Coppa Italia draw takes shape: Juventus looms at quarter-finals, derby final a possibility

Roma arrive at the international break on the back of an almost perfect start to the season. Gasperini's side sit top of the table with four wins in five league matches, and have impressed with a near-miss against Serie A champions Inter plus a valuable draw away at Fenerbahçe in the Champions League. During the three-week break between matchday five and matchday six, Gasperini will work with players at Trigoria, including Wesley, Malen and Cristante, who are carrying minor injuries, alongside squad members not called up by their national teams. The goal is to have all players at 100% fitness when league action resumes. According to Corriere della Sera, Roma will play two friendlies during the break. These matches will serve both to build match fitness and to involve young academy players, offering them valuable minutes and opportunities to integrate with the senior squad.

Francesco Totti has revealed he genuinely considered returning to professional football at 48 years old, but ultimately rejected overtures from Genoa and Como. The Roma legend explained his reasoning: he could not bring himself to play against his former club. Totti spent his entire career at Roma before retiring in 2017, scoring 307 goals for the Giallorossi. His reflection on potential comeback moves shows the enduring connection between the former captain and AS Roma, even as other Serie A clubs sought to tempt him back into action.

Francesco Totti has disclosed that he received offers from both Genoa and Como when he was 48 years old, but declined both opportunities. Speaking in connection with his new book *Oltre*, published with Corriere della Sera, Totti explained the reasoning behind his rejection of Serie A football after leaving Roma. Totti recounted how his jesting comments about being ready to return to football were taken seriously by club officials. Genoa, managed by Alberto Gilardino—a fellow 2006 World Cup winner with Italy—and Como, with Cesc Fabregas in the dugout, both made formal approaches. Gilardino was 42 at the time and Fabregas 37, meaning Totti would have been respectively six and eleven years older than the men directing his football. To test his fitness, Totti embarked on a serious conditioning programme: he played eight-a-side football every Monday evening, added three weekly gym sessions and two with a physiotherapist, and overhauled his diet, eliminating bread and sweets. He felt his body respond well, though he acknowledged the inevitable wear of a near-50-year-old—a slight back problem but nothing grave. The Marassi stadium, Genoa's home, held particular appeal: an English-style ground with passionate supporters, and notably the venue of his final Roma match. Gilardino sent occasional WhatsApp messages checking his progress: "Allora?" ("So?"). Yet as Totti trained and his fitness improved, an internal conflict crystallized. He articulated the core tension in a question he posed to himself repeatedly: "But can you play for a team that isn't Roma?" He wrote: "Inside me the right answer rang out loudly. I tried not to hear it." Though age could be overcome—"the foot doesn't age, everyone agrees on that"—the prospect of wearing another shirt felt like a betrayal regardless of his years. "A sporting betrayal has no age, whether you're 18 or 48," he reflected. Totti also revealed the beginning of his relationship with Noemi, describing their first kiss near Piazza del Popolo in a car, and recounted the death of his father Enzo, the legendary "Sceriffo," who died at Rome's Spallanzani hospital after contracting Covid-19. A doctor treating his father called with the news, prefacing it with "Purtroppo" ("Unfortunately"), and Totti understood immediately what had happened.

Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini exploded with emotion when Matías Soulé scored, sprinting toward the Curva Sud in a moment that recalled José Mourinho's famous touchline celebration in September 2021, when Stephan El Shaarawy netted in the 91st minute against Sassuolo. The comparison was striking: both managers had been unable to contain their joy at critical moments, running to embrace the supporters. Yesterday's display suggested Gasperini is restoring the emotional intensity that Mourinho once brought to the Olimpico. The exuberance was infectious, yet it came to an abrupt halt. A staff member physically stopped Gasperini before he could reach the touchline—not to dampen the celebration, but to protect him from a second yellow card. The coach was already on a caution, and a further offense would have meant a ban for Roma's next fixture, a sensitive away trip to Turin. The intervention, though it cut short the moment, was tactically essential. Gasperini's desire to celebrate was unmistakable, but the immediate need to preserve his availability for the coming matches took precedence. The incident encapsulated what has shifted at Roma: the club has rediscovered emotion and connection with its supporters under Gasperini's leadership. The Curva Sud will wait for their manager's unreserved embrace—though likely not for much longer.

AS Roma faces UEFA review of its settlement agreement compliance after a summer transfer window costing approximately 125 million euros in purchases and 30 million in sales, with capital gains reaching only 25 million. The club will defend its position to UEFA at Nyon by highlighting a dramatic reduction in the wage bill—the primary evidence it claims of its sustainability strategy. Last season the payroll exceeded 133 million euros gross; it has now fallen to around 113 million, moving closer to the 100-million target. The wage cuts stem largely from player departures including Zaragoza, Çelik, Angeliño, Tsimikas, El Shaarawy and Dovbyk. The signing of Santiago Castro, a younger player with a lower salary spread across multiple years, exemplifies Roma's shift in strategy. Significant savings also came from the exits of El Aynaoui, Vaz, Ziółkowski and Kumbulla. Contract renewals for Dybala, Mancini, Cristante and Pellegrini followed the same model, reducing the fixed portion of salaries in favour of performance and appearance bonuses; these four extensions alone saved approximately 15 million euros. New arrivals Castro, Mora, Koulierakis, Molina, Balerdi and De Roon will cost around 25 million euros gross combined. Roma's overall wage reduction stands close to 45 million euros, reflecting the club's revised commercial approach as it attempts to satisfy UEFA's conditions set out in the 2022 settlement agreement.

Radio pundits across Rome's main sports stations have weighed in on the club's summer transfer window, with assessments ranging from 5.5 to 7.5 out of 10. The dominant theme is that Roma has strengthened their squad depth significantly but failed to address the most pressing gap: a left-sided winger to compete with Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen in attack. Fabio Petruzzi gave the window 7.5, saying: "I'm optimistic: Roma is now clearly much stronger, as a squad, in mentality, as players. Between those who left and those who arrived there is a big difference. Between Balerdi and Ziolkowski there is a big difference, between Mora and El Shaarawy there is a big difference, but also between Castro and Dovbyk. For me you are now the second team behind Inter. Roma and Como in my view are up there; Roma has a bit more than the Lombards. There is a touch of disappointment—with something extra now you would be attached to Inter. But my rating is 7.5." Francesca Ferrazza graded it six, saying it would have been seven with Leweling and eight with Greenwood, and called the absence of a left winger "madness." She noted: "Gasperini closes his third transfer window without a left-sided forward. It's madness. The squad is wider, but a starter is missing up front." Other voices offered lower marks. Paolo Cosenza gave 5.5, arguing the bench is too thin and that Gasperini had asked for both a high and low left-sided winger but Roma supplied neither. Lorenzo Pes pointed out there is no left-footed fullback and that deals for Leweling and initially an alternative fell through, with reports of regime indecision before a revised offer to the German was made but rejected. Roberto Pruzzo awarded six, saying: "You've widened the options, you have two very strong centre-forwards. Castro in my view could play in any team in the championship, I won't even mention Malen. Mora will be able to help from the bench. You needed to sign a winger and it didn't happen, and so that's my assessment. There is no new starter compared to last year." Piero Torri suggested Roma may explore free agents including Sancho or Sterling to address the problem, saying: "I believe Roma will think about it. If Dybala stays fit over the coming months, the problem doesn't exist, because Dybala and Malen play there, and then you pick the third. If luck smiles on Roma and from now until 31 December, the absence of the left winger can become less damaging. But in any case I would go out and get a seventh player up front." The window closed with the squad expanded but incomplete.