Historic XI: The first game of the Viola presidency

Symbolic. Iconic. Significant.

You could use all of those adjectives and more to describe the first competitive game for the Giallorossi under club president Dino Viola.

Why is that? Well, to start with, because it began with a win. The man from Aulla made success a habit during his presidency.

And then, of course, because of the competition it took place in - the Coppa Italia, a tournament the Giallorossi would make their own for a period (winning it four times between 1979 and 1986).

And finally, for the man who decided the game on the night. Agostino Di Bartolomei. The midfielder, Rome born and raised, who would end up captain of the team as they clinched the club's second Scudetto, in 1983.

The game itself was on 26 August 1979, a 1-0 win over Perugia at the Stadio Renato Curi. A winning start for the new president, who had already promised that he was going to do things differently.

Viola, a man with a background in industry, wanted to bring some of that business model to his football club - even if that would prove to be somewhat difficult at times. In 1983, in an interview with Italian TV channel Rai, he explained it thusly: "Football is very different to manafacturing; in a normal business you study the market and the product.

"Here the product changes every week, every game, every Sunday. So being the head of a football business is a lot more difficult than managing another company."

Here is the starting XI from that first game.

Paolo Conti: The goalkeeper with a moustache straight out of the 1970s, the embodiement of the unkempt style of that era. He came up with his own description for the Roma environment: "Roma has an incredible art for self-combustion." He made 206 appearances for the club between 1973 and 1980.

Domenico Maggiora: A full-back who came through the system at Juventus, although it was at Roma that he spent the best years of his career, from 1976 to 1982. He made 156 appearances for the club in that span, scoring two goals.

Mauro Amenta: Another full-back, a maverick on the flanks, Amenta also had the Conti-esque moustache to help him stand out. Not the most refined player in terms of technique, but he scored more than his share of goals during his career. At Roma he managed just one, though, in 29 appearances between 1979 and 1981.

Romeo Benetti: Benetti arrived at the club late in his career, after two important stints at Milan and Juventus. An old-school central midfielder, he seemed almost impossible to get around in one-on-one situations. This was the start of a two-year spell for him in Rome, making 41 appearances and helping the side to one Coppa Italia.

Maurizio Turone: A name to make fans of a certain age reflect wistfully. The combative centre-back was just centimetres away from helping Roma to the Scudetto with his goal against Juventus in 1981 - until his finish was disallowed for offside in controversial circumstances. He scored two goals in 93 appearances for the club... but many fans will always wonder if it should have been three.

Sergio Santarini: One of the standout captains of Roma history. He joined the club in 1968, left in the 1981, and made 431 appearances for the club in total - 148 of them with the armband on.

Bruno Conti: One of the greatest players in club history, and one that caught the international imagination too with his play at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Pace, poise and driving runs were Conti's trademark - he would be key to the club's Serie A victory in 1983, and the four Coppa Italia titles the club won in this period. A post-playing career run as a coach and director at Roma underlined his link to the club.

Agostino Di Bartolomei: No. 8 on the teamsheet for this game, but No. 10 was on his back when Roma won the title a few years later. He was the captain and talisman for Nils Liedholm's side by then. A central midfielder with all the attributes required - plus a devastating right foot that seemed to be unleashed at just the right times. He made 310 appearances for the club in total, 146 of them as captain - and scored 69 goals too.

Roberto Pruzzo: He was nicknamed the 'Bomber' by Roma fans, and that was because he was one ('bomber' is the preferred Italian term for any prolific goalscorer). It was deserved though: Pruzzo scored on his debut for Roma in every competition he played, from Serie A and the Coppa Italia to all the European competitions too. In total he made 315 appearances for the club, and sits second on the top goalscorers list with 138 of them.

Carlo Ancelotti: Not just a run-of-the-mill central midfielder, Ancelotti had a vision and perspective to his game that made the No. 10 shirt on his back seem a fair choice. He would wear that number in both of the club's Coppa Italia wins in 1980 and 1981 - and was a key component of the Scudetto team of 1982-83. He ended up scoring 17 goals in 227 games for the club.

Roberto Scarnecchia: These days, fans in Italy may know him better as a TV chef. But Scarnecchia was a footballer before all that, one who would liken himself to Gervinho years later: a winger with pace and a determination to attack the goal. Three goals in 96 games may not seem the greatest return, but even after his departure he was appreciated - Paulo Roberto Falcao even paid tribute to him amid the 1983 Scudetto celebrations.