Chapter 37

Rome, Stadio Olimpico.

Lazio players are no strangers to this stadium, because it is also their home stadium.

This time, they even used the locker room as their own, but this is not their home court.

This is a bit of a mouthful, and it's not easy to understand-the venue is the same, and the locker room hasn't even been changed. How can the players feel that this is not their home court? Is there any difference between home and away in this same city derby?

But just look at the crazy Roma fans in the stands, and the big swathes of dark red. You can understand why the same stadium and locker room will give players a completely different experience.

Those Roma fans who accounted for the vast majority, and the noise they made, reminded them all the time-today the stadium is dark red!

A huge wolf head banner appeared in the South Stand of the Olympic Stadium, and a ferocious wolf with bared teeth was ready to attack.

Of course, Lazio fans will not allow themselves to be slaughtered by Roma.

Facing the arrogance of Rome, they also have to fight back.

So in the north stand of the Olympic Stadium, Lazio extreme fans played the blue eagle logo. The eagle with its arms outstretched looked down at the mortal enemy, the red wolf, with cold eyes.

In this way, the wolf and the eagle faced each other across a field.

All around the wolf's head were burning red signal sticks emitting red smoke.

And around the blue eagle is filled with sky blue smoke.

It made the entire stadium look like the Colosseum in ancient Rome. The slaves and beasts hadn't appeared yet, and the audience in the stands couldn't hold back their excitement.

Lazio's fans are not as large as Roma fans, and they lose a bit in singing and shouting.

But this is Rome's home stadium, and the number of tickets they can get is extremely limited.

In fact, at the beginning, Lazio fans used the South Stand of the Olympic Stadium just like Roma fans.

The South Stand often means a place where diehard fans gather in European football. This is true whether it is Italy, Spain, England, or Germany.

But later in the city derby,

Fans from both sides clashed again and again over the right to use the South Stand. In the end, the Roma fans won. During the 1973 Roman derby, squads of Roma fans check all exits from the South Stand to prevent Lazio fans from entering there. From that year onwards, Lazio fans had to move to occupy the North Stand, which has since become a gathering place for Lazio fans.

The two sides have confronted each other for thirty-two years.

This is the Rome derby.

The game hasn't started yet, and the part that precedes every derby is fantastic.

So some media will choose to start live broadcasting from this time. It's also interesting to keep the camera on the scene, just to shoot the confrontation between the fans of both sides.

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Neutral fans can naturally think that this is a beautiful landscape of football.

But it's unlikely to be considered a light-hearted experience by anyone who's been in it.

Fans from both sides attacked and cursed at each other non-stop, hitting each other in every way they could think of.

The players on both sides will be in an extremely nervous and excited mood.

Even the referee has to bear tremendous pressure, such a job is not pleasant.

In the referee lounge before the game, the famous Italian whistler Rossetti who served as the referee of this game. He is explaining to his three colleagues the focus of law enforcement in this game.

He explained it very carefully, because one of these three people is a young trainee referee, Javier Papavic, a referee who is only 36 years old, has only obtained the qualification to officiate Serie A games this year, but first he You have to start with the lineman.

In fact, Rossetti didn't quite understand why the Italian Football Association used a young man in such an important game.

He has seen some of the second divisions that Papavich has officiated. He admits that Papavich is talented but inexperienced.

To officiate a game like the Rome Derby, what matters is not talent, but experience.

The first half of last year led to stadium riots. And he was the one who officiated the Rome Derby that was forced to be cancelled. Rossetti knew very well how much pressure such a match needs to bear.

Especially the linesman, because he needs to judge offside.

This is the most controversial penalty in football.

He originally thought that Papavich would be the fourth official, but he didn't expect it to be a line referee...

So Rossetti repeatedly told Papavich: "The important thing is not whether you are sure or not. It is the situation on the court. There are some judgments that are prone to controversy. When you make a decision, you must be careful enough. Because maybe you make a penalty and the game will go in another direction-trust me, that is a direction that neither you nor I want to see..."

"Rocky and Montella are tricky forwards, they will try to put pressure on you by going offside. Don't let them. And Totti, where there is controversy and fire, he can Not a good-natured baby, the Lazio players will definitely take action against him, if they provoke Totti, we will go to put out the fire for him... By the way, Chang, that Chinese, that Lazio head coach , His reputation in refereeing circles is not very good. I heard that he publicly declared war on the Spanish Disciplinary Committee when he was in Spain, and in the end he won... It's incredible, right? This game is of special significance to him, I don't think he'll stay on the dugout either. Don't be bothered by him, he's always good at putting pressure on the refs, and his mouth isn't very clean, hey Ramon, if he farts , Inform me, and I will deal with him." Rossetti said to his partner in charge of being the fourth official today.

Ramon nodded, indicating that he understood.

Then Rossetti continued to look at Papavich.

"Official games are often the process of us fighting the players, either we overwhelm them, or they step on us. In addition, if you make an offside call, they will rush up to you and shout at you. Unclean, or cynicism, at this time, don’t be nervous, don’t fight with them, just keep silent, and then call me on the walkie-talkie. In this game, you have to make yourself a robot, don’t say a word, just move flag……"

Papavic nodded while listening.

Although he has never enforced the Rome Derby, the great reputation of this Derby is well known to the world.

He is also very aware of the pressure he will encounter in this game.

But if he can't stand it, how can he become a golden whistle like Pierluigi Collina?

"Finally, when you make a penalty, you must be 100% sure that you are correct, and you must not hesitate in the slightest. Don't tell me that you didn't see clearly just now, or what you think it should be. I just listen to you Affirmative answer, any hesitation you deal with yourself. This is the Rome derby, even if you make a very small mistake, it may be used by others and become a turning point that changes the game. This will make you suffer even more after the game. A lot of pressure..."

Rossetti remembered the famous Rome derby last year.

During the intermission, some Roma fans jumped over the barriers and appeared in the stadium. They told the fans that a small fan had been hit and killed by a police car, which caused a riot among the fans.

At that time, the fans of Roma played signs demanding that the game be stopped. But Rossetti ignored it and insisted on blowing the whistle to start the second half. As a result, this behavior angered the fans, who threw burning signal sticks and seats on the pitch.

In the end, due to the number of rioting fans, Rossetti stopped the game for safety reasons.

But even so, the riots could not be stopped, and eventually turned into a large-scale riot. This is the responsibility of the referee in such a game. So it is really not careless.

It may be okay to occasionally make mistakes in other games, but in the Rome Derby, it is absolutely forbidden to make mistakes, even if it is just in case, you must ensure that nothing goes wrong!

After repeatedly exhorting for a long time, Rossetti finally let Papavich go and told him to take a good rest and relax. Then he chatted with the other two referees, and the atmosphere in the waiting room finally eased a little.

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While Rossetti was desperately instilling in his assistant referee what the Rome Derby was, Chang Sheng was also doing the final mobilization before the match.

But sending him off doesn't say much.

With more than ten minutes left before the start of the game, he did not play the video he edited and produced to encourage the players, nor did he say any impassioned words such as "I only want to win, except victory or victory".

He just repeated the tactical points again and told his players not to be nervous, there was nothing to worry about.

They will not be under too much pressure in this game, because the Roma fans will not target them, they can perform on the court to their heart's content, even if they wear the opponent's crotch.

The players felt a little surprised, they didn't understand what the boss was capable of talking.

They also know what the Rome Derby is, even players who have never played in Italy before, since they joined Lazio, they know what the Rome Derby is.

The old players in the locker room told everyone what this game was like more than a week ago.

Getting booed on the pitch is almost a daily occurrence. Just now when I went out to warm up, every Lazio player was booed over and over. At that time, the stands were not yet full, and when they were full, all the fans booed them in unison, what kind of terrifying scene would that be?

Boss, is there any way to keep them from being booed?

Make them all invisible?

what!

Thinking about it, it seems impossible...

But Chang Sheng seemed full of confidence, and then with ten minutes left before the opening, he ended his pre-match preparations and left the locker room.

Everyone in the room looked at each other, no one knew what they were doing here, where they went, what they did...