Roma–Sassuolo tickets on sale: all the details for supporters

Ivan Juric has reflected on his spell as Roma head coach, which began on 18 September 2024 and lasted less than a month before the club moved to appoint Claudio Ranieri. Speaking at a press conference in his current role as Monza manager, Juric said: "I was not ready for the Roma experience, I did not have that type of background." Juric's brief tenure undermined Roma's ambitions for the 2024-25 season before Ranieri's arrival revived the club's prospects. The Croatian coach acknowledged the scale of the challenge he had faced at the Stadio Olimpico, implicitly recognising the gap between his previous managerial experience and the demands of one of Italy's major clubs. At Monza, Juric expressed contentment with his current position. "I am very happy here, with the club and the players, we are working well," he said. "I am curious to see where we can reach because there is room for growth. There is chemistry."

Sunday's match at the Sinigaglia pits two of world football's wealthiest ownership groups directly against each other. The Como side, controlled by Indonesia's Hartono family, and AS Roma, owned by American businessman Dan Friedkin, have together invested €1.5bn in Italian football. The meeting illustrates how Serie A has opened itself to globalisation, with ownership now spanning Asia and the United States at an unprecedented scale of financial commitment. The Hartono family, whose wealth originates from Djarum—an Indonesian conglomerate producing clove cigarettes—also controls Bank Central Asia, the country's leading credit institution. Forbes estimated the combined fortune of brothers Robert Budi and Michael Bambang at $43.8bn in 2025; Michael died in March at 86. Since 2019, the family has invested €390m into Como through the British holding company Sent Entertainment, transforming the club into a football and business laboratory. Friedkin's wealth stems from Gulf States Toyota, which holds exclusive distribution rights for Japanese vehicles across five American states, generating $14.5bn in annual revenue in 2025. His portfolio has expanded into luxury hotels through Auberge Resorts and film production via Neon, an Oscar-winning studio. Forbes valued Friedkin's personal wealth at $12.5bn. The distance between Kudus, headquarters of the Hartono family's operations, and Houston, seat of the Friedkin Group, spans 16,000 kilometres. This geographical span underscores the globalisation now reshaping Italian football ownership.

Dan Friedkin has decided to sell Everton, a move that has delighted Roma supporters who now hope the ownership will concentrate its efforts entirely on the Giallorossi. Roma fans have responded positively on social media, with one writing: "Egoistically and above all as a fan, I say it's better this way—let them focus more on Roma, which in my view is their priority on the sporting side, with their own stadium now close to completion and an increasingly upward sporting path. It's certainly not Cannes, while Everton could have become a real distraction." Others fear the Friedkins may treat Roma as they have Everton, arguing: "Build the stadium. The company increases in value. Resell the company and profit on the initial investment. They are entrepreneurs and that's how they operate. They will do the same with us—the signs are there and have been evident for years. They are not Franco Sensi. They are not Dino Viola. Love for a team is something else." The hope is that this will not be the case. The relationship between Everton supporters and the Friedkin Group has never truly taken root. News of their arrival in 2024 was initially welcomed, but after two years the story is already winding down. This summer there were numerous criticisms of their transfer activity, and following the club's announcement, many on social media have attacked Dan Friedkin over the decision to sell: "They never wanted to be part of our club—they just wanted easy money and to sell as many players as possible. They never spoke to the manager or the fans." The Roma president has never been seen at the new stadium built in 2025, an absence that has pleased no one. One post on X states: "It would have been better to have an owner whose sole focus was Everton." Some defend the Friedkins, noting: "It's not entirely their fault. The PSR has ruined every possibility of investing." The PSR—the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules—is the financial regulation established to ensure clubs spend within their limits.