Capello: Roma must start winning again; Gasperini can compete with Inter

Fabio Capello has confirmed his early-season forecast about Roma, telling La Gazzetta dello Sport that he predicted the club's strong start two weeks ago. He said he had warned observers to "be very careful with Roma as Inter's first rival for the Scudetto", and the opening two Serie A matches—in which Roma scored eight goals without conceding—have vindicated that assessment. Capello attributed Roma's seamless integration of new signings to a squad that is already familiar with Gian Piero Gasperini's system. "When in a squad you see everyone running and fighting, whoever comes in integrates quickly," he explained. "It is not a team that must do something different or new, so the task is straightforward. The others are already doing it well and so nothing extra." He noted that Roma finished the 2025-26 season strongly, securing Champions League qualification through a late-season climb the league, and that players already understand their manager's football philosophy. Capello described what Roma showed against Lecce—the most recent match before his interview—as confirmation of his earlier judgment. "The Roma of August has entertained me," he said when asked about the team's display. "Substantially Roma has returned to playing as it finished in the previous season: it has shown it has no integration problems, it does not need to do something different. Gasperini knows his players perfectly and the players know the coach perfectly: they go on the pitch and retrace what was done in the final phase of the championship last season." He concluded with a direct call to ambition: "I have seen it, I have declared it, I have even told Gasperini twice: at Roma it is time to win again."

Fabio Capello has backed Roma to compete for the Serie A title this season, saying he predicted Gian Piero Gasperini's side would be a serious threat to champions Inter. Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport after Roma's opening weekend, Capello said he had flagged the club as "the first rival for Inter for the title" 15 days earlier, and that Roma's eight goals in two matches without conceding confirmed his assessment. He praised the speed at which new signings had integrated into the squad, highlighting the fact that the team showed no signs of adjustment problems in the opening 180 minutes of Serie A. Capello noted that Roma's early success stemmed from their ability to recreate the form that ended last season, when they mounted a late push to secure Champions League qualification. He emphasised that Gasperini's players already understood the coach's tactical ideas and could execute them from the outset, unlike in his first year at the club. The lack of integration issues meant new arrivals were absorbed quickly into a squad where all 11 players were already running and fighting hard for the same cause. Capello stated: "When in a squad you see that everyone runs and fights, anyone who arrives integrates quickly: it's not a squad that needs to do something different or new." He added: "I've seen it, I've said it, I've even told Gasperini twice: at Roma it is now time to win."

Roma have made a blistering start to the 2026–27 season under Gian Piero Gasperini, scoring seven goals across their first two Serie A fixtures. A dominant 4–0 victory over Fiorentina at the Olimpico in the opening match was followed by a 3–0 win away at Lecce, displaying the immediate attacking potency of Gasperini's tactical approach. The seven goals in the opening 180 minutes rank among Roma's best starts in recent years. Across the last nine Serie A seasons, only the 2021–22 campaign saw Roma match or exceed this output in their first two matches—when they also scored seven goals. The statistic underlines the impact of Gasperini's offensive system and how quickly the squad has absorbed his tactical concepts, establishing an exceptionally high offensive intensity from the outset of the campaign.