All roads lead to Rome… Brighton & Hove Albion will face Italian giants Roma in the Europa League round of 16.
The Seagulls will travel to the Eternal City for the first leg on Thursday 7th March. Roma visit the Amex a week later on Thursday 14th March.
With the Stadio Olimpico having a capacity of 70,634, Brighton can expect to receive around 3,500 tickets based on an away allocation of five percent.
The stadium itself is one of the most famous in Italy. It held the 1960 summer Olympics, the 1990 World Cup final and is now the home ground of Lazio as well as Roma. It also hosts the Coppa Italia final.
Italy is well connected transport wise, giving Seagulls supporters plenty of options in terms of getting to Rome beyond the obvious of flying in and out. That should make this a popular game.
Those who do go can probably expect a similar policing experience to that of the group stage game in Marseille, where the Gendarmerie tried to minimise contact between Albion fans and the locals as much as possible.
Roma ultras have something of a reputation for unprovoked attacks of fans of foreign clubs using knives, poles, flares, bottles and stones.
Supporters of English teams to have suffered stabbings and other injuries during visits to the Eternal City include Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and those well known hooligans who follow, er, Middlesbrough.
Rome of course has plenty to do besides attempt to avoid being knifed or attacked with a pole. From the Colosseum to the Vatican to the Trevi Fountain, it is one of the most historic cities on the planet.
As for the football team, I Giallorossi currently sit sixth in Serie A having recently sacked Jose Mourinho. The Special One is probably secretly relieved to not be heading back to Brighton with Roma in the Europa League round of 16.
The Amex is the only ground where Mourinho has suffered three successive defeats in his managerial career, losing as Manchester United boss in May and August 2018 and Spurs manager in January 2021.
Mourinho’s replacement Daniel De Rossi said before the draw that Brighton were on the teams he did not want Roma paired with in the Europa League round of 16.
“Because of their physical condition and style of play, Brighton and Leverkusen will be the teams that are most uncomfortable to play against,” the I Giallorossi head coach said.
Whilst De Rossi got the draw he did not want, Roberto De Zerbi in contrast will be delighted at returning to his home county.
If the Albion were to eliminate Roma in convincing style, it can only strengthen his chances of landing a leading Serie A job in the not-too-distant future.
De Zerbi has made no secret of his desire to manage AC Milan one day. Italy is full of other huge clubs of course beyond the Rossoneri, including Roma.
Since being formed in 1927, I Giallorossi have participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence bar the 1951–52 season.
They have won three Serie A titles, nine Coppa Italias and the Europa Conference League in 2022 under Mourinho.
The Special One also led Roma to the Europa League final last season, where they were lost on penalties to Sevilla at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary.
