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Few are the Roma players to have bagged a goal on their debuts as well as in their farewell appearances for the club. In fact, only five players have achieved this since 1927.
The most recent was Stephan El Shaarawy at the Bentegodi in Verona last weekend, rounding off the scoring and claiming his team’s place in the Champions League next season.
It was a crucial goal at the end of a gruelling, hard-fought match. Paulo Dybala fed El Shaarawy with a delightful backheel before the forward fired past Lorenzo Montipo into the far corner to make it 2-0 to the visitors. The result was sealed, and the three points were no longer in doubt. It was the fairytale ending to Il Faraone’s time at the club.
It all began ten years earlier, at the Olimpico against Frosinone. The Italian international enjoyed a dream debut, backheeling the ball into the goal in front of the Curva Sud. Having arrived in the capital just a few days earlier, Il Faraone immediately made his mark with a marvellous goal, making it clear that he wasn't just along for a spell, but that Rome would become his home.
From that moment on, Elsha went on to make club history, racking up 348 appearances and firing in 66 goals, in turn becoming one of Roma’s top 15 appearance holders in the club’s near-99 year history. As mentioned, he is one of only five players to have scored in his first and last games for the club. Let’s take a look at the other four.
The Four Other Players
The first to pull of this achievement was Danilo Michelini, who featured for the club between 1937 and 1939. A Tuscan centre forward with a remarkable goal-scoring record, he made 58 appearances and netted 31 times over the course of two seasons. He plundered a hat-trick on his debut against Fiorentina, and in his final appearance for the Giallorossi he found the net in his side’s 3-0 triumph over Novara.
Next up came Gunnar Nordahl, who played for the club between 1956 and 1958. He was already a five-time Serie A top scorer with AC Milan and then joined Roma aged 35. Despite his age he remained consistent in front of goal, finding the net 15 times in 34 matches for the Giallorossi, with both his first and last for the club coming against Genoa.
Filippo Tasso’s record came shortly after Nordhal’s, with the Swede becoming a player-coach in the 1959/59 season, the same campaign in which the Tasso joined from Fanfulla. An 18-year-old from Lombardy with high hopes, he made just five appearances for the club. His first goal came against Hannover in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and his fifth and final one was in a league game against Torino.
Among the greatest Giallorossi goalscorers of all time is Argentine Pedro Manfredini. Known as ‘Big Pedro’ despite standing at only 5' 8″, he recorded 104 goals in 164 games. He netted his first against Cagliari in the 1959 Coppa Italia, and remained a relentless scorer for six years, until his final match and goal against Inter, which was also in the Coppa Italia. What about after Manfredini? Well, it’s of course El Shaarawy. Savona’s very own Stephan El Shaarawy.
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