Impallomeni remembers the young, Roman side that won the Coppa Italia

There were so many reasons for that. With the cup being played at the end of the 1985-86 campaign, the Giallorossi went into it dealing with the deep disappointment of throwing away a chance at the Scudetto after a home defeat against a relegated Lecce side on the penultimate day of the season.

They then went into the Coppa Italia with a squad rendered almost unrecognisable by international commitments, as most of the big names went off to join up with their respective national teams ahead of the World Cup in Mexico that summer.

As a result, the coach Sven Goran Eriksson put his faith in a young group of players, many of whom had only recently graduated through the club's academy system. Roberto Pruzzo and Francesco Graziani added a bit of experience, but not much.

Among those young reinforcements was Stefano Impallomeni, 18 at the time, and now a journalist and TV host.

We spoke to Impallomeni about his reflections on that remarkable cup success.

What happened to Roma that summer?

“I think it is something that could never be repeated. An Italian cup won with a group of young players out there on the pitch. We went out there and played every game with smiles on our faces, the pressure off. We backed ourselves to do well - but without great expectations on us, without set targets in mind. But we were able to do it - we were able to win it all."

What was the secret of that success?

“It was a team that, particularly when passing the ball around from deep, had a style of play that worked and was well understood by all. Even when some of the players changed from those who had been playing in the league. And then there was another factor that sprinkled in a bit of magic into it all."

Which was?

“It was a team of Romanisti, players born and raised with the club. Real Romanisti. We all were. We faced our opponents with utter determination, utter desire. And I think the fans understood that was the motivation that underpinned the whole group.

"For example, after the second leg of the final against Sampdoria, the reception at the end from the fans was just amazing. Emotional. Somehow, that team really rubbed off on the fans and left an impression."

What do you think that feeling was?

“A sense of belonging, of a love for the shirt. That's how it was. And above all I think that really made the president, Dino Viola, happy - because for him it was like the realisation of a dream."

He always wanted to build a team with a lot of homegrown players...

“Exactly. It was an ambition of his, something he was always focused on. And we had seven or eight players from the academy for that cup run. Viola was especially proud of that.

"The biggest thing for him would have been to build a winning Roma side that had 11 players from the academy, all of them from Rome and Roma fans. So in some ways that Coppa Italia win was the realisation of that idea."

You won against Sampdoria, who had Roberto Mancini and others in their ranks...

“Sampdoria at that time were building towards something great, they would eventually win the Scudetto in 1991. We lost the first leg, in Genoa, 2-1 but we deserved more from it. In the second leg we beat them 2-0. It was a Sampdoria side that was just at the start of a successful period - when Toninho Cerezo arrived and joined their midfield, they went on to win the league."

Cerezo, the hero of that famous night in June 1986.

“Like the other international players, he had left before the final part of the campaign to join up with his country ahead of the World Cup that summer. But in the end he wasn't selected for the tournament by Brazil. He took it quite badly.

"He came back to Rome just in time for that second leg of the final and came on as a substitute - scoring the goal that would ultiamtely decide the tie with a brilliant header."

From your cross, of course...

“That was just a very special period for me and for all my teammates. At that age you feel invincible, unstoppable. You take everything on, like that moment for the goal. I am sure that, if someone else had scored other than Cerezo, that goal would be talked about a lot less now than it is. Instead, it's become something of a cult memory among Romanista because of how it involved Toninho.

"After that night, despite the fact that he was already over 30, I think he entered into the best phase of his career. That goal was so important for him - and I think his agent, Dario Canovi, admitted as much in a book too. From that moment onwards we saw his second adolescence; he eventually went on to win things with Sampdoria and Sao Paulo.

"I'm honoured to have played my small part in that. He was our idol, our hero. Both for the fans and the rest of the players. One of the greats."

Eriksson was the coach - what about him?

“He represented the new school, he was a modern coach. He was young, he knew how to win, he was very well prepared. He was 38 when we won that Coppa Italia, I think. Four years earlier he had won the UEFA Cup with Gothenburg. He was the Julian Nagelsmann of his time. He was ambitious; Viola admired him and trusted him to take over from Nils Liedholm."

That 1986 Roma team, I think a lot of fans would say, played some of the best football in the club's history.

“We played some brilliant stuff, it's true. It was sort of a 4-2-3-1, that became more of a 4-5-1 when we didn't have the ball. We didn't keep a lot of the ball, but we attacked directly and with real intent. Eriksson used wide players like they are often used even today. But I think there was one player who really made it all work."

Who?

“Zibì Boniek. It was he who was usually the one who found the way to make the difference, like in the comeback against Juventus. I've never seen a player like that in my life. He was amazing. So good with both feet, one of the best technical players I have every seen. Smart, sly, influential.

"One of the few players who could play as well as he could talk - in the sense that he could say something and then pull it off. There's a bit of him about Henrikh Mkhitaryan, in my opinion."

How did you end up celebrating that Coppa Italia win?

“Just with endless excitement. You have to think about everything that was involved. I was 18, Romanista, a key player in a cup final. What more could I possibly ask for?

"We were a group of talented young players, although we all went off to have different careers. Me, Di Carlo, Lucci, Desideri, Tovalieri - as well as Righetti and Giannini who were a couple of years older than us.

"We were young, good and Romanisti."