Atletico Roma: The new force of Rome?

Let’s be honest. We all know that in Rome there are two kinds of fans: Roma fans and Lazio fans. The two storied clubs have been the calcio representatives of the city of Rome for all of their history. Sure, Serie B club Frosinone is in the region of Lazio, but that’s not Rome, that’s just the Ciociaria. But there has always been a third club in Rome. Currently, their name is Atletico Roma, but the names Lodigiani and Cisco Roma may ring a bell. Atletico Roma have a strange story, and it’s time to tell it.

If you read Francesco Totti’s bio anywhere, you’ll see that for three years before joining Roma he played for a club Lodigiani. Lodigiani were a local Roman team that were always in the lower divisions, never getting higher then Serie C1. They were founded in 1972 and were mostly used as a feeder club for talents (there are so many players that have played for Lodigiani at a certain point in their career, including World Cup winners Francesco Totti and Luca Toni). The club played in Rome’s Stadio Flaminio (also home to the Italian National Rugby Team), and over time developed a reputation as Rome’s third club.

Fast Forward. In the 2003/2004 season, Lodigiani was struggling in Serie C2. Another Roman club (formed in 1998), named Cisco Calcio, who were in Serie D, were looking to get to the professional divisions and their owners decided to buy Lodigiani. So, in the summer of 2004, the clubs were fused together and Lodigiani became Cisco Lodigiani. The 2004/2005 season was played as Cisco Lodigiani Calcio. In the summer of 2005 comes the twist. The Cisco owners wanted to get rid of the Lodigiani identity, and therefore moved to rename the club “Cisco Roma”. The Lodigiani fans were furious at this move, as were the ex-Lodigiani directors that had moved to the new club, and they no longer decided to support Cisco Roma. This is why the Lodigiani fans still around today follow the following rule: Atletico Roma is NOT Lodigiani. Lodigiani is it’s own club with it’s own history, Atletico Roma is a club started in 2005, taking advantage of Lodigiani’s foundation. And so, the ex-Lodigiani directors left the club and started a new club, ASD Lodigiani, which began play in the amateur divisions. ASD Lodigiani still exists today, and are currently playing in Promozione, the 7th division of the calcio pyramid. They play at La Borghesiana stadium, which is home to all Italian national youth teams.

So if you haven’t followed the story so far, quick recap: Lodigiani was a club in Rome that became known as third club of Rome. Many top players have played for Lodigiani in the past. In 2004 Lodigiani were bought by Cisco Calcio. In 2005 Cisco Calcio decided to dump the Lodigiani name and become their own club Cisco Roma. Lodigiani are now an amateur club in the 7th division of Italian calcio.

Next part of the story: Cisco Roma. So, in the 2006/2007 season, Cisco Roma embarked on a mission to achieve promotion from Serie C2. They could rely on the experience of striker Paolo Di Canio, who was looking to finish his career in his hometown. They finished 2nd, but lost in the promotion play-offs. In the 2008/2009 season they narrowly missed out on the playoffs, finishing 6th. In the summer of 2009, with the club suffering financial difficulty, the club was sold to constructors (and brothers) Mario and Davide Ciaccia. The coaching job was given to Giuseppe Incocciati, a journeyman Serie A defender from the 90s. Not considered promotion contenders at all, Cisco finished 3rd behind Catanzaro and Juve Stabia. In the semi-final, they defeated Brindisi and went to a final with Catanzaro. In the first leg in Rome, Cisco won 4-0. In the return leg, Catanzaro managed to score 4 goals, but Cisco scored 2, and were promoted to Serie C1 for the first time in their short history.

This past summer came the real change. The Ciaccia brothers were ambitious and wanted to change the identity of the club. A poll was released for fans to choose the new name of Cisco Roma. Eventually, the winner became Atletico Roma FC. The club colors were changed from red and white to blue and white, and a new crest was designed. Interestingly, the year put on the crest (1972) is the year of Lodigiani’s formation. But that wasn’t the only thing done. The club aimed high and went after free agents that would be a luxury in the Lega Pro first division, and managed to sign 4: midfielder Daniele Franceschini, Roman born and just at Sampdoria; goalkeeper Alex Calderoni, a player with loads of Serie A experience with Atalanta and Torino; midfielder Roberto Baronio, another player loaded with Serie A experience and also one of Italy’s best U-21 players ever; and winger/striker Mauro Esposito, who at Cagliari was one of Serie A’s best wingers but then really fell into a big decline. With these 4 players plus a pretty good supporting cast, Atletico Roma have been the revelation of Lega Pro.

Currently, they are atop Group B of Lega Pro First Division with an incredible record after 6 games: 6 wins, 18 points, 10 goals scored, and 0 conceded. Nobody expected a start like this. Davide Ciaccia, one of the owners had this to say:

“We were convinced we’d start off on the right foot, however we have to keep are feet on the ground to keep the big advantage we’ve created at the moment. We made a plan that we wanted to reach Serie B within 5 years, and for now things are going better then we predicted. There’s room in Rome for us too, and it’s an advantage to Roma and Lazio because we can give space and playing time to their youngsters.”

Then, Ciaccia hinted that they could try to get Francesco Totti to play for them much further in the future when he was near the end of his career. One thing’s for sure, if Atletico Roma continue like this, their first ever Serie B promotion could become a reality. I hope I didn’t jinx them and now they lose this weekend. Only one problem, they don’t have many fans. Like I mentioned before, Lodigiani fans refuse to support anything Cisco Roma-related, and with 99% of Romans either Lazio and Roma fans, who the hell is an Atletico Roma fan? Who grows up in Rome saying “Yeah I’m an Atletico fan.” “Oh yeah, Atletico Madrid?” “No, Atletico Roma.” From the pictures I saw on their website, the Stadio Flaminio is pretty much empty at home games. There are like 15 people (probably family members of the players). But a third team from Rome, even in Serie B, would be pretty interesting. They would have a derby with Frosinone, and who knows, an Atletico Roma-Roma or Atletico Roma-Lazio derby in the near future? Atletico Roma is just another great example that whenever you have a strong front office, no matter how small the club is, you can go far in Italian calcio.

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Category: Lazio, Roma, Rumors & News, Serie A