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| Falcao and Toninho Cerezo |
This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for AS Roma's foreign players. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.
Italy
AS Roma
AS Roma All-Time Team for Italian Players
Italian diaspora
Southern Italy, Central Italy,
Northern Italy(excluding Lombardy), Lombardy
Italy after 1982,
Italy between 1938 and 1982.
AS Roma have won Serie A three times, first in 1941–42 then in 1982–83 and again in 2000–01, as well as winning nine Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. On the European stage, the Giallorossi won an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960–61, coming close to European Cup victory in 1983–84 (lost the one-legged final played at home against Liverpool), and finishing as runners-up in the UEFA Cup for 1990–91 (two-legged aggregate defeat against Internazionale). Therefore, Roma is the fourth Italian club by major honours won, behind Juventus, Milan and Inter, and it is considered one of the Seven Sisters of Italian football.
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| Gabriel Batistuta and Cafu |
GK: Doni (Brazil)
Doni made his name with Juventude in Brazil. In 2005, he joined AS Roma, where he played until 211. He won the Coppa Italia twice in 2007 and 2008, and also finished as the runner-up of Serie A in 2007 and 2008. Later, he played for Liverpool from 2011 to 2013 as a backup. From 2007 to 2010, he earned 10 caps with Brazil. He was their starting goalkeeper at the 2007 Copa America, where Brazil won. He went to the 2010 World Cup Finals as a backup.
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| Doni |
Alisson began his career at Internacional, where he made over 100 appearances and won the Campeonato Gaúcho in each of his four seasons at the club. In 2016, he completed a €7.5 million transfer to Roma where he initially served as understudy to Wojciech Szczęsny before breaking into the starting line-up.
GK: Wojciech Szczesny (Poland)
In 2006, Szczęsny joined the Arsenal youth set-up. He promoted to senior team in 2009. He joined Juventus in 2017 after a two season loan deal with AS Roma. Following Buffon's departure, he became Juventus' starting goalkeeper. From 2009, he was a member of the national team's pool. He was a member the team at Euro 2012 and 2016 as well as the 2018 World Cup Finals.
RB: Cafu (Brazil)
Cafu is the all-time cap record holder for Brazil with 142. He is the only man to play in three World Cup Finals, winning in 1994 and 2002. He was the captain of the national team as they won the World Cup in 2002. With Brazil, he also took part in four editions of the Copa América, winning the title twice, in 1997 and 1999. He played with Sao Paulo, Real Zaragoza, Juventude, Roma, Palmeiras and AC Milan. He was South American Player of the Year in 1994.
RB/CB: Jonathan Zebina (France)
Zebina began his career with Cannes in France. He was best remembered for his career with AS Roma and Juventus. In his first season with the Rome club, he won the Scudetto. From 2004 to 2010, he played with Juventus, where he stayed with Juventus following their relegation. He only earned a single cap for France in 2005 against Sweden under manager Jacques Santini.
CB: Aldair (Brazil)
Aldair played for Flamengo before heading to Europe. He started with Benfica, but he was widely remembered for his 13 seasons with Roma. He was a member of the scudetto winning team in 2001. He was nicknamed "Pluto" by Roma fans. The club retired his #6 jersey for 10 seasons. For the national team, he had 80 caps. He was a key member of the great defensive unit of the World Cup winning team in 1994. In addition, he also played in the World Cup Finals 1990 and 1998.
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| Aldair |
Zago started his career with Sao Paulo at home in 1990. He played many clubs including a season in Japan before joining AS Roma in 1998. He was also part of the 2001 Scudetto-winning team. He partnered with Aldair and Walter Samuel to form a sold back-line. Between 1991 and 2001, he played 37 times for Brazil. However, he was not under consideration between 1993 and 1998. Between 1998 and 2001, he picked up 26 caps while playing for Roma.
CB: Philippe Mexes (France)
Philippe Mexes was a highly-rated centre-back who seldom got his chance with the national team under manager Raymond Domenech. He only earned 29 caps. He was a part of the team at European Championship in 2012 after Domenech left. At the club level, he played in Italy for Roma and then, AC Milan. At Roma, he formed a central defensive partnership with Cristian Chivu.
CB: Walter Samuel (Argentina)
Samuel began his career with Newell's Old Boys in 1996, moving to Boca Juniors year later. In Europe, he played with Roma, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. With Inter Milan, he won five consecutive Serie A titles; he played a key role in the club's treble success in the 2009–10 season, partnering with Lúcio in defence under José Mourinho. At international level, he has over 50 caps for Argentina, representing his country at two World Cups.
CB/LB: Christian Chivu (Romania)
Christian Chivu was most prominently played professionally for Ajax and Inter Milan. His honours at Inter included a treble of league, cup and the UEFA Champions League in 2010. Chivu's first professional clubs were FCM Reșița and FC Universitatea Craiova. He also played for Ajax and Roma before joining Inter Milan. He earned 75 caps between 1999 and 2010, and was part of Romania's squads for UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2008.
LB: Vincent Candela (France)
For his club career, Vincent Candela played with Toulouse and Guingamp before moving to A.S. Roma in 1997. He won one scudetto with Roma, as well as the Supercoppa Italiana, in 2001. He later played for Bolton Wanderers, Udinese, Siena and Messina. Internationally, he was a part of the great French team that won the World Cup in 1998 and then European Championship in 2000. He had 40 caps.
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| Vincent Candela |
Throughout his career, Cerezo played as a defensive midfielder with Atlético Mineiro, Roma, Sampdoria, São Paulo and the Brazilian national team. He was a legend at Atlético Mineiro. With São Paulo FC, he was the two-times winner of the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Libertadores. He went to Argentina 1978 and Spain 1982. During his time in Italy, Cerezo won the Coppa Italia four times; in 1991 he won the Serie A with Sampdoria, but lost the Coppa Italia final to A.S. Roma.
DM/CM: Emerson (Brazil)
For nearly a decade, Emerson was a key player for Brazil, playing 73 times. He was due to captain the 2002 side, but an injury right before the World Cup Finals kept him out of the tournament. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1998 and 2006. He played for Gremio, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, Juventus, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Santos.
CM: Sune Andersson (Sweden)
He was a versatile midfielder, who would take any position: left, right or center. He played 28 times for the Swedish national team, scoring four goals, and won a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics and a bronze at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. His only domestic title was the 1949 Swedish Cup with Solna. His performance at the 1950 World Cup earned him a transfer to A.S. Roma in Serie A, where he played for two seasons and scored 12 goals.
CM: Falcao (Brazil)
At one point, Falcao was the world's highest paid footballer. He played with Internacional at home before becoming the star of AS Roma in the 1980's, winning the Serie A in 1982-83. In 1985, he returned home and played for Sao Paulo. For the national team, he was a key player for the fantastic Brazilian team of the 1982 World Cup. He won the Silver Ball in Spain. He also went to the World Cup Finals in 1986.
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| Falcao |
Alcides Ghiggia played for the national sides of both Uruguay and Italy during his career. He was known for scoring the winning goal against Brazil in the 1950 World Cup Finals that sealed the World Cup for Uruguay. The match was known as the "Maracanazo". He also played for the club sides of the Peñarol and Danubio in Uruguay and A.S. Roma and A.C. Milan in Italy.
RW: Naim Kryeziu (Albania)
Born in Gjakova, at the time Kingdom of Serbia, current day Republic of Kosovo, Kryeziu left his town in Kosovo as a youngster to join KF Tirana. Following the 1939 Italian invasion of Albania, he joined AS Roma, where he played until 1947. He won the 1940-1941 scudetto. From 1947 to 1952, he played for Napoli. He never played for either Albania or Italy.
AM: Joaquín Peiró (Spain)
Joaquín Peiró made his debut for Atletico Madrid in 1954. In 1962, he joined Torino FC, becoming the second Spaniard to play in Serie A after Luis Suárez, whom he later teamed up with at Inter Milan, being part of the Grande Inter. From 1966 to 1970, he played for AS Roma. From Spain, he earned 12 caps, representing Spain at both 1962 and 1966 World Cup Finals.
FW/RW/LW: Zbigniew Boniek (Poland)
Zbigniew Boniek is one of the greatest Polish players in the history of the game. He earned 80 caps with 24 goals. He played at three consecutive World Cups. After the WC Finals in 1982, he moved to Italy and played for Juventus, where he won the Champions' League in 1985. Boniek also for Polish clubs Zawisza Bydgoszcz and later at Widzew Łódź, and Roma.
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| Zbigniew Boniek |
RW/LW/FW: Mancini (Brazil)
Mancini began his career with his hometown club Atlético Mineiro. He played briefly for Venezia before joining AS Roma. From 2003 to 2008, he played for AS Roma, where he found successes and earned most of his international caps. He later played for Inter Milan, but without much successes. For Brazil, he earned 12 caps. He was a member of the squad that won the 2004 Copa América.
ST: Rudi Völler (Germany)
Rudi Völler started his career with TSV 1860 Hanau, before joining Werder Bremen in 1982. After becoming Bundesliga's top scorer, he was transferred to A.S. Roma. In 1992, Völler moved to Olympique Marseille, where he won the Champions League in 1993. He joined Bayer Leverkusen in 1994. At the international level, he was capped 90 times. He was a key player as West Germany won the World Cup in 1990, playing alongside Jurgen Klinsmann.
ST: Pedro Manfredini (Argentina)
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| Pedro Manfredini |
Enrique Guaita played for Estudiantes de la Plate, where he was part of the famous attack Los Profesores before moving to AS Roma . He was the top-scorer of the Italian league in 1934–35, with 28 goals. In 1936, he returned to Argentina to play for Racing Club because he feared that he would be drafted into the army. He was capped 4 times for Argentina. While in Italy, he was capped 10 times for Italy. He won the World Cup in 1934 with them, where he scored a goal in the semi-final.
ST: Abel Balbo (Argentina)
At club level, Balbo played for Newell's Old Boys and River Plate before moving to Italy in 1989. In Italy, he played Udinese , Roma (two stints), Parma and Fiorentina. He played four games for Boca Juniors before finally retiring. He scored a total of 138 goals in Serie A. For Argentina, Balbo earned 37 caps, and played at the 1990, the 1994, the 1998 World Cups, and the 1989 and 1995 Copa América.
ST: Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina)
Gabriel Batistuta is the current top-scorer for Argentina. He first gained international recognition when Argentina won the Copa America in 1991 where he finished as the top scorer. He earned a move to Fiorentina spending the next 9 seasons there while becoming their all-time leading scorer. In 2000, he moved to Roma and won the scudetto in his first season. He played 77 times for Argentina. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1994, 1998 and 2002.
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| Gabriel Batistuta |
Arne Selmosson (Sweden), Hidetoshi Nakata (Japan), Radja Nainggolan (Belgium), Francisco Lojacono (Argentina), Arturo Ludueña (Argentina), David Pizarro (Chile), Luis del Sol (Spain), Miralem Pjanić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Edin Džeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mirko Vučinić (Montenegro), Kostas Manolas (Greece), John Arne Riise (Norway).
Squad Explanation
-- Only four foreign players are on my all-time team for AS Roma. They are Alcides Ghiggia, Cafu, Falcao and Vincent Candela. So I need to find 21 players.
-- AS Roma did not have many foreign goalkeepers. Doni was the only obvious choice followed by Alisson. Wojciech Szczesny is the only other foreign goalkeeper who played many games for the club.
-- Liked all my other blogs, all "oriundo"'s are classified as foreign players if they played for their native national team before playing for Italy. If they were only capped by Italy, they are considered "Italian". Arturo Chini Ludueña and Dino da Costa only played for Italy. Enrique Guaita made the team as an Argentinian even through he won the World Cup with Italy.
-- AS Roma's Hall of Flame included the following foreign players: Cafu, Falcao. Toninho Cerezo, Aldair, Rudi Voller, Alcides Ghiggia and Gabriel Batistuta. All of them were selected onto the team even before I studied the list of players on the Hall of Flame.
-- AS Roma won the 1982-1983 scudetto. It was an era when the best players in the world played in Serie A. Falcao and Toninho Cerezo were star players on that team. The third foreigner on the team was Herbert Prohaska, who only played a single season here. He only made honorable mention.
-- AS Roma won another Serie A title in the 2000-2001 season. Antonio Zago ,Walter Samuel, Jonathan Zebina, Emerson, Cafu, Aldair and Vincent Candela made my all-time team. Gabriel Batistuta was a big part of Roma's Serie A title. Abel Balbo was also on that team, but he did not play much. He was selected for his performance in his first stint with the club between 1993 and 1998.
-- Of all the defenders selected, Antonio Zago (Brazil) was relatively unknown outside Serie A. He was a fan favorite here.
-- Rodolfo Volk was born what was then Austria-Hungry(now Croatia). He only represented Italy A, which I considered him to be Italian. He is not on this team.
-- It was difficult to classify Naim Kryeziu as a foreign or Italian player. He was an Albanian born in modern day Kosovo. The country was annexed by Italy in 1939 and he played with AS Roma as an Italian. However, he never played for Italy. Thus, I would put him as an Albanian. Albania honoured him with a stamp in 2002. In the end, I put him as a foreign player.
-- Abel Balbo is AS Roma's highest scoring foreign player.
-- Joaquín Peiró was team captain at one point.
-- I needed a backup rightback. Jonathan Zebina was chosen ahead of Miralem Pjanić, Radja Nainggolan and Luis del Sol.
-- Hidetoshi Nakata (Japan) was a successful backup, but he was mainly used as a sub. He only earned honourable mention.
-- Pedro Manfredini (Argentina) is AS Roma's highest scoring foreign player. Edin Džeko is second with Abel Balbo in third. At the time of writing, he has scored over 90 goals for the club. He was Serie A Top Scorer in the 2015-2016 season. He is getting to become a serious candidate.
Formation
-- AS Roma's Hall of Flame included the following foreign players: Cafu, Falcao. Toninho Cerezo, Aldair, Rudi Voller, Alcides Ghiggia and Gabriel Batistuta. All of them were selected onto the team even before I studied the list of players on the Hall of Flame.
-- AS Roma won the 1982-1983 scudetto. It was an era when the best players in the world played in Serie A. Falcao and Toninho Cerezo were star players on that team. The third foreigner on the team was Herbert Prohaska, who only played a single season here. He only made honorable mention.
-- AS Roma won another Serie A title in the 2000-2001 season. Antonio Zago ,Walter Samuel, Jonathan Zebina, Emerson, Cafu, Aldair and Vincent Candela made my all-time team. Gabriel Batistuta was a big part of Roma's Serie A title. Abel Balbo was also on that team, but he did not play much. He was selected for his performance in his first stint with the club between 1993 and 1998.
-- Of all the defenders selected, Antonio Zago (Brazil) was relatively unknown outside Serie A. He was a fan favorite here.
-- Rodolfo Volk was born what was then Austria-Hungry(now Croatia). He only represented Italy A, which I considered him to be Italian. He is not on this team.
-- It was difficult to classify Naim Kryeziu as a foreign or Italian player. He was an Albanian born in modern day Kosovo. The country was annexed by Italy in 1939 and he played with AS Roma as an Italian. However, he never played for Italy. Thus, I would put him as an Albanian. Albania honoured him with a stamp in 2002. In the end, I put him as a foreign player.
-- Abel Balbo is AS Roma's highest scoring foreign player.
-- Joaquín Peiró was team captain at one point.
-- I needed a backup rightback. Jonathan Zebina was chosen ahead of Miralem Pjanić, Radja Nainggolan and Luis del Sol.
-- Hidetoshi Nakata (Japan) was a successful backup, but he was mainly used as a sub. He only earned honourable mention.
-- Pedro Manfredini (Argentina) is AS Roma's highest scoring foreign player. Edin Džeko is second with Abel Balbo in third. At the time of writing, he has scored over 90 goals for the club. He was Serie A Top Scorer in the 2015-2016 season. He is getting to become a serious candidate.
Formation
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