Historically, Northern and Southern Italy have long been divided.
From a historical perspective, Greece was the earliest civilization to venture into the Italian region, spreading across the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the remnants of Rome and Greece occupied the central and southern parts of Italy for a long time, infusing some Arab elements.
Meanwhile, various Germanic tribes occupied the northern parts of Italy, later forming part of the Holy Roman Empire.
Rome happens to lie in the ambiguous zone dividing Northern and Southern Italy.
Romans consider themselves northerners, while traditional northern cities like Milan, Turin, and Florence regard Rome as southern, creating a sense of identity confrontation that positions Rome as a blend of northern and southern cultures.
In recent decades, Milan and Rome have not seen eye to eye.
Milan considers itself the fashion capital of Italy, even Europe, with a refined lifestyle where every gesture exudes fashion, viewing Rome as southerners, deeming southern Italians as country bumpkins!
Rome, on the other hand, sees itself as equals to cities like Milan and Turin, wondering why it should be looked down upon.
Moreover, this is still the leading area, boasting the richest ancient treasures in all of Europe.
Just the Roman Colosseum alone, with its two thousand years of cultural heritage, can overshadow Milan.
Wearing clothes and spraying perfume, you think you can represent Italy?
Cultural and geographical conflicts naturally manifest in football as well.
Italy's three traditional powerhouse clubs, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus, are all located in the north.
They almost monopolize all the league championships.
The only team that can contend with the northern trio is Rome.
In this city of Rome, there are two Serie A teams, Roma and Lazio, and although they have only won a combined total of 5 league championships, they are the only teams since the 21st century to snatch a league title from the northern trio!
"For the glory of the capital!"
This is the slogan Totti shouted in the locker room.
"Whoever defends Rome's colors is our hero!"
This is the massive TIFO displayed by 68,000 Roma fans at the Stadio Olimpico!
In this match, Tang Long was once again on the bench.
Mancini did not include him in the starting lineup.
But intriguingly enough...
Gualin still did not play!
He wasn't even in the main squad.
The official notice stated that the Colombian star needed to rest due to a thigh injury, "The return time needs further confirmation from the team doctor."
But actually, he was fine. His benching was not for technical reasons but due to Mancini's deliberate suppression.
Replacing Gualin was Brazilian star Hernanes.
Initially, when the live DJ announced the starting lineups of both sides, mentioning Hernanes, the home Roma fans responded with overwhelming boos that took a long time to subside.
As the match started, Tang Long found that whenever the ball reached Hernanes's feet, the boos would erupt; once the ball left his feet, the boos would abruptly stop.
Tang Long asked Berni, who was sitting nearby arranging towels.
"The Roma fans seem to be targeting Hernanes, why single him out?"
"You don't understand, huh? Hernanes transferred to Inter from Lazio, and Lazio and Rome are city arch-rivals. This Brazilian played for Lazio for four years, often hitting Rome hard in derbies, so the fans hold a grudge!"
"Hopefully this noise won't affect him."
"I think not, the louder the noise, the more he thrives!"
As Berni said, Hernanes played effortlessly on the field.
Perhaps he felt that the Stadio Olimpico, with its track and being not strictly a football stadium, was too open and lacked atmosphere, so your boos couldn't reach me.
Or maybe, as a shared stadium for both Rome and Lazio, Hernanes, having played for Lazio for four years, was as familiar with this field as his home ground.
Occupying the '1' position in the 4312 formation, Hernanes was undoubtedly the brightest star of the first half!
First, in the 18th minute, he made a direct pass to Palacio, who helped the team open the score;
Then, in the 39th minute, from thirty meters away from the goal, he launched a direct free-kick screamer!
The moment he kicked the screamer, he knew it was in.
The home Roma fans were completely stunned, watching Hernanes, wearing number 88, first perform a trademark backflip celebration, then sprint unstoppably towards the Roma south stand to do a passionate knee slide!
The knee slide etched a ten-meter line on the ground, as if carving a deep mark in the hearts of Roma fans!
"I just love hitting Rome!" he punched the air and said.
Berni jumped from the bench, furiously swinging his towel, swirling like the wind, cheering for Hernanes, "Haha, beat these southerners!"
Tang Long even felt that if Berni swung the towel over his head a bit faster, he could soar into the sky like a helicopter~
"Tang, can you guess what Hernanes's nickname is?"
"I can't guess, what is it?"
"Prophet! Brazilians call him Prophet because he can always foresee whether he'll score!"
"Did he tell you he was going to score before the game?"
"Yes, he said God would guide him to score on this field and strike Rome, and he did it!"
It must be said that although Rome was fierce before the match.
They were overly aggressive in tactics, which directly led to a poor start.
Coach Rudy Garcia adopted a 433 formation with both full-backs consistently pushing up in support.
At the start, it was almost like a 253!
Clearly aiming to rely on three quick attacks, hoping to resolve the game at home in the first half.
Unfortunately, after Mancini's debut away 0-3 loss to Sampdoria, he learned a lesson.
That is, no matter who the opponent is, never play an attacking game away!
In any case, I'm going to be defensive, and you attack if you can.
Surprisingly, by defending, they frequently succeeded in counterattacks, leading 2-0 by halftime.
When the referee blew the halftime whistle, Roma's players even dawdled, seemingly unwilling to start the second half with this scoreline.
Especially 38-year-old Wolf King Totti, who looked utterly reluctant and angry.
Clearly, from the first half, it was exactly like hitting a fist heavily on cotton!
Countless attacks ended up futile against a defense led by Ranocchia.
And Inter players, after 45 minutes, looked utterly relaxed and content.
It went smoothly, with Mancini's tactics executed to perfection.
However, Tang Long did notice one detail.
Everyone's face was filled with smiles, talking and laughing.
But the young Icardi appeared rather sullen.
He just focused on drinking water, lowering his head as he walked into the locker room.