That magical resilience. Roma 2-1 Atalanta. Fener.
It is the principles of Ancient Rome and the very personality of Roma that guide us in our great political battles. And the lesson Roma taught us last night is that one must never give up. We must fight to the very end for what is right—just as Roma’s victory yesterday was right—even when every effort seems in vain, and even when obstacles, like Carnesecchi on Saturday, appear insurmountable.
Just as in our public lives—in the pursuit of spreading freedom, democracy, and peace—we face insurmountable monoliths in our personal lives, too. Yet, there is a glimmer of hope. There is a "Hermoso header" and a "Soulé moment" for world peace as well—if it is true, as indeed it is, that the USA managed to secure a three-day truce from Putin.
In short, no obstacle is too high to overcome. And yesterday, the "final boss"—just like in video games—was Carnesecchi, the Atalanta goalkeeper. It’s a scenario we Roma fans know all too well: 18 shots in the first half, zero goals. Then, right at the start of the second half, Ederson finally broke the deadlock. The only point I’d make is that if Malen finds himself marked by three players, he needs to look for the assist.
| 3rd Serie A | First Half | Second Half | Final Score | Scorers |
 | 89′ Hermoso, 90+3′ Soulé | |||
 | 47′ Ederson |
And it all feels like a story we’ve seen before. Roma attacks and attacks, only to end up with fuck-all. Opponents take a single shot on goal and walk away with the three points. But yesterday, the story was different. It wasn’t a tale of injustice. This time, Dreyfus was vindicated. This time, Roma won because they deserved to win.
The credit for this victory goes to resilience, tenacity, and the persistence in pursuing a goal that always seemed just a meter out of reach. And in the end, we made it. Goals from Hermoso and Soulé arrived. That resilience delivered the result in an almost magical way. The wild joy of being a *Romanista*—something only this club can offer its fans and football lovers across the globe.
Now, however, we have to catch a flight to Istanbul, where the multi-ethnic and multicultural Italian women's volleyball team faces the formidable—and supposedly unbeatable—Turkish side in the European Championship final. On Thursday, we will take on Fenerbahçe—the "Yellow-and-Blues"—one of Istanbul's three major clubs. They are also a powerhouse in basketball; it is the team where our beloved Gigi Datome played and won the EuroLeague title.
Ismail Kartal fields a 4-2-3-1 with a direct approach: winning the ball back and immediately attacking…
The two center-backs complement each other in terms of their characteristics. Skriniar excels as a final line of defense, while Aké is skilled at building play, including through long passing.
The full-backs—Semedo on the right and Brown on the left—are very attack-minded.
but they can also attack down their left flank with Aydin (or Akturkoglu).
Muriqi is left-footed. He is dangerous in the air. Taking his place could be an old acquaintance of ours, Romelu Lukaku—also left-footed, but better than Muriqi at playing with his back to goal.
They defend man-to-man on the corners.
There is no time to celebrate. Defeats teach us lessons. But so do victories. The victory over Atalanta taught us that, with tenacity and focus, we can defeat any boss. And so, we must keep fighting. Just as we must keep fighting for the human rights of every living being.
Daje Roma!
Giordano Sepi