Rodrigo Mora: Roma's prestige won me over, Gasperini is a demanding coach

Roma occupy 11th place in Serie A's squad age rankings after the opening fixtures, with an average age of 26 years and 75 days. Gian Piero Gasperini's side sits near the middle of the league's age table, reflecting the varied demographic approaches taken by Serie A's managers this season. The spread across Italian football is significant, with Napoli fielding the oldest average starting XI in their match against Bologna at the Maradona, while Monza have selected the youngest. Como are also distinguished by their youthful squad composition. Roma's placement reflects a balanced approach, their average age sitting just above 26 years. The variation across the league's opening matches shows clear strategic differences in how clubs have constructed their squads for the 2026–27 campaign.

Leonardo Balerdi has become the focal point of Roma's preparation for Saturday's clash with Inter at the Olimpico after an impressive display on Monday against Torino in place of Evan N'Dicka. His convincing performance prompted Gasperini to view the Argentine defender as a potential starter against the Serie A champions, a promotion that has raised competitive intensity across the defence and the wider squad. Gasperini's team selection will be shaped by who delivers the strongest performances in training at Trigoria: those who maintain full commitment and maximum effort will earn starting places. The likely starting formation will closely resemble the strongest XI fielded last season, built around the established core players. The returning absentees from Monday—N'Dicka, Wesley, and Manu Koné—are set to come back into contention. The intriguing tactical question centres on the left-back slot, where teenage defender Emanuele Lulli has emerged as the focus of recent debate. Lulli's physical test results place him ahead of Nahuel Molina, making him the favourite to start, provided Gasperini prioritises the pace and pressing strength needed to contain Inter's left-side playmaker Dimarco. A third option exists: Wesley deployed on the right with Molina on the left, a setup already tested in training. Elsewhere, Mario Hermoso will mark Nicolò Barella, while Niccolò Pisilli is warming up for a potential late-match impact.

Rodrigo Mora has explained his reasons for joining Roma, highlighting the club's prestige and playing style as key factors in his decision. Speaking to Sky Sport, the Portuguese midfielder praised the opportunity to compete in the Champions League and outlined his approach to life under head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. "I think Roma is a very prestigious club and the style of play it proposes is one more reason why I chose to come," Mora said. "Then having the chance to play in the Champions League represents an important step for my life. Gasperini is certainly a very demanding coach towards the squad and all the players." Mora's early impact has been positive. He scored his first Roma goal in a league match against Lecce, a moment he described as highly emotional. "It was a very emotional moment. I like to score. And scoring my first goal for Roma was important," he reflected. The midfielder has set his priorities clearly, declining to focus on personal goal tallies in favour of team contribution. "Honestly I don't think about the number of goals I could score, but above all about helping the squad with goals, assists, whatever is needed to help the squad. This is the fundamental thing," Mora explained. His remarks underline Roma's confidence in his talent and ambition, positioning him as a key part of Gasperini's project.

Rodrigo Mora has explained his reasons for joining Roma, highlighting the club's prestige and playing style as key factors in his decision. Speaking to Sky Sport, the Portuguese midfielder praised the opportunity to compete in the Champions League and outlined his approach to life under head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. "I think Roma is a very prestigious club and the style of play it proposes is one more reason why I chose to come," Mora said. "Then having the chance to play in the Champions League represents an important step for my life. Gasperini is certainly a very demanding coach towards the squad and all the players." Mora's early impact has been positive. He scored his first Roma goal in a league match against Lecce, a moment he described as highly emotional. "It was a very emotional moment. I like to score. And scoring my first goal for Roma was important," he reflected. The midfielder has set his priorities clearly, declining to focus on personal goal tallies in favour of team contribution. "Honestly I don't think about the number of goals I could score, but above all about helping the squad with goals, assists, whatever is needed to help the squad. This is the fundamental thing," Mora explained. His remarks underline Roma's confidence in his talent and ambition, positioning him as a key part of Gasperini's project.

Rodrigo Mora has become one of AS Roma's standout signings of the summer transfer window. Arriving for 25 million euros, the Portuguese midfielder marked his competitive debut with a goal in Roma's Serie A match against Lecce. In an interview with Sky Sport, Mora discussed the emotion of that opening goal and his working relationship with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. Mora explained his decision to join the club: "I think Roma is a very prestigious club and the style of play it proposes is an additional reason why I chose to come here. Then having the opportunity to play Champions League football represents an important step for my life. Without question, Gasperini is a very demanding coach towards the squad and all the players." On scoring against Lecce, he reflected: "It was a very emotional moment. I like to score, and scoring my first goal for Roma was very important. Honestly I don't think about the number of goals I could score, but above all about helping the team with goals, assists and whatever is needed — that is the fundamental thing."

Andrea Stramaccioni, now a DAZN commentator, has analysed Roma's position after their match against Inter, arguing that the gap between the two clubs has narrowed significantly despite Inter remaining the stronger side overall. Speaking on Teleradiostereo, he attributed the improvement to a shift in mentality rather than marquee recruitment, pointing to Gasperini's second season at the club as the turning point. "It's not that a champion arrived who changes your eleven, but we're already in Gasperini's second year and you can see it," Stramaccioni said. "The way you recovered the match against Atalanta is a fundamental leap forward, but also how you managed the Turin game. You've increased your resources, found a fourth starting defender in Balerdi. In this I see the gap reduced." Stramaccioni explained that Gasperini struggles specifically against Inter's 3-5-2 formation because of how Inter's attacking shape is structured. "I'm not speaking in general—I'm talking about Inter's 3-5-2," he said. "Usually he inverts the attacking fulcrum in these cases, probably one player will deal with Zielinski and he could do it with Soulé or Mora. But also by advancing Pisilli. Usually Gasperini suffers in Inter's attacking quadrilateral. Because if you lose track of those four, they hurt you." He cited last season's away match where Ndicka struggled marking opposition players and was caught out for a goal. On Roma's own strengths, Stramaccioni identified their low build-up play as a potential weapon. "The biggest problem for Chivu is in Roma's construction from the back, because Inter rarely uses three players to press. The structure of Gasp's construction can cause more problems to a team like Inter than to Como," he explained. "If Dybala starts to move well across the pitch you take away a centre-back like Bastoni. Gasperini won't change his approach—he'll play it open-faced. If you have a chance you take it with maximum intensity. The important thing is not to come away empty because Inter's strikers don't forgive mistakes." Stramaccioni also assessed Rodrigo Mora's potential at the club. "Gasperini wants someone with a low centre of gravity like Papu Gomez was, he tried it with Zaragoza but it went very badly. He exalts him because he sees those characteristics he needs," he said. "He hasn't had the impact Malen has, but he's also 19. There have been other short players who strengthened the physical bulk—Di Natale and Sneijder. He'll improve too; he has enormous room for growth." Finally, Stramaccioni identified Roma's lack of a ball-carrier in midfield as a key weakness. "This is Gasperini's great frustration. Roma is missing a player who in moments of tiredness attacks the depth—that player the coach expected from the transfer market. There's no one who breaks lines; they're all players you have to feed the ball to. Then you'll have to become more speculative in that sense."