L’INTERVISTA | Giannini: “Totti il più grande dieci della Roma, Dybala lo metto dopo di me. Ago il mio idolo, ma il primo fu Kempf”

Roma's travelling support snapped up approximately 1,000 tickets for the away fixture at Como in a matter of hours on 2 October, ending a nine-month absence from away matches. The Como club website was overwhelmed by the volume of traffic as Roma fans rushed to secure their allocation, with some complaints on social media about technical issues on the platform, though the high number of concurrent users at 15:00 generated the problems. Roma supporters have been unable to travel for Serie A away matches since the bans imposed for the Lecce and Torino fixtures. This fixture marks their first opportunity to follow the team away from the Stadio Olimpico in the current campaign. The last time Roma fans travelled was for the match against Torino on 18 January, a date that also coincided with Paulo Dybala's most recent goal.

Roberto Pruzzo, Roma's most prolific striker before Francesco Totti with 106 goals, has spoken about his ten-year spell at the club, describing it as a family that won a league title, four Coppa Italia trophies and saw him finish as top scorer three times. Yet a single night remains unhealed: the European Cup final lost on penalties to Liverpool in front of an astonished Olimpico. Pruzzo told Il Foglio that the early years brought struggle but the group eventually became granite-like, bound by identity and belonging under president Dino Viola and manager Nils Liedholm. "The Baron was, before anything else, a life teacher. He knew how to turn concepts into action. He'd put something in your head and you'd do it. Roma was a family, a way of being and feeling, and I will remain tied to it forever," Pruzzo said. He recalled teammates including Agostino Di Bartolomei and Aldo Maldera, some of whom are no longer alive. When the old squad reunites in Rome, the atmosphere in the dressing room stays with them forever—one glance between old friends and they return to those shared moments, that hunger to move mountains, the feeling of strength and never being alone. Among his many cherished goals, Pruzzo highlighted an acrobatic overhead kick against Juventus and a double in a semi-final comeback against Dundee, but the one that meant most was at Marassi, the goal that won the Scudetto. "A cross from Ago on the left, me rising above everyone and delivering the final blow. It was a triumphal campaign, with four Coppa Italia wins and the league title sealed. Then came the opposite pain." That accursed night saw the European Cup slip away on penalties before their own fans. "If we had won, every 30 May would have been a celebration. Instead, 42 years later, it is a disappointment we still carry: a grief we have not yet processed." Pruzzo clarified he did not return after half-time because of a blow that knocked him out, not stomach trouble as rumoured—something that had never happened under Liedholm until the worst possible day. "We were convinced we could close the circle, but we lacked the strength to win it on the pitch, and the great Roma we had been ended there."

Gian Piero Gasperini has given Roma a three-day break before the squad returns to work on Tuesday afternoon at Fulvio Bernardini to prepare for the match against Como. Bryan Cristante will be sidelined for around two weeks with a lateral collateral ligament problem, forcing him to miss approximately five matches with a target return date of 24 October against Napoli. To manage the midfield absence, Gasperini is considering Niccolò Pisilli and Marten de Roon, with the Dutch midfielder poised to make his starting debut at Como alongside Manu Koné. National team commitments will complicate preparations, with players returning to Trigoria in stages. Evan N'Dicka will be the first arrival back after his involvement with Ivory Coast. The final players to return will be the Argentine trio of Leonardo Balerdi, Santiago Castro and Matías Soulé, who are not expected at the training ground until Thursday. The staggered returns mean Gasperini must manage a gradual integration of the international contingent while addressing the pressing issue of Cristante's absence in midfield.

Roma's travelling support snapped up approximately 1,000 tickets for the away fixture at Como in a matter of hours on 2 October, ending a nine-month absence from away matches. The Como club website was overwhelmed by the volume of traffic as Roma fans rushed to secure their allocation, with some complaints on social media about technical issues on the platform, though the high number of concurrent users at 15:00 generated the problems. Roma supporters have been unable to travel for Serie A away matches since the bans imposed for the Lecce and Torino fixtures. This fixture marks their first opportunity to follow the team away from the Stadio Olimpico in the current campaign. The last time Roma fans travelled was for the match against Torino on 18 January, a date that also coincided with Paulo Dybala's most recent goal.

Giuseppe Giannini, Roma's legendary captain, has discussed what it means to represent the club in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport's SportWeek magazine, reflecting on the greatest number 10s in the club's history and his admiration for Paulo Dybala. Giannini ranked the standout playmakers to wear the shirt, placing Francesco Totti at the top by virtue of his goal tally. "For numbers, Totti," Giannini said. "Then Di Bartolomei and De Sisti. I put myself in fourth place, for the Romanità, and I place Dybala in fifth, even though he wears 21 on his back." Giannini emphasised what it means to be Roma's symbol: "Being a romanista means representing the Capital, and no one, even in the most remote place in the world, can say they don't know the Capital and, as a consequence, AS Roma." On Dybala's qualities as a footballer, Giannini was effusive. "What I like about Paulo is the fact that he plays with great simplicity. He always manages to get out of every game situation, even the most complicated one. Even when surrounded by two or three opponents he is capable of managing somehow and coming out of it with the ball at his feet. He is a player who has imagination, moments of genius. And you can see that when he plays, he enjoys himself. When a champion manages to play while enjoying himself, he also carries the fans with him, who identify with him. I would steal his left foot, but I would give him my right." Giannini also recalled his early encounters with Totti, saying he once shared a hotel room with the young player before a trip, an experience the future legend apparently never forgot. "After some time, he told me that that night he hadn't slept a wink, but I couldn't swear to it because I slept peacefully instead." Giannini named Mario Kempes, the Argentine forward, as his childhood idol, drawn to his technical ability and long hair, which Giannini emulated. He later looked to Agostino Di Bartolomei as his model. Among his proudest moments wearing the giallorossi was 20 March 1994 at Foggia, when Roma came from behind to draw 1–1 under his leadership, a result that sparked four consecutive wins and a late push for UEFA Cup qualification.

Gian Piero Gasperini spoke at the Festival dello Sport in Trento, where he and CEO John Galantic selected Roma's all-time best XI. Beyond the exercise, Gasperini revealed a coach fully committed to the Roma project. He praised Bryan Cristante as a "central hub" and spoke of removing Paulo Dybala's fear of shooting: "If you give me these players, then I will make them play." Addressing the club's future, Gasperini said: "I've seen renderings of the new stadium at Pietralata. Rome and Italy need things like this. I hope to be there when it is inaugurated." On the pitch, Gasperini dismissed talk of the Scudetto but stressed the importance of his relationship with the Roma support. "I had a different idea of Roma fans—I thought it was blind love. Instead I found a mature public that joins extraordinary attachment with the ability to recognise other people's work. A nice chemistry has formed, there's good energy," he said. When asked about Inter, Gasperini acknowledged their standing but redirected focus: "They are recognised by everyone as the strongest in Italy, but it's right to look at our own path." Roma's next opponent is Como, a match Gasperini noted will be a test: "We'll face them as rivals in Primavera too. They are clever, have ideas and resources." Galantic confirmed Roma's commitment to the Under-23 project. "We need it," the CEO said. "We want to increase the number of young players from the academy reaching the first team. The new stadium will place Roma among Europe's top clubs."