Rome - Derby della Capitale

In the late spring of 2005, our same gang of five headed to the Eternal City and the Rome Derby. Not the biggest game in Europe at that time but anyone who grew up watching Paul Gascoigne capture the hearts of the Roman people will remember this fixture being an intense, colorful game of enormous magnitude.

Rather predictably we stayed in a hostel again. Still not matured into cultured adults yet, some would argue we still haven’t, we found it difficult to find the kind of nightlife we desired so we ended up drinking in the hostel bar. Rome is a magnificent city. I was surprised how easy it was to get around and see all the main sights in a short space of time. Like most Italian cities, you walk around one corner and the most incredible looking historic building greets you head on, you walk around another corner and there’s five more. I’ve always loved Italian culture and Rome didn’t disappoint.

Shockingly, we actually bought our tickets legally this time. The internet had progressed to a point where we actually did some research and found out you can buy them from select store locations. We found am official Roma shop that to our surprise still had tickets and we bought five at face value. I suppose the Stadio Olympico does hold 80,000 and neither team was exactly setting Europe or even Italy on fire at that time. I think we actually bought them the day before, prior to sightseeing so there was literally no tension or apprehension about this one.

The journey to the stadium was not easy. It’s a bit of a trek from the city and we ended up on a bus and then a long walk in sweltering heat. Once inside, both “curvas” were alive with noise and colour.

The game was a typically tetchy Italian affair and ended 0-0. Antonio Cassano the Roma captain was the liveliest and the biggest threat for the “home” team. He often threw his arms around to get the crowd going, meanwhile at the other end, Paulo Di Canio also gestured with his hands a lot but more towards the referee and his teammates. Obviously adored by the Lazio ultras, he trudged over to them at the final whistle, shaking his head in frustration, lapping up the adulation, before throwing his shirt into the Curva. Nothing else really happened other than a few half chances and a few flares being thrown on the pitch. It was a warm Roman Sunday afternoon, people were calm, the football was pedestrian. We left content that we had seen one of the biggest and historically violent derbies in world football and left in one piece.

Roma

Curci, Panucci, Cufri, Mexes, Mancini, Dacourt (Virga), De Rossi, Chivu (Ferrari), Perrotta, Montella, Cassano. Subs not used; Pipolo, Xavier, Scurto, Greco, Corvia. Coach: Conti

Lazio

Perruzi, Siviglia, Filipini A, Oddo, E Filipini, Zauri, Dabo, Giannichedda, Liverani, Di Canio, Rocchi. Subs not used; Sereni, Ceric, Lequi, Talamonti, Bazzani, Pandev, Muzzi. Coach: Papadopulo.

Attendance: 68,000

Highlights: https://youtu.be/K8fqTrro3V4