Roma fans' guide to Old Trafford for Manchester United clash

AS Roma have published an official club notice with practical information for supporters travelling to Old Trafford for their Champions League fixture against Manchester United. The club's statement comes ahead of Roma's Serie A match against Udinese at the Bluenergy Stadium, which is taking place tomorrow, with the Champions League trip following on Tuesday. According to the notice, tickets bought for the away game against Manchester United have been sent to the email addresses entered at the time of purchase. Fans who have not received the email, or who have problems viewing their ticket, can call 06/89386000 between 9.00 and 18.30. The ticket is in mobile format and works exclusively with NFC technology, and fans must download it before arriving at the stadium. The away section is in the south-east corner of the stadium and includes sectors S229 (entrance S22) and E230, E231, E232 and E233 (entrances E30 and AE8). Ticket holders for sector S229 may only enter through entrance S22, and requests to move to sectors E230 to E233 will not be possible. Sectors were allocated randomly according to the order in which tickets were purchased. Supporters will be able to access the stadium from two hours before kick-off. On arrival, fans will be subjected to security checks, and bags larger than an A4 sheet of paper are not allowed. Entry to the away section will not be permitted under any circumstances for anyone holding tickets for other areas of the stadium. On the instructions of the local authorities, the meeting point for all Roma supporters is Shambles Square (Shambles Square, Cathedral Gates, Manchester, M3 1SW). From there, fans can walk to the stadium in around 45 minutes.

Roma travel to Manchester United on Tuesday 3 November at 21:00 for matchday 4 of the Champions League league phase, and the club has issued a fan guide for supporters heading to Old Trafford. The match is important for Roma's chances of qualifying for the next round. The official fan meeting point is Shambles Square (Shambles Square, Cathedral Gates, Manchester, M3 1SW), set by the Local Authorities. From there, supporters can walk to the stadium in about 45 minutes. The club says tickets bought for the trip have been sent to the email addresses entered at the time of purchase. Fans who have not received their email, or who have problems viewing their ticket, can call 06/89386000 (9.00 to 18.30). The ticket is mobile and works only with NFC technology. Fans must download it before arriving at the stadium, and it can be downloaded more than once and on different devices. Phones must have enough battery, as a dead phone will not be admitted. Android users must make sure NFC is working and switched on, and no backup QR code will be provided. Access via screenshots or paper copies is not allowed. The away section is in the south-east corner of the stadium and includes sectors S229 (entrance S22) and E230, E231, E232 and E233 (entrance E30 and AE8). Holders of tickets for sector S229 may only enter through entrance S22, and moving to sectors E230 to E233 will not be possible. Sector allocation was random, based on the order of purchase. Supporters can enter the stadium from two hours before kick-off and will go through security checks on arrival. Bags larger than an A4 sheet are not allowed, and nobody holding tickets for other sections will be admitted to the away end. Samsung owners need to make extra checks to avoid problems at the turnstiles. If Samsung Wallet is the default wallet app, the ticket may not be active. Fans should go to Settings, Connections, NFC and contactless payments, Default wallet app, and select Google Wallet. On some Samsung models, the setting 'NFC services without payment' must also be enabled and set to Google Wallet. iPhone NFC is always on automatically. Further information on the city of Manchester and security procedures is in an attached document.

Exactly 25 years ago, on 30 October 2001, Daniele De Rossi made his first appearance for Roma, in a 1-1 draw with Anderlecht. The club has marked the anniversary with a retrospective on that night. Roma had already secured qualification to the next stage of the Champions League before kicking off, but a final group slot was still to be filled. Fabio Capello's side wore the Champions League kit of that season, half yellow and half red, with blue shorts and socks. Capello fielded an experimental side in a 3-5-2 system, with Pelizzoli in goal, a back three of Siviglia, Samuel and Aldair, and a midfield of Cafu, Assunção, Emerson, Tomic and Guigou, with Cassano and Delvecchio up front. Anderlecht took the lead through Mornar, and Delvecchio equalised to make it 1-1 at full time. The defining moment came in the 26th minute of the second half, when an 18-year-old with a blond bob haircut and the number 27 shirt replaced the Serbian midfielder Ivan Tomic. It was his first appearance for Roma, and he had yet to play a league match. He went on to make three further appearances in the Coppa Italia that season. His first Serie A match came on 25 January 2003, at the neutral venue of Piacenza against Como. The club describes that 1-1 draw with Anderlecht as the first piece in the story of De Rossi's time at Roma. He has worn the shirt 616 times, beginning with that night against Anderlecht. The figure 616 is, in the club's words, evocative of what De Rossi would become at Roma. The number 16, which he has worn since 2005, is made up of 6 and 16, and the club notes the 6 for De Rossi himself.