Roma banned from travelling to Lecce; away section closed

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."