Sunday's opponent: Atalanta.

It is a game in which you have to have a lot of head and cojones (as the Spaniards say). Some of you may wonder why this dirtyl language and why on the occasion of the match against Atalanta.

Because a great Bergamasco was Bartolomeo Colleoni, whose surname derives from còleus which means testicles in Latin and had 3 pairs of balls as a heraldic symbol. Bartolomeo Coglioni (as his contemporaries called him) was a great captain of fortune, often victorious on the battlefield, who served above all Venice and Milan. He was proud of his surname and called the office saying "Coglia, coglia!". Even today, the people of Bergamo are a courageous people who have suffered the massacre of COVID with great force and are emerging as the winner (as I hope all of Italy and the world, especially thanks to vaccines). So we'll have to prove more cojones than them. Maybe they'll put us on the ropes, but we don't have to capitulate. We can go home with the entire stake up for grabs.

The captains of fortune were a fundamental figure of the era of the Lordships between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. I don't think it's fair to remember them today as mere mercenaries. The difference between mercenaries and these great leaders is Sense. The knights of fortune wanted to make sense of their life. They wanted to write a page of history. This is why they are very similar to footballers. And if in the future we remember the Roma players of this year, it will be because they have won something important and therefore have written a page in the history of Roma and football. As we remember those who won the Scudetto in the past. As we remember Bartolomeo Colleoni.

Gasperini deploys a 3421 that moves mainly man by man. The man marking doubles or triples depending on whether the player changes quadrant, which is why it is very important both to carry the ball in different quadrants to create the free man, and to move the attackers without the ball. They mark hybrids on 5 man corners and then there are other men who mark by zone.

They mainly push on the left with Gosens, but can also push on the right with Ilicic (or Hateboer). When they cross Gosens or Hateboer, we need to be careful not only of the two forwards but also of the other wing at the far post.

Ilicic (left) is more an attacking midfielder with dribbling and shot, especially dangerous when starting from the right he goes towards the center to look for the left-footed shot. Malinovskyi is also left but he prefers to play on the left. He is good at assisting and has a beautiful foot. Gomez's specialty is dribbling, but he is also strong in shooting and high assist. Gomez is dangerous in the offensive phase, but also under construction where he comes back to help. For tactical intelligence and technical quality, the Argentinian is the best player of the Nerazzurri from Bergamo, then we have to see if he will play, despite the disagreements leaked with Midtylland with the coach Gasperini. Pessina is a midfield reasoner and prefers passing.

As center striker, either Zapata or Muriel could play. The former is more powerful and better with a header. The second is smaller, faster, better at dribbling and with a better foot. They are both right-handed.

They suffer from pressure (especially with the 3 central defenders), but we will have to be careful not to lean too far forward, because they are dangerous on the counterattack. When they have to play the game, they have more problems.

We need cojones, but above all the head. This match will be able to tell us the truth about our ambitions. I believe we can beat them. Daje Roma!

Giordano Sepi