(CNN) -- Nobody would have predicted this. A team coming off the back of a mediocre season with a newly-appointed, unheralded coach, sitting at the top of the Italian Serie A table after a run of nine successive victories. No team in European football has made a better start to the 2013-14 season than Roma; no team in Italian football history has ever made a better start to a Serie A season. A handful of vibrant new recruits and a wily old-timer have all combined to lift the club to the top of the table, with Roma's form attracting admiring glances from around the world.
@highlight
Roma top Serie A after winning opening nine league matches
@highlight
Serie A leaders clear at top of table by five points after stunning start
@highlight
New coach Rudi Garcia key to Roma's renaissance
@highlight
Roma talisman Francesco Totti rejuvenated under Garcia
Rudi Garcia
Garcia
He said that approach is similar to @placeholder and that speaks volumes about the thoroughness of his preparations."
Roma
Roma
Roma
Roma
Roma
Garcia's success is made all the more remarkable given the pressures which weigh on the shoulders of any @placeholder coach.
Roma
Roma
Roma
Roma
Roma
The flamboyant attacker is @placeholder's captain and the definition of a one-club man.
Francesco Totti
@placeholder's form this season has been imperious, with the veteran scoring three goals and contributing six assists.