Lazio Region Approves Environmental Impact Assessment for New Roma Stadium

Real Madrid will arrive at the Olimpico with all their key players available for the Champions League clash against Roma. Konaté, Valverde and Mbappé, initially in doubt owing to physical problems before the international break, played regularly against Villarreal and will be at manager José Mourinho's disposal. Mourinho will hold his pre-match press conference this evening at 18:00. This week carries profound emotional weight for Roma supporters: first the return of Mourinho with Real Madrid, then that of Daniele De Rossi managing Genoa against the club. Both figures departed abruptly from Roma's recent history. Mourinho revived the club's standing in major European competition, while De Rossi remains an absolute symbol of the club, with 616 appearances and 63 goals in a Roma shirt. Both fixtures have sold out at the Olimpico — the Champions League match and the Serie A encounter against Genoa — lending extra significance to the returns of these two men to the capital. The week ahead will test Roma fans emotionally as they confront two rival managers who shaped the recent era: one who brought Continental prestige back to Giallorossi, and one who embodied the club's identity through his long playing career.

Gian Piero Gasperini and José Mourinho are profoundly different men and coaches, yet both share an extraordinary capacity to win over a city and become yellow-and-red leaders in their own way. Born on the same date—26 January, five years apart—they are united by an immense passion for football, though their journeys with Roma have followed starkly different scripts from the outset. On 4 May 2021, when news broke that Mourinho would become Roma's manager, the announcement struck the city like a thunderbolt. Every true giallorosso supporter remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing at that moment just after noon. The emotion was difficult for a fanbase that lives and breathes every sensation with extremity—disbelief mixed with joy, surprise and gratitude, above all hope. It was the hope of a great future under a great coach, the Special One himself. Four years later, on 6 June 2025, came the official announcement that Gasperini would arrive. The contrast in tone and expectation between the two appointments reflects not just different managerial philosophies but the distinct emotional registers through which each has engaged Roma's supporters—one drawing on charisma and bombast, the other on tactical innovation and measured intensity.

A new mural by street artist Drugi has appeared in Rome ahead of José Mourinho's return to the Olimpico on Wednesday evening, when he will lead Real Madrid against Roma in the Champions League. The artwork marks a symbolic moment as the Special One prepares to face his former club for the first time since departing the Giallorossi. Mourinho's tenure at Roma culminated in the club winning the UEFA Europa Conference League in Tirana—a trophy drought ended after decades. The bond between Mourinho and Roma supporters remains evident despite the passage of time and his subsequent move away. Wednesday's fixture represents an unusual emotional undertone for Roma fans, who must balance affection for their former manager with the competitive demands of the match. Accompanying Drugi's mural is a caption that captures the sentiment of Roma's fanbase: "We held hands on the roof of Europe. For one night we will forget the love, but we will never forget who we were." The quote references both Mourinho's years at the club and the Conference League triumph in Tirana. For ninety minutes on Wednesday, however, Mourinho will be an opponent. The memory of what was built together cannot be set aside entirely, even as the two sides prepare to compete.