We’re moving ahead with voting for this year’s AS Roma Hall of Fame inductees and now it’s time to pick your favorite from five great Giallorossi strikers.
Take a look below if you want to jog your memory then head over to our Polls page to cast your vote!
ABEL BALBO
Villa Constituciòn (Argentina), June 1, 1966
Position: Center forward
Total appearances and goals: 182, 87 (average 0.478)
League appearances and goals: 149, 78 (0.523)
European appearances and goals: 16, 6
Coppa Italia appearances and goals: 16, 3
Italian Super Cup appearances and goals: 1, 0
Over the course of his career he played alongside Maradona, Totti and Batistuta – that in itself says a lot about what kind of footballer Abel Balbo was. A rare breed of striker indeed: Incredibly powerful, exceptionally skillful and with a sensational eye for goal. After signing from Udinese for 11 billion lira in 1993, for the next five years he formed the focal point of every Giallorossi attack and even went on to take the captain’s armband. He made the sweetest of returns in summer 2000 (presented to 15,000 fans at the Olimpico on August 3) and helped Roma to league and Italian Super Cup success the following year, albeit as a squad player. He was also on the pitch – and scored a late goal – when the Giallorossi wore the Scudetto on their shirts for the first time in 17 years, opening the new season with a friendly against Judenburg on July 23, 2001.
GABRIEL OMAR BATISTUTA
Reconquista (Argentina), February 1, 1969
Position: Center forward
Total appearances and goals: 87, 33 (average 0.379)
League appearances and goals: 63, 30 (0.476)
European appearances and goals: 21, 2
Coppa Italia appearances and goals: 2, 1
Italian Super Cup appearances and goals: 1, 0
Perhaps the most fitting image to present Gabriel Omar Batistuta is his crazed machine-gun fire in front of the Curva Sud in the derby of April 29, 2001. It came after he scored a goal combining technique, power, opportunism and speed of execution – the ball hit the back of the net before the opponents even realized the shot was coming. This formidable, unique striker spent his long stay in Italy with Fiorentina and Roma (besides a very brief spell at Inter) so it must have been fate that former Roma man Egisto Pandolfini should bring him to the Viola. He flew to Mar del Plata in January 1991 to watch Boca Juniors’ Diego Latorre – ‘the new Maradona’ – and his eye was caught by another Argentine frontman, a young Batistuta. Two weeks later he had them both on a plane to Italy. Nine years on it was Giallorossi president Franco Sensi who handed Fabio Capello Batigol, the final piece in the Scudetto jigsaw. Batistuta won the league and Italian Super Cup with Roma in 2001.
PIERINO PRATI
Cinisello Balsamo (Milan), December 13, 1946
Position: Striker
Total appearances and goals: 108, 41 (average 0.380)
League appearances and goals: 82, 28 (0.341)
European appearances and goals: 4, 0
Coppa Italia appearances and goals: 22, 13
The news of his signing made the headlines at the end of June 1973 and with Roma fans it was love at first sight. That love exploded into life when La Peste notched a double in his debut appearance at the Olimpico – against his former employers AC Milan. The first was set up by Agostino Di Bartolomei, the second a stunning diving header that sent the crowd into raptures. Prati had a talent for producing the goods when the pressure was at its most intense. Like in the derby on March 23, 1975, when everyone was urging him to score so that he could overtake Giorgio Chinaglia in the scoring charts and Roma could overtake reigning champions Lazio in the standings. He duly obliged on both accounts, sliding in to knock home Franco Peccenini’s ball and take his place in Giallorossi history.
MARCO DELVECCHIO
Milan, April 7, 1973
Position: Striker
Total appearances and goals: 300, 83 (average 0.277)
League appearances and goals: 231, 62 (0.268)
European appearances and goals: 42, 13
Coppa Italia appearances and goals: 26, 8
Italian Super Cup appearances and goals: 1, 0
He cut his Serie A teeth at Inter where a man named Arcadio Venturi was assistant manager at the time – a sign of destiny for this promising young striker. Marco joined Roma in 1995, the news being sprung on him while he was on international duty with the Italy U21 team. Nerazzurri official Sandro Mazzola informed him that he was joining Roma because Inter had decided to go with Marco Branca. Despite having some initial reservations, a few years later Delvecchio would declare: “I’m a Roman born in Milan.” He was a key member of Fabio Capello’s Scudetto-winning side with his tireless and effective running linking midfield and attack. He also won an Italian Super Cup at the club and would score time and time again against Lazio. He was such a thorn in the Biancocelesti’s side that even a world-class defender and future World Cup winner such as Alessandro Nesta couldn’t keep him quiet. Delvecchio also came within a whisker of winning the 2000 Euros with Italy.
FRANCESCO GRAZIANI
Subiaco (Rome), December 16, 1952
Position: Striker
Total appearances and goals: 96, 21 (0.219)
League appearances and goals: 57, 12 (0.211)
European appearances and goals: 13, 4
Coppa Italia appearances and goals: 26, 5
He joined Roma after becoming a national hero, the photo of him in the 1982 World Cup final starting line-up already adorning the FIGC offices. A hardworking, mobile striker with a never-say-die attitude, he was also a legendary figure for Torino. He joined the greatest Roma side of all time and helped them finish second in the league while winning the Coppa Italia and suffering penalty heartbreak in the European Cup final. The image of him exiting the field after the Liverpool game, his shirt covered in blood and drenched in disappointment, will live long in the memory. This was a player who really did give blood, sweat and tears for the Roma cause and it endeared him to the Giallorossi faithful. His swansong season was memorable too. Under Sven Goran Eriksson’s stewardship in 1985-86, he helped Roma clinch another Coppa Italia crown while weighing in with some key goals to ensure the neck-and-neck tussle with Juventus went down to the wire. The highlight was perhaps the goal he scored against Sampdoria on April 2, 1986, which took Roma to within a point of the Bianconeri. In a post-match interview he explained: “I feared I might die of joy after that goal.”
Source, asroma.it