Totti on turning 50: mentally I'm still 25

Gian Piero Gasperini has steered Roma to the top of Serie A after four wins and a draw in his opening matches, accumulating 13 points alongside Inter and Lazio. The coach, who guided Roma to third place and Champions League qualification in the 2025-26 season, has introduced three key innovations that have reshaped the squad's identity. The first centres on the fullback role. Despite having four right-sided options available in Molina, Rensch, Lulli and Wesley, Gasperini has stabilised Wesley on the left flank, instructing him not only to attack but to drift infield to link play with teammates. Gasperini explained the reasoning: "There was an idea to sign a left-footer, but not having one is no problem for me. Like in attack, we can have inverted wingers." The second innovation is Gasperini's ability to reshape the team mid-match without predetermined patterns, including reorganising the defence on tactical impulse. In Roma's clash against Atalanta, he changed two-thirds of the back line to overturn a deficit, saying: "When you go behind you rarely think about changing at the back, but we were struggling and fresh energy there put the ball back in our hands." Beyond the pitch, Gasperini has transformed the handling of the Roman environment—traditionally a source of complex pressure. He has repositioned supporters' enthusiasm as a motivational force, stating: "The city is everything, it motivates and stimulates you. The Olimpico always full is wonderful, it gives you positive pressure." At Trigoria training ground, he has fostered an atmosphere where players want to be: "There is an environment here where you have pleasure in coming. I am in love with this group."

AS Roma's long-awaited new stadium project in the Pietralata district reached a decisive turning point on 28 September, with the conclusive session of the Decisive Services Conference scheduled for 10:30 at the Parliament of the Higher Council of Public Works under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. The session, presided over by Massimo Sessa, the Extraordinary Commissioner for Euro 2032, will see approximately fifty entities formally review the Technical-Economic Feasibility Project (PFTE) the club submitted in December. The project envisions an overall investment of approximately 1.3 billion euros aimed at revitalizing the entire city district. Environmental Impact Assessment approval has already been granted, the most significant procedural step in the journey. Once the meeting minutes are formalized and any prescriptions integrated, Roma will move to drafting the Definitive Project, with presentation expected by the end of December. The institutional and club objective is clear: to begin construction by spring in order to meet the timeline for including the stadium among the five Italian facilities hosting Euro 2032 matches. The positive outcome of today's conference is widely expected. Once formal procedures are completed, the ball moves directly to the club for the next phase of planning. The spring construction start date is critical to ensuring Roma's venue is ready for the championship schedule.

Aldair, Bruno Conti, Candela and many others shared birthday messages for Francesco Totti, with Zago, the 2001 Serie A championship-winning hero, offering a humorous story to Il Messaggero about their time as teammates. When Zago first arrived at Roma, he shared a room with Totti during the early days of pre-season training. "In the middle of the night he started shouting 'give me the ball, give me the ball'. I got scared and the next day I asked Vito Scala if that was normal, and he explained to me that Totti often talks while he sleeps. It happened other times but by then I was prepared," Zago recalled. The anecdote reveals Totti's single-minded focus on football — so consuming that it followed him even into his dreams.