The almost centennial challenge that runs on the Milan-Turin-Rome axis has been a constant in the Serie A championship since the fifties. Sometimes the cities hosting the noble derbies (to which Genoa-Sampdoria are added) have been joined by surprises and loose mines such as Naples, Hellas Verona, Fiorentina, Cagliari, but they have been, in fact, rare exceptions that confirm the rule.
Well this year, the 2019/2020 championship seems to be giving us one of the most exciting tournaments of the last ten years. On the one hand there is a strong, self-confident Inter Milan that they seem to have found the director he had been looking for for years in Brozovic, but still at the start of the project, Conte has actually been working with the team for only five months; on the other a Juventus that is becoming more and more “Sarriana”, but that seems to be suffering from the Nerazzurri pressure and is experiencing a slight decline of CR7 on its skin. The two Romans try to fit right into the upper floors, which could also be the "first place", because this year not only the Champions placement seems achievable, but also something more.
What's behind Lazio and Rome
Undoubtedly we can speak of two healthy teams and two companies, which are achieving important results: if we are passionate about bets on Serie A matches, we realize that both Lazio and Roma are seen by all insiders as the very first candidates for a place in the Champions League. But what is the secret of the two Roman women? Certainly careful planning, based on quality and not quantity. At Lazio, the two main architects seem to be Tare and Simone Inzaghi: where the Albanian is a genius in finding talents thanks to his talent scout "machine" and where the coach is a master at "modeling" this raw material into players of high profile. On the Giallorossi side the director Petrachi, assisted by Baldini, was able to restore serenity to an environment that last year had been a bit in the storm. To these factors was added the presence of Fonseca: the Portuguese coach seems to have finally found the keystone after so many experiments that have also rewarded him several times, see the central defender Mancini used Methodist midfielder and Zaniolo the only point at San Siro against Inter.
Prospects: Europa League and Champions
Apart from the Europa League, the goal of the two Romans is and must be the qualification in the Champions League, the two teams are ready to make the qualitative leap and the desire to keep the likes of Milinkovic-Savic and Luis Alberto on one side and Dzeko and Zaniolo on the other hand, do nothing but confirm this priority. Furthermore, qualifying for the main European competition would guarantee large revenues to the coffers of the two capitoline companies, which never hurts in view of the pressure exerted for a couple of years by financial fair play, introduced by UEFA in 2009 and which is giving its fruits in recent years, with severe penalties even for noble clubs like Milan above all, excluded from the cups.
The future is bright in Rome, biancocelesti and giallorossi fans can finally see their respective teams fight for goals consistent with their passion and live the stracittadina not only as "only reason" of the season, but as a goal to overcome a rival in the race for the Champions League and who knows the championship. In a series A never fought and balanced this year, the Romans could become the "outsiders" of the tournament. With a Ciro Immobile and a Zaniolo like this, the prospects can only be positive, also in view of Euro2020, where Rome and the Olimpico will still be protagonists, for the inauguration of June 12 on the occasion of Italy-Turkey and which will host the two more games in the group for the Blues against Bale's Switzerland and Wales.