Roma sell 11,000 season tickets on day one; Wesley returns early from break ahead of Sorianese friendly

Lorenzo Pellegrini was among 13 figures from journalism, sport, television, entertainment and public life honoured at the twelfth edition of the Premio Giuseppe Colalucci at Rome's Circolo Antico Tiro a Volo on 7 October. The award, created by Guido D'Ubaldo (current president of the Lazio Press Association), commemorates Giuseppe Colalucci, the historic founder of *Il Tifone*. Also recognised were former Roma defender Ubaldo Righetti and Lazio manager Gennaro Gattuso. Pellegrini spoke of his contentment at remaining with Roma and the unity within the squad. During a national-team break, he had used the time to build fitness ahead of the return to domestic action. The Roma midfielder and the Lazio boss shared a relaxed moment together at the ceremony, exchanging embraces and conversation before the formalities began. At his presentation, Pellegrini said: "At Roma we are a united, strong group that works and knows what our objective is. I am happy to have stayed at Roma." Speaking to Sky Sport before the event, he added: "I am well; during this international break I have been able to push harder and recover. I am very pleased and very fired up for this restart."

Mario Hermoso, Bryan Cristante and Donyell Malen were chosen as the faces for Roma and Adidas's new clothing collection inspired by the 1990s. The three players posed for photographs and videos during a promotional shoot, which included playful moments shared on the club's social media channels. Hermoso was handed a disposable camera in authentic '90s style to take shots during the session. He called out to Malen with "Bobby, my bro" to invite him to pose for the camera.

Mario Hermoso took on the role of photographer in a behind-the-scenes video released by Roma on social media. During a photoshoot for the new Adidas collection inspired by the 1990s, the club handed the defender an analogue camera, and he directed his lens at Donyell Malen, who was posing for the official shoot. Hermoso called out to the Dutch forward with the words: "Bobby, my bro".

The international break has ended and Roma players have returned to Trigoria, with Matías Soulé, Santiago Castro and Leonardo Balerdi due back in the capital today and available to Gasperini from tomorrow. The three Argentina internationals saw limited action across friendly matches against Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Benin. Balerdi played the most among them with 79 minutes, followed by Soulé (45 minutes) and Castro (21 minutes). They watched Argentina's farewell to Lionel Messi from the bench and are now set for the upcoming Como fixture. Rodrigo Mora emerged as Roma's most-used player during the international window, accumulating 225 minutes with Portugal Under-21. The 2007-born midfielder scored a bicycle kick and provided an assist. Evan N'Dicka (187 minutes), Gianluca Mancini and Niccolò Pisilli (both 180 minutes) followed him. Manu Koné featured in three of France's four matches, totalling 151 minutes, though he was absent against Italy and came off the bench only late in the fixture against Belgium. Emanuele Lulli and Konstantinos Koulierakis saw less action, playing 45 and 90 minutes respectively. Gasperini began formation drills today and reunited with Wesley and Donyell Malen, both of whom remained in Rome due to minor injuries that have now been resolved.

Roma have renewed their interest in Issa Doumbia following his maiden start for Italy against Turkey on Sunday, which the Giallorossi won 3–1. The 22-year-old Sporting CP midfielder impressed Roma and Juventus during the match, according to Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur. Doumbia played the full 90 minutes and was involved in the build-up to Italy's first and third goals, a display that has brought fresh attention to a player Roma were already monitoring during the summer transfer window. Doumbia moved from Venezia to Sporting in June and signed a contract until 2031 with the Portuguese club. His agreement includes a €80 million release clause, officially confirmed by Sporting at the time of his transfer. That figure does not necessarily represent Sporting's asking price for any negotiation, but demonstrates the club's confidence in the player and the difficulty of engineering a move in the near term. For now, Roma's stance appears to be one of interest and observation rather than active pursuit. The midfielder's performance in the Stadio Olimpico victory gave him a significant platform at international level. His involvement in two of Italy's goals under Roberto Mancini underlined the quality that has drawn Roma's eye previously, and the display has intensified Italian clubs' focus on a prospect already known to the Giallorossi.

Roberto Mancini is settling into his return as Italy manager with the Azzurri in second place after four Nations League matches, despite an early defeat to Belgium. He has maintained his trademark approach of rapidly integrating young talent into the senior setup, with 64 youth debutants in 65 matches spent in the national team dugout. During the most recent international window, he introduced Alessandro Romano, Issa Doumbia, Michael Kayode, Sebastiano Esposito, Matteo Ruggeri, Antonio Vergara, and Mohamed Alì Zoma, who all performed credibly. Niccolò Pisilli, a Roma squad member, is among the next group of youngsters in line for a call-up, alongside Alphadjo Cissè, Cher Ndour, and Antonio Raimondo. A couple of them already featured for Italy in June when Silvio Baldini was caretaker manager. Three additional newcomers—Honest Ahanor, Eddy Kouadio, and Samuel Inacio—made their first squad call-ups but will have to wait until November to earn their maiden caps; Mancini held back the latter two partly to avoid triggering national team calls from Côte d'Ivoire and Brazil, though he notes Italy's U-21 side also needed them for European Championship qualification. Mancini observed that the players showed greater unity, tactical cohesion, spirit, and commitment than in the final stretch of his previous reign and the subsequent periods under different coaches. Most of the young talent are expected to remain at the forefront, with their quality and energy already evident.

Roma return to action on Sunday 11 October at 12:30 at the Sinigaglia for Serie A's sixth round against Como, following the international break. Wesley and Malen trained partially with the group on 7 October, while Bryan Cristante remains sidelined and will miss the match. Rodrigo Mora and Manu Koné have returned to Rome after completing their international commitments; Matías Soulé, Santiago Castro and Leonardo Balerdi are expected back tomorrow after finishing their respective obligations. Lorenzo Pellegrini is in contention for a starting role in the offensive line, having remained at Trigoria throughout the break and trained consistently under coach Gian Piero Gasperini. He is reportedly ahead of Soulé and Mora in the selection battle, a positioning helped by his uninterrupted preparation while his rivals were engaged with their national teams. Soulé will arrive in the capital only close to kickoff following Argentina's campaign, while Mora returned today after Portugal's Under-21 commitments. Michael Fabbri of Ravenna has been appointed to referee the match, with Imperiale and Baccini as assistants and Sozza as fourth official. Gariglio will manage the VAR with Abisso as AVAR. Fabbri has refereed Roma on 19 occasions: the club holds a record of 9 victories, 4 draws and 6 defeats under him. His last match involving Roma was in the 2025-26 season, when he officiated Roma's 1–0 defeat to Atalanta in Bergamo in round 18. Radio commentary before the match has focused on the title race. Stefano Carina remarked: "We need to understand what effect the Champions League has, it costs many points. But it is too early for any judgment, Como and Roma are already going at maximum, difficult they can do more." Paolo Marcacci added: "I have positive feelings about the match with Como. After this break another championship begins: between 13 and 10 points there are eight teams, so this round can become important for the table. If I had to pick a result, I would say Roma will win or at least not lose. But it is too early to say that whoever wins will become the anti-Inter."

Roma will travel to Como in four days with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini preparing his squad for the match. Bryan Cristante is unavailable through injury, while Donyell Malen and Wesley have trained separately but pose no fitness concerns. Rodrigo Mora and Manu Koné returned to Rome today following the international break, with Matías Soulé, Santiago Castro and Leonardo Balerdi due back tomorrow. Como's prospects have improved ahead of the fixture. Moise Kean is recovering from muscle fatigue that forced him to leave the national team camp, and confidence is growing that he will feature against Roma. Como's director of sport Ludi addressed the upcoming match, saying: "It will undoubtedly be a stimulating match, extremely difficult against one of the strongest teams in the championship. We want to test ourselves seriously to prove we are their rivals." Michael Fabbri has been appointed as referee. Como's last meeting with Roma came in January, a 1–0 defeat at Atalanta where Scalvini scored an irregular goal after committing a foul on Mile Svilar.

Roma travel to Como this weekend as Serie A resumes after a three-week international break, with the clash carrying direct implications for Champions League qualification. Historically, Roma's record against Como is strong overall—16 wins, 8 draws and 7 defeats—and the Giallorossi have won both recent meetings at the Olimpico: 2-1 in 2025 and 1-0 last season, when Wesley scored. Away at the Sinigaglia, however, the picture is starkly different. Since Como's return to Serie A, Roma have lost every fixture there, falling 2-0 and 2-1 in those contests. The last Roma victory away from home against Como stretches back 37 years. On 30 April 1989, Roma won 0-1 with a goal from Manfredonia in the 2nd minute; that match also featured a missed penalty from Giannini. A defeat also came in 2003, underlining Como's status as a venue where Roma have consistently struggled.