While I was in fact looking forward to going out and having a few pints at 'The Scholar's Lounge' (a rather fun Irish Pub in the heart of the centro historico, and indeed, some scholars are to be found there) for the the AS Roma v Manchester Utd Champion's League clash, played here in Rome, I decided to be good and resist the temptation.
Turns out it was just as well. 18 people who attended the game have been hospitalised with one Man Utd fan in a critical condition after receiving a stab wound to the neck. Roma supporters have the unfortunate reputation of being the most thug-like in the whole of Italy, and evidently the equal of any Premiership League team. The team itself is a bit like the Brisbane Broncos or Sydney Roosters in the NRL (or 'kick it over the H' as Emma calls it, grunting - not all sports are as sophisticated as Rugby Union Em! (Canterbury Crusaders reference there)) in that while they are one of the benchmarks of the national competition, there are many sportsfans who love to loathe them.
Well, I've been trying to support Roma, but no amount of 'as the Romans do'-style persuasion has been able to oust from my memory Grosso's 50/50 dive in the World Cup last year against the Socceroos (sure, Lucas Neill should never, ever have tried a tackle like that in the box, especially on an Italian - but, as every local I've spoken to about it has said themselves: there was no foul in the challenge) and Totti's successful penalty - which knocked us out. Roma may go through to the final four by ousting Man U (Liverpool look like destroying PSV, Valencia and Chelsea are anyone's guess, and AC Milan v Bayern Munich is going to be a cracker) but even though their style of play is attractive, I simply am not feeling it. Looks like I'll have to pick a team other than Roma to support.
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UPDATE: Since I wrote the above, Roma has gone down in the away leg to Manchester Utd. In fact, they were humbled (read hammered) 7-1 at Old Trafford; and whilst my rant about Roma above still holds, I have come to have a greater respect, both for the Roma team and for the average Roma fan (not the thugs), for the following reason.
Now if it had been Manchester who had been beaten 7-1, we could've expected scenes of riots, screaming, angry skinheads burning effigies etc etc on the tv screens. But something I've come to realise in the aftermath of the game - Roma have been extremely gracious in defeat. This could be because they were spanked so comprehensively, but the fans I speak to seem to be in agreement on a few points: they did well in the competition, they're proud of their team, they were outplayed on the night by a very good opposition.
So while I'm not sure they are the best winners going around, going on recent events I would have to argue that they are very gracious in defeat, and unlikely to resort to vitriol against their team, etc. Which is much better than the alternative, and which for me is more in the spirit of any sporting contest. Bravo Roma.
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