Vacations

 Football in Rome: The Tale Of Two Teams In The Capital

Football is called “calico” by Italians. They say “gioco del calico,” which means football is the nicest game on the earth. Football in Rome is much like the second official religion. The game is the soul of the Romans life and culture. It is a very popular sport; in fact, it’s a fever, and that’s why the supporters are generally called “tifosi” (typhus patients) in Italian.

Rome is known for its two major football clubs – AS Roma and SS Lazio, which are in Series A that is the top division of Roman football. These international adoption clubs share the same stadium – the Stadio Olimpico. Located on the Foro Italico, the Stadio Olimpico hosted the final game of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The sports rivalry of AS Roma and SS Lazio has become the part of Roman sports culture.

Luciano Spalletti is the head coach of A.S. Roma football team, and Delio Rossi is the head coach of SS Lazio football team. The rivalry of the two teams reaches pinnacle when they face off in the annual Rome Derby. A.S. Roma won the derby, beating Lazio 2-0 for the 2005-06 Season. Some celebrated footballers of these two clubs include Francesco Totti (A.S. Roma), Giuseppe Giannini (A.S. Roma), Paolo Di Canio (SS Lazio), and Alessandro Nesta (SS Lazio).

Founded on January 9, 1900, SS Lazio is the older of the two clubs. The club was founded as an athletics and gymnastics club, they started football in 1902. The club's white and sky blue colors are reminiscent of the flag of Greece, the country which gave birth to Olympic tradition. The club's traditional symbol, the eagle, is an acknowledgment to the emblem of the Roman Empire.

AS Roma club was founded on July 22, 1927. Before formation AS Roma, there were four football teams in Rome – Alba, Roman, Fortitude and Lazio. In order to the strengths, it was settled to merge the teams. Lazio refused, but Alba, Roman, and Fortitude combined to form Roma. The colors of the club – maroon red and golden yellow have earned them nickname “i Giallorossi” (the Yellow-Reds).

The emblem of the Roma team portrays the female wolf with the two infant brothers Romulus and Remus, illustrating the well-known myth of the creation superimposed on a bipartite golden yellow over maroon red shield. The official colors also reflect the gold and maroon bipartite of the flag of the Eternal City, with the former symbolizing God in Christianity, and the latter imperial dignity.

For Romans, football is a social event that generates famous and poetic memories. Both these teams play at the Stadio Olimpico, which is the largest Italian stadium and one of the most renowned stadiums of Europe. There is also a great rivalry between the fans of the two teams, goes to the extreme sometimes. For instance, in January 2006, when Roma fans showed anti-semitic and neo-nazi banners during a match, the team was ordered to play their match at an indifferent venue without fans.