Inter Milan or Roma? Leave your comments.

Update #1 at half time, Roma is winning 2-0 and Inter is still drawn. Are we in for an upset?

Update #2 Milito scored the opener for Inter. Will they confirm their win in the Calcio?

Update #3 It’s official. Inter has won the championship.

We’ll get them next year!

For those of you not too familiar with the Portuguese League, it’s currently close to an end with only two clubs in the fight for first place: Benfica and Braga. And while Benfica is a chronic candidate to win the title, Braga is this year’s happy surprise.

With the team playing good, enthralling football and being so high up in the table, it’s normal that fans will want to travel far to support the team on away matches. But in the last round there was an avalanche of fans traveling with the team. No less than 7,000 Braga fans – that’s about 50 busloads of men, women and children – made the journey from the North of Portugal to the center of that beautiful country.

But these numbers, unheard of in Portugal, will only make true sense if we consider one last figure. Naval, the host, have a stadium that sits 10.000 people. That means 70% of people in the stadium were supporting the away team.

And the team didn’t let them down, routing their opponents 0-4. But that pales in comparison to the beauty of having such dedicated supporters following the team around.

These are a couple of videos I found on YouTube, one showing some pictures of the moments leading up to the game and another showing the fans in action:

I have to keep reminding myself that they’re the away team!

Just because I really like it, here’s the inevitable Mexican Wave:

Sadly the guy missed the goal But in this video you can really tell just how many Braga fans were in the stadium – just look at how much red there is in the stands.

This Crimson Tide may not see its team end the season in 1st place, but they will certainly finish in a more than well deserved second. And look out Europe, they’ll be in the Champions League next season!

Thanks to 1921 for letting me know about this video!

Note: this is the first in a new category of articles that we at asromafc.info named “The Beautiful Game” where we will try to post news that honor the beautiful sport we all enjoy so much.

Roma won 2-1 on aggregate

Inter, after beating Fiorentina twice by 1-0, had already reached the Final. Now the two first teams in the League will also fight it off for the Cup. The final will be played in Rome on May 5th, so Roma will practically play at home.

A spirited contest as usual

The match was tainted by conflicts between the fans, which do very little to dignify the game of Football and to contribute to what should be a family experience.

It was a heated match, both inside and outside the pitch. The game started nicely for Lazio, who 14 minutes into the match were up 1-0. Lazio dominated the game in the first half and had several chances to score, but none greater than a penalty kick that was awarded early in the second half, that Floccari missed. But the second half also saw Roma get back in the game with a passion as manager Ranieri read the game superbly. He took Totti and Daniele De Rossi off the pitch and replaced them with Jeremy Menez and Taddei. Vucinic then proceeded to steal the show, scoring twice – from a spot kick and a beautifully placed free kick. From then on, Lazio piled on the pressure, but there was nothing that could be done.

Roma didn’t play their best match ever, but they played enough to get the 3 points and hold on to the first place in the League.

One can only dream

Inter Milan has upped the ante in the last match, convincingly beating Juventus and going 2 points ahead of Roma in the table. Now Roma must use their match in hand to get back to first place – and hopefully hold on to it until the end for a historical win.

Much has happened this season, and the brave players of Roma have had to overcome many adversities and, lets face it, have let us down on occasions. But it’s now time to step up and beat Lazio, who are well within Roma’s reach.

Lets now look at some match facts. Lazio have pulled together and are now 6 points clear of the relegation zone. They have won 3 matches of their last 5 and, most importantly, have also lost none of those. They do, however, have a somewhat troublesome injury list, with Meghni, Manfredini, Matuzalem, Bizzarri and Foggia all ruled out. Truth be said, they won’t be all-out desperate to win this derby and that may give them the cold approach needed to get something out of it, despite the enourmos gap in quality.

Roma have an almost clean bill of health, with only Vucinic troubling Claudio Ranieri. They have the best recent form of the Serie A, with 5 wins out of the last 5 matches – a true feat in Italian football, especially if we consider they have gone the last 23 (!) matches unbeaten.

It’s always hard to predict the outcome of a fierce derby such as this one, but at the end of the day I believe Roma will win and will put even more pressure on Internazionale.

[Image courtesy of Coolest Wallpapers] ]]> http://www.asromafc.info/blog/2010/04/lazio-v-as-roma-match-preview/feed/ 1 http://www.asromafc.info/blog/2010/03/as-roma-v-inter-milan-match-preview/ http://www.asromafc.info/blog/2010/03/as-roma-v-inter-milan-match-preview/#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:00:28 +0000 Giallorosso http://www.asromafc.info/blog/?p=127

Roma square off against Inter Milan in the all or nothing match in this Serie A. Roma may not have had the best start to the year, but are now in 2nd place and a mere four points from leaders Internazionale. Mourinho’s men have been doing well and are still present in the Champions League, but right now that may just spell disaster for them, as a more refreshed Roma side will give them a sure run for their money at home – that is, if they don’t give them a solid beating.

Inter isn’t exactly known for their attractive football, but their practical approach gives them the all-important results. They are perhaps the greatest opponent Roma had to face this season, and this match promises to be one of the most interesting of this year’s Serie A.

[Photo courtesy of Zimbio]

A French center back brought up in the Toulouse young teams, he soon moved to Auxerre where he was born to high class football. Played for 5 years in the Auxerre first team before he moved to Roma in 2004.
An incredibly keen sense of positioning, along with an enormous heart and stamina are the main aspects of this classy defender’s game, proving to be one of the best in the game at this point.

His first years in Rome were a bit controversial, since his move from Auxerre was considered illegal by UEFA and he was suspended from competition and Roma was fined. He only fully regained his place in the squad halfway through the 2005/06 season, and has been a key player from then on.

His career in the French national team hasn’t been as good as it could have been, but pundits claim that it’s mainly because of an overall lack of class and vision by French national managers than from any sort of lack of ability from the player.

Photo @ Official AS Roma Website

Neither team could do better than a draw tonight at the Olimpico.

It was a nervy match, with neither team really managing to break the opposition’s defense. Typically Italian tight defending left little room for the creative players on both sides. Milan managed to get a slight upper hand over Roma with a nice performance by Ronaldinho, and a great match by Flamini, who owned the right side of the Milan side and held back Riise.

Roma had a decent performance, especially considering the opponent. The tifosi at the stadium certainly expected more out of this match, but you have to take what you get sometimes, and this draw does nothing to harm Roma’s chances of finishing second.

Inter Milan’s manager Mourinho must be really happy, as he may increase the gap towards his two closest rivals.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

This weekend’s clash between Roma and AC Milan is stirring a lot of interest among tifosi of both sides, and all tickets for the match have been sold. 72.968 people are expected to watch the match, with the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi among them, along with many local celebrities.

This match is paramount for both team’s league careers, as, in case of a win, Roma will be with the same points as AC Milan, while the rossoneri don’t want to lose more ground towards Inter Milan.

Related News: Roma v Milan Match Preview


(Photo @ doria.altervista.org)

Rossi outruns competition.

Forza Roma!

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)