Emotional Bavagnoli savours 'dream' victory

Bavagnoli, who became the Giallorosse's first coach when the side was founded three years ago, witnessed her side win 3-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw with AC Milan at the Mapei Stadium, as Vanessa Bernauer scored the decisive penalty.

Afterwards, the boss acknowledged what it meant to pick up the first silverware in the team's history.

“I was asked before the game if this could be the coronation of our journey,” Bavagnoli reflected.

“And now, yes, we can say that it caps off these three years.

“We have always tried to create a style of play, an approach to the game. Tonight we never gave up, we kept fighting until the end, and we went and took what we wanted.

“We won on penalties, which are always a lottery, but we deserved to win.”

She added: “You always know that building a project from nothing, to develop a group of players into something, is not going to be easy. Now we have achieved something amazing, we’ve realised a dream.

“I want to dedicate this trophy to all the fans of this club, and to the club itself.”

The trophy was lifted by Elisa Bartoli, the only club captain in the team's history to date - and a Rome-born Roma fan too.

"I've been waiting for this moment since I was born," the Italy international said.

"I was more anxious about this game today than I was at the World Cup. This is a win for everyone - we've worked so hard after a difficult start to the season. We are all so happy.

"Today we have won the Coppa Italia, next season we want to do even better. We want to build on this and keep improving. We won't stop here."