Roma's away fans return after nine months as Como tickets sell out in hours

Roma's international break will conclude this weekend, with the Serie A campaign resuming on Sunday 11 October at Como (12:30 CET, Stadio Sinigaglia). The Giallorossi arrive on the back of a 2–2 draw against Inter, a result that underlined their strong start to the season and their ability to compete with title contenders. The timing of the break is awkward—Roma must immediately shift mental gears for a relentless schedule that will see them play nine times in 27 days, a fixture run that will define their seasonal ambitions under Gasperini. The stretch begins at Como and continues without respite. Three days after the Lombard trip, on Wednesday 14 October, the Champions League returns to the Olimpico after seven years; Real Madrid, managed by José Mourinho, are the visitors. Saturday 17 brings Genoa to Rome, followed by Slovan Bratislava at home on Tuesday 20 in the Champions League league phase. Roma then travel to Napoli on Saturday 24 October, a fixture described as capable of revealing much about the Giallorossi's capacity to compete. There is no time to celebrate or recover: Tuesday 27 sees Cagliari at home in a midweek fixture. Saturday 31 brings a trip to Udinese, followed by a journey to England on 3 November to face Manchester United. The run concludes on 7 November with Sassuolo at home, the ninth and final match of the month-long cycle before the second international break of the season. The injury to Bryan Cristante is poorly timed, depriving the midfield of one of its key equilibrating figures at the start of this critical period. However, his absence opens a tactical opportunity: Marten de Roon is primed to take over the midfield and make his Roma debut from the start, likely already at Como. De Roon brings his customary aggression, solidity and experience. Niccolò Pisilli will offer freshness and enthusiasm, though he is more likely to deputise for Manu Koné than for Cristante. Lorenzo Pellegrini's return, even in a different role—more attacking midfielder than central midfielder in a two-man midfield—is the best possible news for Gasperini. The coach has made clear that there are no hierarchies at Trigoria: "those who are in better form play, for Roma's benefit." Roma's squad training resumes on Tuesday afternoon before the Como trip. The fixture list over the next month presents no respite and no room for fluctuation, with injury risk a constant concern as the team aims to navigate this pivotal stretch.

Roma have identified Endrick as a priority signing for the January transfer window, with director D'Amico having worked on the Brazilian forward since last summer. Both the player and his father have indicated their willingness to join, according to reports. Endrick, who has featured for just 4 minutes so far this season, is seeking regular playing time and consistency. His father previously explained that the player "had regained happiness" in France after Real Madrid had limited his pitch time. Roma could offer him the space and central role within Gasperini's project that he is seeking. Separately, Roma's women's team face Lazio in the Derby della Capitale at the Tre Fontane stadium at 18:00 today, Saturday 3 October, in a Serie A fixture. The Roma women arrive at the match after a particularly demanding period, having played four more matches than their derby opponents since 6 September across league, Women's Cup and Champions League commitments. The match will be broadcast on DAZN, Rai Sport and Rai Play. For Roma coach Gianpiero Piovani, it will be his first Lazio derby from the Roma bench. He said of his opposite number: "Knowing Grassadonia, I don't expect a cautious team, especially given they have some very quick players up front."

Roma's travelling support snapped up approximately 1,000 tickets for the away fixture at Como in a matter of hours on 2 October, ending a nine-month absence from away matches. The Como club website was overwhelmed by the volume of traffic as Roma fans rushed to secure their allocation, with some complaints on social media about technical issues on the platform, though the high number of concurrent users at 15:00 generated the problems. Roma supporters have been unable to travel for Serie A away matches since the bans imposed for the Lecce and Torino fixtures. This fixture marks their first opportunity to follow the team away from the Stadio Olimpico in the current campaign. The last time Roma fans travelled was for the match against Torino on 18 January, a date that also coincided with Paulo Dybala's most recent goal.

Radio pundit Piero Torri has voiced concern that Bryan Cristante's injury could be more serious than initially thought, and has outlined how he would approach Roma's upcoming fixtures if the midfielder is unavailable. Speaking on Radio Manà Manà Sport Roma (90.9), Torri said: "I'm afraid Cristante's injury may not be a short one. If he's not fit, I wouldn't risk trying to get him back for Real Madrid. I would play de Roon at Como and Pisilli against Real Madrid." Torri also reflected on head coach Gian Piero Gasperini's handling of Paulo Dybala's minutes, saying the manager's approach has shifted his perspective. "What Gasperini said about Dybala struck me—it erased my previous beliefs about his playing time and management. And so far he's been proved right," Torri noted. He suggested Roma should begin discussions about Gasperini's contract intentions, given that the coach's deal will expire at the end of the season. Former Roma striker Roberto Pruzzo, speaking on Radio Radio Mattino (104.5), praised goalkeeper Mile Svilar's importance to the team: "Svilar is a world-class goalkeeper for Roma, I have no doubt about it. If there's a normal goalkeeper, it's easy to lose 3–1. But with him it's different."

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri appeared on Radio Radio in recent days to discuss the new Roma stadium planned for Pietralata, taking part in a social media game ranking legendary players from the club's history. Gualtieri built his pyramid of greats starting with Falcao, placed in the second tier despite acknowledging how difficult it was to rank him below the top. Roberto Pruzzo followed, with Gualtieri initially wanting to put all legends in top position before reorganising: Falcao and Bruno Conti placed slightly above Pruzzo, with Daniele De Rossi at the same level. Paulo Dybala earned a place in the third tier but, Gualtieri suggested, could rise higher still. Francesco Totti claimed the top spot uncontestably. "The captain goes first—that's beyond discussion. He wins it; he's unique," Gualtieri said. On naming the new stadium after Totti, Gualtieri was clear: "The club will decide that. At the moment it appears to be written 'Roma 1927'," he added with a laugh.

Giuseppe Giannini, Roma legend and former captain, has ranked Francesco Totti as the greatest number 10 in the club's history by statistical measure, followed by Agostino Di Bartolomei and De Sisti. Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport's SportWeek supplement, Giannini placed himself fourth on merit of his Roman identity, and positioned Paulo Dybala fifth among the club's greatest number 10s—despite Dybala wearing the number 21 on his back. Giannini praised Dybala's playing style and artistry at length. "The fact that he plays with great simplicity," Giannini said. "He always manages to escape from every game situation, even the most complicated ones. Even when surrounded by two or three opponents he's able to manage somehow and come out of it with the ball at his feet. He's a player who has fantasy, moments of genius. And you can see that when he plays, he enjoys himself. When a champion can play while enjoying it, he also carries the fans with him, who identify with him. I would steal his left foot, but I'd give him my right one." Giannini reflected on his early encounters with Totti, whom his own father brought from Lodigiani to Roma. Before an away match, an unwell teammate was withdrawn from the squad list at the last moment and Totti was called up instead. With no single rooms available at the hotel, Giannini offered to share his double room with the young player. "I didn't make him feel the weight of my captain's role, but he watched me without speaking. He was shy," Giannini recalled. "We played cards and went to sleep. He told me later that night he didn't sleep a wink, but I couldn't swear to it because I slept peacefully." On his own career highlights, Giannini identified 20 March 1994 at Foggia as his proudest moment wearing the giallorosso. Roma had arrived on the back of poor results against Zeman's Foggia side. "We went down by a goal, I scored the equaliser. The 1–1 final gave us confidence, we put together four wins in a row and by the end of the season we came within a whisker of qualifying for the UEFA Cup," he said. His most difficult moment as captain came when president Dino Viola passed away and Giannini was tasked with laying flowers on his empty seat at the Olimpico before the first match held without him.