Malen meets his lookalike and calls him his 'twin brother'

Roma held a training session at the Fulvio Bernardini centre on the afternoon of 8 October as preparation ramped up ahead of Sunday's Serie A fixture at Como, which kicks off at 12:30. The session, conducted in heavy rain but with a relaxed atmosphere mixing athletic work, running and tactical drills, saw the final reunion of the South American contingent with the rest of the squad. Matías Soulé, Leonardo Balerdi and Santiago Castro, who returned to Italy on the morning of 8 October, completed the entire session and put themselves at the disposal of the coaching staff. CEO John Galantic attended the training to show the board's proximity during this phase of preparation. Former Roma legend Antonio Tempestilli, who celebrated his 67th birthday, reflected on the approaching match in an interview. He spent 12 seasons at Roma between 1981 and 1993, split evenly with Como. Tempestilli highlighted the risks of the long international break, saying: "A break that long can cause some problems with many players away on international duty: you have to see if there has been fatigue, hope everyone has returned fit. But that applies to everyone, starting with Como. Now you have to switch back on the mentality that Roma showed before the break. Gasperini is a guarantee in that sense." Gian Piero Gasperini will hold his pre-match press conference at Trigoria tomorrow at 13:30. Elsewhere, Vincenzo Montella's tenure as Turkey's head coach has officially ended. The Turkish Football Federation announced today that its board formally removed him from his position following a series of four consecutive defeats in the recent UEFA Nations League cycle. Montella, an ex-Roma player and former manager of the club, had held the role since September 2023.

Porto president André Villas-Boas has said the club would have closed its 2025-26 accounts with a profit if Rodrigo Mora's transfer to Roma had been completed before 30 June. Speaking at a press conference where he presented the club's financial results, Villas-Boas noted that Porto instead posted a loss of approximately €21 million for the season. Mora moved to Roma for €25 million plus 50 per cent of any future resale fee, but the timing of the deal meant it fell outside the financial year that would have swung the balance into the black. The transfer underscores the importance of window deadlines in club accounting, with even major deals capable of shifting a significant deficit into profit territory when registered at the right moment.

Ivan Zazzaroni, director of Corriere dello Sport, has given an exclusive interview reflecting on recent meetings with key Roma figures. He revealed that when José Mourinho spoke about Roma, he became visibly emotional. "When he talked about it he got emotional… you could see it in his eyes, you understand that at Roma he found something important, a connection such that people understood it," Zazzaroni said. He also described encounters with Francesco Totti and Donyell Malen, noting that both told him "We had fun", while Malen made "a very good impression". Zazzaroni added that Mourinho's affection from Roma supporters is justified, and that visiting Madrid had shown him it was Mourinho's home—yet the connection Roma had forged with him ran deep. On Gian Piero Gasperini's appointment, Zazzaroni stated that the coach came to Roma specifically to win the Serie A title. "When he was still at Bergamo and was about to transfer to Roma he confessed his intention to me not to warm the bench or play beautiful football but to win the championship in three years," he explained. Zazzaroni acknowledged that Roma's squad is not yet complete and that Inter have an edge, but suggested that nothing is certain if Roma continue on their current trajectory. Zazzaroni also addressed the Friedkin Group's decision not to pursue the Everton acquisition, calling it good news for Roma given the club's important stadium construction project. He expressed concern about Premier League spending, suggesting clubs "have circulated money that doesn't exist."

Ivan Zazzaroni, director of Corriere dello Sport, has given an exclusive interview reflecting on recent meetings with key Roma figures. He revealed that when José Mourinho spoke about Roma, he became visibly emotional. "When he talked about it he got emotional… you could see it in his eyes, you understand that at Roma he found something important, a connection such that people understood it," Zazzaroni said. He also described encounters with Francesco Totti and Donyell Malen, noting that both told him "We had fun", while Malen made "a very good impression". Zazzaroni added that Mourinho's affection from Roma supporters is justified, and that visiting Madrid had shown him it was Mourinho's home—yet the connection Roma had forged with him ran deep. On Gian Piero Gasperini's appointment, Zazzaroni stated that the coach came to Roma specifically to win the Serie A title. "When he was still at Bergamo and was about to transfer to Roma he confessed his intention to me not to warm the bench or play beautiful football but to win the championship in three years," he explained. Zazzaroni acknowledged that Roma's squad is not yet complete and that Inter have an edge, but suggested that nothing is certain if Roma continue on their current trajectory. Zazzaroni also addressed the Friedkin Group's decision not to pursue the Everton acquisition, calling it good news for Roma given the club's important stadium construction project. He expressed concern about Premier League spending, suggesting clubs "have circulated money that doesn't exist."

Ivan Zazzaroni, editor of Corriere dello Sport, discussed his recent interviews with Francesco Totti, José Mourinho and Donyell Malen during an appearance on Retesport. He praised the Friedkin Group's decision to step back from Everton involvement, saying it is good news because they retain Roma and have an important project for stadium construction. Zazzaroni expressed confidence that Premier League clubs will face difficulties having circulated money they do not possess. Zazzaroni reflected on his meetings with the three figures. Totti and Malen both told him "We had fun", though Totti was notably intimate in tone. Of Mourinho, Zazzaroni recalled embracing him at Real Madrid's training ground, which he described as "his kingdom". Mourinho gifted him a tracksuit. Zazzaroni and Mourinho share the same birthday; in the past Mourinho has arrived at their birthday dinner with a gift, and once brought a bottle of wine from 1963, his birth year. Speaking of Mourinho's connection to Roma, Zazzaroni said: "When he spoke about it he got emotional. You could see it in his eyes. He found something important at Roma, a connection so strong that people understood it." On Gian Piero Gasperini's appointment, Zazzaroni stated: "Gasperini came here to win the Serie A title." He revealed that when Gasperini was still at Bergamo and preparing to move to Roma, he confessed his intention "not to warm the bench or play nice football but to win the championship in three years". Zazzaroni acknowledged the Roma squad is not complete and Inter have something more, "but continuing like this, you never know".

Roma travel to Como on Sunday at 12:30 for a top-of-the-table clash, with the Giallorossi level on points with Inter and Lazio at the summit. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has opted to hand a starting place to Portuguese midfielder Rodrigo Mora, class of 2007, in what appears a tactical gamble to break one of Roma's most stubborn curses: the club has not won at the Como ground overlooking Lake Como since 30 April 1989, when Manfredonia headed home at the second minute. Nearly 38 years have passed since that day. The three subsequent visits to Lario have all ended in defeat, most recently when Donyell Malen converted a seventh-minute penalty to put Roma ahead, only for Wesley's red card to leave the ten-men Giallorossi vulnerable to a Cesc Fabregas comeback. Gasperini tested new tactical solutions in a friendly against Sorianese (20-0), settling on a 3-4-1-2 shape designed to counter Fabregas's four-man defence and contain the opposing full-backs' central positioning. Mora, operating as a midfielder, offers the crucial link between midfield and attack through his quality in the final pass and the threat of distance shooting—both weapons aimed at unlocking Como's defensive block. Roma must also overturn a troubling pattern after international breaks: across the last two seasons, they have managed only two wins, one draw and five defeats in eight matches following national-team pauses. In the 2024-25 campaign, after drawing 1-1 at Genoa and losing 1-0 at home to both Inter and Napoli, Roma found victory only in spring under Claudio Ranieri with a 1-0 win at Lecce. Under Gasperini this season, home losses to Torino (0-1) and Inter (0-1) were sandwiched around a 3-1 victory over Cremonese, followed by a heavy 5-2 defeat at San Siro in April—a setback later overcome during the final push to third place and Champions League qualification.