On Saturday at 6 pm, the Olimpico will host the direct clash between the only two teams still with a perfect record in the league: Roma and Inter. A match that recalls the great duels of the early 2000s, when between 2007 and 2010 the Giallorossi and Nerazzurri repeatedly fought for the title, with the Milanese always coming out on top.
According to Repubblica, the anticipation for this match is enormous. The two teams represent the two capitals of Italy, the political-institutional one and the economic-financial one, with the stadiums San Siro and Olimpico as temples of the National Team. Yet, the newspaper points out, Roma and Inter have truly fought for the scudetto only three times in a hundred years of history. Inter’s tendency to come back after falling behind could make for a spectacular match.
Roma has scored 12 goals and conceded only one, and has the top scorer Malen, with six goals. Inter rested Lautaro Martinez, last season’s top scorer, but already has four players who have scored at least twice. Among the key men is also the other Martinez, Josep the embarrassed goalkeeper, as well as Pio Esposito and Thuram, who are improving after the World Cup.
On the Giallorossi side, the flying Dutchman scores and builds the play alongside Dybala, who provides the assists. There is also Pisilli, a homegrown talent present everywhere on the pitch, and the new center-back Leonardo Balerdi, an Argentine who is almost Marseillaise, not a youngster but reliable.
The clash also pits the two coaches against each other: Chivu, a former Giallorossi, in his first real scudetto challenge as a coach, and Gasperini, who would like to win the title before turning 70. The latter was actually with the Nerazzurri, where he failed quickly, the darkest point of a magnificent but incomplete career. According to Repubblica, he will seek at least some revenge against those who questioned him and then let him go. They are separated by 22 years and different lives, not to mention different dreams and awakenings.
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