Roma, Roma, Roma!

Roma 3-3 Austria Vienna
UEFA Europa League (Group Stage)
Thursday 20th October 2016

It's a city notorious for its history and incredible architecture whilst the Colleseum is always a great backdrop for a quick selfie, but for other reasons Roma is amongst the best cities which I've visited on my travels!

Simply put, whilst it attracts 'camera clicking' tourists by the millions each year, if you venture off the beaten track you'll quickly realise that it's a city with an 'edge; to it. In certain neighbourhoods it's always lively, it's extremely 'working class' and with scooters always whizzing past, it makes you wonder exactly when you'll be knocked flying off your feet.

It's certainly not for everyone but I love the place and having visited in February 2016 (mainly for landmark/sightseeing reasons), I was eager to return again and this time finally visit the Stadio Olimpico which is an absolute 'bucket list' venue in any decent Globe Trotter's Stadium Guide.

Because I've got a few screws loose and take everything what I read on websites such as TripAdvisor with a large pinch of salt, I opted to ignore advice about avoiding 'dangerous areas close to Roma Termini' and booked a two-night stay in a hostel (for about 10 Euros) quite literally just across the road from the Italian capital's main railway station. Suffice to say, I had zero problems!

I'd flew into Roma from Madrid on the Wednesday and, though I could have squeezed in a trip to Napoli in the UEFA Champions League, a tight timescale meant that idea fell by the wayside, so much of my two days in the city was spent relaxing and unwinding and re-visiting the best bits.

Again, certain scare-mongering travel websites, will state Roma's metro and bus systems are dangerous or full of pick-pockets, but it's quite the contrary. If you've got common sense and use public transport, you'll have no issues apart from maybe a 'WTF!' moment on the metro if one of the many graffiti-riddled trains, which are commonplace, rock up at the platform to take you to wherever you're going. Or, if you're on one of the cities buses which are known to sometimes spontaneously combust, but that's another story...

Anyway, as the metro system is relatively small due to the fact both archaeologists and locals alike don't want ancient ruins disturbed by an underground transport network, you can get around to most landmarks in the city (including the Vatican City) on foot at a leisurely pace. The weather is usually good all-year-round, too, which always helps when you're on holiday!

The Stadio Olimpico is something of a ball ache to reach, however, because it's located some distance away from anywhere else on the northern outskirts of the city close to the River Tiber. It's not really within walking distance of anywhere significant and takes around an hour to reach via public transport - the simplest way of reaching it is by using the metro to Flaminio (on Line 2), then a tram (which departs from adjacent to the Flaminio) in the direction of 'Mancini' which is the last stop. From there, the Stadio Olimpico is then a short 10-15 minute walk along the Ponte Duca d’Aosta bridge which crosses the River Tiber.

Tickets for this clash between Roma and Austria Vienna weren't difficult to obtain. There were plenty available on General Sale (as there usually is for most matches - including 'Derby Della Capitale' matches) and the only thing you need to remember is to bring your ID/Passport as it's a requirement when attending games in Italy.

Roma were strong favourites to win the game and their squad included some household names familiar to English supporters such as the iconic Francesco Totti. The playmaker was named in attack ahead of Mo Salah (who came on as a substitute), whilst Alisson Becker played between the sticks ahead of ex-Arsenal 'keeper Wojciech Szczesny. It's fair to say their team was decent!

After a great rendition of Antonello Venditti's iconic 'Roma, Roma, Roma' anthem (see above) before kick-off - a song which, bizarrely, I know the lyrics to on a syllable-perfect basis, a shock seemed on the cards when Raphael Holzhauser volleyed the visitors into a surprise lead on the quarter-hour mark.

The atmosphere amongst the 20,000 crowd spread out across the vast Stadio Olimpico was hardly the best (and that's without mentioning the athletics track), but the hosts soon got back on level terms as Stephen El-Shaarawy lobbed the 'keeper to make it 1-1.

The Italian international of Egyptian heritage found the net again to put Roma 2-1 up before half-time and when Alessandro Florezni smashed home an emphatic close-range volley to establish a two-goal cushion midway through the second half, the possibility of Austria Vienna conjuring up any sort of comeback appeared to be slim.

Somehow though, they managed to stun the Stadio Olimpico into silence as Dominik Prokop slotted home following a neat-move to set up a tense finale on 82 minutes before, incredibly, his team-mate Olarenwaju Kayode then LEVELLED against all expectations only a few moments later.

Roma had dominated much of proceedings and deserved to win, but it wasn't to be!

With the kick-off having been a relatively late one (9.00pm local time) I was consciously aware that timescales would be tight for getting back to my hostel as Roma's public transport system ceases around midnight, so I didn't hang around afterwards - which is a good tip if anyone follows in my footsteps and goes here as you don't want to be the last in the queue for a tram!

On the whole, the trip and visiting the Stadio Olimpico - even if it's just to see with your own eyes the unusual architecture and (many!) sculptures of naked men; the complex since it was built at the request of Benito Mussolini almost 100 years ago, is well worth the visit. 

I'd recommend it to anyone... just don't forget your passport if you're going to a game!

Unfortunately I had a rubbish camera phone back in 2016 so the photos below aren't the best which just means I'll have to go back to the Stadio Olimpico in the future. Derby Della Capitale anyone?