Club Profile: A.S. Roma: Coach Ranieri and Captain Francesco Totti Aim for Champions League Title
Associazione Sportiva Roma, known simply as Roma, came into existence when three clubs from the Italian Capital, Rome, were merged into one in 1927 by Italo Fosch. The purpose of the merger was to create a single strong club from Rome to challenge the strength of the Northern Italian football clubs. There was one club that resisted the move, Lazio, and it has grown to become Roma's most bitter rival. The Derby between Lazio and Roma is one of the most heated, often violent, rivalries in world football. It is known in Italy as the Derby della Capitale and is the most eagerly awaited fixture by both sets of fans.
The club currently plays its home games at the Stadio Olimpico. The stadium is shared with their city rivals, Lazio, and seats over 72,000 fans. The stadium is the second largest in Italy, after the San Siro, where the two Milan clubs, Inter and A.C., play. Roma have plans of moving to a new 55,000 seater stadium in the western suburbs of Rome. The plan was announced in September 2009, but a moving date has not been announced yet.
Before the last decade, Roma had lifted the Scudetto (Italian League title) twice, in 1941-42 and 1982-83. They had also won seven Copa Italia titles, which had given them a respectable place in Italian football but as is evident from the large gap in wins, they had a long period of anonymity. The last decade has restored some of the glory of days past, as Roma look to put themselves back in the centre of Italian football.
The decade started in a great manner for the Roman club, as they lifted the Scudetto for only the third time in their entire history under the guidance of current England Coach Fabio Capello. The win was secured on the last game of the season in what was one of the most interesting finishes to the Serie A season. The win sealed the status of Captain Francesco Totti as a Roman legend as he brought the title back to Rome.
The club came close to retaining the title the following season, but could only finish as the runners-up, as Juventus took the title from them. This was to be a trend observed throughout the decade, as Roma finished second more times in this decade than ever before in their history.
Last season, in one of the closest races to the finish line, Roma lost the title to Inter Milan on the last day. Having taken a lead in the title race, Roma lost near the end of the season which allowed Inter to regain the top spot. Despite the finish, though, the season was miraculous for Roma, as they had been languishing in 13th place when new Coach Claudio Ranieri took over. The turnaround afterwards was remarkable, as Roma put together a string to victories to mount a serious title challenge, putting sides like A.C. Milan and Juventus behind them.
Although they eventually lost out, the signs are promising for the upcoming season, as this season they had a lot of their main players, including Captain Francesco Totti, out injured for long spells. Next season, Roma will be looking to go one step further in the league and will also aim for their first ever UEFA Champions League title.
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