Gollini becomes a father as Roma goalkeeper welcomes son Loen

Roma goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini has become a father, with the birth of his first child, a son named Loen, to him and his wife Ariel Serra. The baby was born in the past few hours. The couple married on 30 May 2025 and announced the pregnancy in mid-August with a sweet message on social media: "Life, at times, gives you what you have always dreamed of, we have been very lucky. I LOVE YOU." The birth was announced by Top Player Agency, the agency that manages the goalkeeper's interests, with a post captioned: "A new Top Player has arrived. Welcome Loen." The news comes at the end of a particularly positive period for Gollini, who in recent weeks, helped by the injury to Mile Svilar, has won the starting shirt for Roma.

AS Roma have blocked a last-minute call-up for right-back Nahuel Molina to join Argentina's squad, despite the player's suspension being cut from seven matches to four. Argentina coach Scaloni had decided on the evening of the previous day to add Molina in extremis, which would have seen him join fellow Roma players Balerdi, Soulé and Castro in the national squad. The club of Trigoria stepped in and opposed the late call-up. Molina had been due to play the friendly against Costa Rica on 17 November before returning to Rome ahead of the league fixture against Parma. Gasperini and the club said no, and the full-back will remain in Rome to train with the other players not selected by their national teams. The suspension stemmed from a brawl in the World Cup final against Spain, and Molina had obtained the reduction from seven games to four before the call-up was made. Roma's refusal means the defender stays with the Giallorossi squad while Argentina play Costa Rica without him.

Roma are close to agreeing a new contract with defender Mario Hermoso, with the Spaniard set to sign a two-year deal with an option for a third year. Sky Sport reports that talks are well advanced, and the club are keen to tie him down. His current contract expires in June, and an announcement could come in the coming weeks. Hermoso has been one of Roma's standout performers at the start of this season, playing across defence, midfield, attack and as a goalscorer. His form is a far cry from his disappointing first season in giallorosso, which came before his loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen. Since Gian Piero Gasperini took charge, the Spaniard has returned to a high level and has become one of the key men in the squad. The proposed deal runs for two years, with an option for a third. The club's aim is to secure one of their most important players on a longer-term footing as the season develops.

Roma goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini has become a father, with the birth of his first child, a son named Loen, to him and his wife Ariel Serra. The baby was born in the past few hours. The couple married on 30 May 2025 and announced the pregnancy in mid-August with a sweet message on social media: "Life, at times, gives you what you have always dreamed of, we have been very lucky. I LOVE YOU." The birth was announced by Top Player Agency, the agency that manages the goalkeeper's interests, with a post captioned: "A new Top Player has arrived. Welcome Loen." The news comes at the end of a particularly positive period for Gollini, who in recent weeks, helped by the injury to Mile Svilar, has won the starting shirt for Roma.

Roma head into the international break with a near-perfect run to protect, and Gian Piero Gasperini has used a demanding stretch of nine matches in 27 days to rotate his squad. Gasperini admitted the schedule had been tough but said it had allowed him to use the whole squad: "We had tough clashes like Como, Napoli, Manchester and Real Madrid. The management was not a problem, and this allowed us to rotate the whole squad." During that intense spell, players who had been on the fringes stepped forward. Rodrigo Mora took advantage of Paulo Dybala's extended absence to win a key role, scoring in three consecutive matches. De Roon showed why Gasperini wanted him in the capital, while Ghilardi, Gollini and Vásquez also got their chances. Gasperini gave everyone a run-out, partly out of necessity. Both the coach and D'Amico have acknowledged that the squad is thin, and with a few injuries it risks becoming very thin indeed. The debate over whether the break is a blessing may therefore be answered by the players Roma get back when the league resumes. Roma are among the clubs that could benefit most from the pause. Their injuries have required fairly long recovery periods, but few players have been affected. The problem is that nearly all of them are key figures in the Giallorossi set-up. Chief among them is Mile Svilar, who has been out since 10 October and has kept training both at Trigoria and in individual sessions with a fitness coach, without managing to speed up his recovery. Tests carried out about ten days ago led the club and the goalkeeper to choose caution. The aim is for him to return against Parma, and then reach peak condition for the highly delicate trip to Paris. Dybala is on the same timetable. The calf injury he suffered against Real Madrid kept him out longer than expected, but the Argentine is now ready to return and make a difference, perhaps also finding a goal he has not scored since 18 January. Manu Koné has already returned, playing 66 excellent minutes against Sassuolo. The Frenchman was not called up by his national team and will use these days to regain his best condition. He will have an extra incentive compared with his team-mates: to impress at the Parc des Princes, a stadium a few kilometres from the home where he grew up. Gasperini hopes to get back the Roma of the "first lines", because he refuses to talk about starters. The coach remains torn about the break: "It interrupts the league again, although this time only for a week. I like international matches when they play for something important. For friendlies or matches of little consequence, it is a pity to lose so many players." Roma face another demanding run: seven matches in 29 days, during which the Giallorossi will play a major part of their season. The fixtures include the already mentioned trip to Paris Saint-Germain, the home match against Sporting, the game against Juventus and, above all, the derby against Lazio on 13 December. The next month will be crucial in measuring Roma's real ambitions, with the January transfer window expected to bring fresh impetus.

Roma's strength lies less in individual numbers than in a group that has fully absorbed Gian Piero Gasperini's football, according to Il Messaggero. Using intelligent management and constant rotation, the coach has got value from almost the entire squad during a recent run of nine matches in 27 days. Every player has become useful, and every piece has found its place. The secret, as Il Messaggero reports, is total involvement. Gasperini does not talk about turnover; for him, "everyone plays", and the numbers back that up. Around a core of solid starters such as Evan N'Dicka and Wesley, the coach has a reliable group ready to answer the call. The clearest example is Niccolò Pisilli. A year ago he had played just six minutes and came close to a loan move to Genoa; today he has almost 700 minutes, four goals, and has become the club's second-highest scorer behind Donyell Malen. Injuries, paradoxically, have accelerated the process, opening the door for many others. De Roon has brought continuity, Rodrigo Mora and Emanuele Lulli have brought freshness, and Leonardo Balerdi has regained his solidity in a defence that can count on four high-level centre-backs and the reliability of Daniele Ghilardi. In goal, Pierluigi Gollini and Devis Vásquez have also answered the call. Even Santiago Castro, who seemed destined for little playing time, has carved out his own role. With Paulo Dybala and Mile Svilar set to return when the season resumes, the group will be more complete still. Despite this, Gasperini has stressed that to keep growing the squad will need to be widened further in January. That view is shared by sporting director D'Amico, who says the club is united, has clear ideas, and wants to plan every step without limits.

Roma goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini has become a father, with the birth of his first child, a son named Loen, to him and his wife Ariel Serra. The baby was born in the past few hours. The couple married on 30 May 2025 and announced the pregnancy in mid-August with a sweet message on social media: "Life, at times, gives you what you have always dreamed of, we have been very lucky. I LOVE YOU." The birth was announced by Top Player Agency, the agency that manages the goalkeeper's interests, with a post captioned: "A new Top Player has arrived. Welcome Loen." The news comes at the end of a particularly positive period for Gollini, who in recent weeks, helped by the injury to Mile Svilar, has won the starting shirt for Roma.

Roma head into the international break with a near-perfect run to protect, and Gian Piero Gasperini has used a demanding stretch of nine matches in 27 days to rotate his squad. Gasperini admitted the schedule had been tough but said it had allowed him to use the whole squad: "We had tough clashes like Como, Napoli, Manchester and Real Madrid. The management was not a problem, and this allowed us to rotate the whole squad." During that intense spell, players who had been on the fringes stepped forward. Rodrigo Mora took advantage of Paulo Dybala's extended absence to win a key role, scoring in three consecutive matches. De Roon showed why Gasperini wanted him in the capital, while Ghilardi, Gollini and Vásquez also got their chances. Gasperini gave everyone a run-out, partly out of necessity. Both the coach and D'Amico have acknowledged that the squad is thin, and with a few injuries it risks becoming very thin indeed. The debate over whether the break is a blessing may therefore be answered by the players Roma get back when the league resumes. Roma are among the clubs that could benefit most from the pause. Their injuries have required fairly long recovery periods, but few players have been affected. The problem is that nearly all of them are key figures in the Giallorossi set-up. Chief among them is Mile Svilar, who has been out since 10 October and has kept training both at Trigoria and in individual sessions with a fitness coach, without managing to speed up his recovery. Tests carried out about ten days ago led the club and the goalkeeper to choose caution. The aim is for him to return against Parma, and then reach peak condition for the highly delicate trip to Paris. Dybala is on the same timetable. The calf injury he suffered against Real Madrid kept him out longer than expected, but the Argentine is now ready to return and make a difference, perhaps also finding a goal he has not scored since 18 January. Manu Koné has already returned, playing 66 excellent minutes against Sassuolo. The Frenchman was not called up by his national team and will use these days to regain his best condition. He will have an extra incentive compared with his team-mates: to impress at the Parc des Princes, a stadium a few kilometres from the home where he grew up. Gasperini hopes to get back the Roma of the "first lines", because he refuses to talk about starters. The coach remains torn about the break: "It interrupts the league again, although this time only for a week. I like international matches when they play for something important. For friendlies or matches of little consequence, it is a pity to lose so many players." Roma face another demanding run: seven matches in 29 days, during which the Giallorossi will play a major part of their season. The fixtures include the already mentioned trip to Paris Saint-Germain, the home match against Sporting, the game against Juventus and, above all, the derby against Lazio on 13 December. The next month will be crucial in measuring Roma's real ambitions, with the January transfer window expected to bring fresh impetus.

Roman radio pundits have been debating the Serie A title race, with several arguing Roma can genuinely challenge for the scudetto and that Lazio's surge should not be dismissed as a miracle. Rete Sport's David Rossi said the negative reaction after the Manchester defeat was undeserved by the club and by Gasperini. He said: "The negativity after Manchester was not deserved, neither by us nor by Gasp. Roma on Saturday offer another performance; they have become a team that always wins these matches. If you lose against the top 5 and win against the others, with a few draws here and there, you win the scudetto with ninety points… We not only win these games, we win them well." He added that against Sassuolo, Malen did not want to score and missed a couple of important chances, and that the first half could have been closed out 5 or 6 nil. Gianluca Piacentini, also on Rete Sport, discussed Kvernadze, who has a €4 million release clause in July, saying a January deal could cost between €10 and €12 million. On the Champions League race, he said Roma are in the mix, having reached the 11th matchday, alongside Lazio and Milan, which he said he did not expect. He noted that Napoli and Juventus are well behind. Piacentini argued that finishing second rather than fourth matters for the club's growth: "If you finish fourth you feel you have taken a step back; finish second and you have taken one forward. It is a matter of growth, so second is better than fourth." Checcо Oddo Casano, also on Rete Sport, praised the club's fitness record compared with other sides. He said: "Roma have held up well compared with other teams in terms of injuries. The work done by Gasperini and his staff is aimed at minimising injuries. Up to now, people who are always injured have stopped, such as Pellegrini and Dybala. Svilar has been unlucky with a broken foot, as has Koné… This squad runs, recovers, and we see a much more productive team than in previous years. This is down to better training. The intensity of the match is the result of the intensity of the weekly work. Competition for places has also raised the level of training, because no one is certain of his place." Mario Corsi of Tele Radio Stereo said this league is Inter and Roma, as it was at the start, and that Como can come back. He warned about Milan: "Be wary of Milan. Not so much this year, although anything can happen. Voices from Milan are talking about the January market, and beyond, they are also talking about next year. The madman (Cardinale, ed.) could build a team… I would not want Inter to win the scudetto this year and Milan next year." He added that Roma will do something in January, as the sporting director has said, and that Mora always scores, knowing where to place himself with an educated foot. Francesca Ferrazza, also of Tele Radio Stereo, praised Koné for turning down France, saying those matches do not count for much, and said Hermoso has become one of Gasperini's fixed points. She added that Gasperini had made his position clear, saying he will not sign for second place. Lorenzo Pes, also of Tele Radio Stereo, said the club now has a technical guide with clear ideas from the first day, and that Gasperini has accelerated the project. He said: "Now Roma have a technical guide with clear ideas from day one. For years we have heard about projects and building; now all of this has been accelerated by Gasperini from the first season. He has never hidden the real objective, which is to shorten the timelines as much as possible." Alessio Nardo, also of Tele Radio Stereo, said Roma should be among the top four and that finishing from fifth down would be a drama, adding that he would also be disappointed if Roma did not reach at least the Champions League playoff. Roberto Pruzzo of Radio Radio said Lazio play well and have an identity, and that they play only once a week, which helps them. On Roma, he said the side walk over weaker teams, and that Dybala, who has not played for two months, needs to be recovered. On Milan, he said they should leave Europe, as a double commitment would be a problem. On Mora, he said: "His growth is not something you see, because his height is what it is… joking aside, he still has half an hour of stamina." He said Mora is at his best against this type of team and becomes decisive in the final metres, though in other games he bounces and must be ready to be substituted after half an hour. On Hermoso, he admitted he had been wrong to think his career was finished, saying he had bounced back spectacularly. Nando Orsi of Radio Radio said he never doubted Roma would fight for the scudetto, and that Lazio are playing well with one match a week, describing them as a humble, convinced and empathetic side. He said: "It cannot just be a miracle; miracles do not last long. This is a team that must go all the way, or at least try. Napoli and Atalanta are far away." Mario Mattioli, also of Radio Radio, said Roma have more players but also more fixtures, while Lazio have a coach who is more realistic than the king in judging what happens on the pitch. He said: "I believe Lazio will last; whether they last longer than Roma, I don't know."