom spot. In their only season in Serie B in the club's history, Roma finished up champions and top scorers, with only Messina conceding fewer goals.
In 1953, Roma moved to their present home, the Stadio Olimpico. Apart from third place in Serie A in 1955 they never finished near the honours and in 1967, Roma finished two points away from relegation. They stabilised and became a mid-table side and it was not until 1975 that they would finish in the top three again. The Roma fans appetite for silverware was however sated in the cup competitions. Qualification for the Fairs Cup was not dependant upon league positions, but by a willingness to host matches and in 1961, Roma beat Union St Guilloise, 1.FC Koln and Hibernian on the way to a final against Birmingham City. Two goals from Argentine striker Pedro Manfredini helped Roma to keep the tie level for the second leg, which was played in Rome. Here, a Birmingham own goal and a ninetieth minute goal from Pestrin gave Roma a two-nil win and the trophy. Roma won the Italian Cup twice in the 1960s beating Torino one-nil over two legs in the 1964 final and triumphed again in 1969 when the winner was decided on a league basis. On their first appearance in the Cup Winners Cup (they had elected to compete in the Fairs Cup in 1965), Roma reached the semi-final stage, when Gornik Zabrze of Katowice in Poland beat them.
During the 1970s, apart from a third place in 1975 and a brush with relegation in 1979, Roma were a mid-table side, but in the 1980s, the new decade brought with it a new era of success. Back to back Italian Cup wins in 1980 and 1981 started the good times off, Torino being the losing finalists on both occasions. In 1981, Roma missed out on a second scudetto by two points, but in 1983, aided by three times Serie A top scorer Roberto Pruzzo, the Romans won the championship for the second time. Roma's Cup Winners Cup campaigns came to nothing, but Roma enjoyed more success in the European Cup of 1983-1984. Their opponents in the final, Liverpool had had a more difficult route, but succeeded in beating all-comers. Goals from Phil Neal for Liverpool after thirteen minutes and an equaliser from Roberto Pruzzo near half time resulted in the match going to penalties. Liverpool missed the first spot-kick, but goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar's combination of clowning and agility were enough to deny Conti and Graziani and grant Liverpool victory. It was not all bad news however, as Roma finished runners up in the league and beat Hellas-Verona in the Coppa Italia. This time their Cup Winners Cup campaign led them to the quarter final stage, before being beaten by Bayern Munich. The following season saw Roma qualify for European competition again, as they repeated the 1984 double of Serie A runners up and Italian Cup winners, this time holders Sampdoria the losing finalists. As in 1984, their dreams of European glory were to end on penalties again, this time to Real Zaragoza in the first round of the Cup Winners Cup.
Roma have not seriously challenged for the scudetto since 1986. Despite finishing in third place in 1988, they were seven points of the pace set by winners Milan and have not reached those heights since. The cup competitions have however, kept matters exciting and in 1991, Roma reached the finals of both the Italian Cup and the UEFA Cup. Italian teams were dominating the European competitions by this time, and the UEFA Cup quarter finals included Atalanta, Inter, Bologna and Roma. Inter and Roma both progressed and the end result was an all-Italian final. Second half goals from Matthaus and Berti gave Inter a two-nil lead going into the second leg, to be held in Rome. They defended well and Roma did not manage a goal until the eighty-first minute, Rizzitelli the scorer. It was too little, too late and Roma were disappointed. Roma did run out convincing winners in the Italian Cup however, Sampdoria the victims again, as they won four-two on aggregate.
Roma have not managed to win a trophy since, despite reaching the 1993 Italian Cup final and regularly qualifying for Europe in the UEFA Cup competition, and recently have had to live in the shadow of rivals Lazio, who have been enjoying something of a renaissance. |
发表于 2002-8-10 03:40:19
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