Derby della Capitale

The Rome Derby: AS Roma vs SS Lazio

What is included?

Welcome to Rome

The Derby della Capitale is perhaps one of the world’s most famous local derbies. It is a match that transforms the entire city of Rome for several days. The two major Roman clubs, AS Roma and SS Lazio, share both the Italian capital and the Olympic Stadium.

The battle to be the most Roman club

A fascinating aspect of the Rome derby is that the entire atmosphere surrounding the match bears the stamp of the city’s history and grandeur. A city that was once the center of human civilization and had conquered more than half of the known world. Fans of both clubs have certainly not forgotten this. They both take pride in claiming this as part of their heritage and history.

Romanism runs deep in the two clubs and their fans. Among other places, this can be seen in the clubs logos. The logo of AS Roma includes “la lupa” (the she-wolf). This is the wolf that Rome’s founders, brothers Romolo and Remo, according to legend grew up with. Romolo kills his brother and founds Rome in 753 BC. The wolf is today the symbol of Rome and you will see this symbol present everywhere in the city. So to is the eagle, which is Lazio’s logo. The eagle is an ancient Roman symbol. A symbol of the Roman Empire that was used to lead the Roman legions into war.

The wolf and the eagle are thus two Roman symbols that the clubs have adopted several thousand years later, as part of the self-understanding of both the clubs and their supporters. Outside of Rome, in the rest of Italy, Romans are seen as arrogant and are not well liked. The Latin slogan for the city reads “Caput Mundi” (capital of the world).

This is how the Romans perceive their city, as the most beautiful and important city in the world. And they take that with them to the stadium and especially to the Rome derby, where it is important to claim Romanness and the many thousands of years of heritage.

The political aspect of the Rome derby

The most hardcore Italian fans are called ultras. Both Roma and Lazio have ultras groups that were formed in the 1970’s when the Italian fan scene started to grow and become organized.

The 1970’s was a very turbulent time in general in Italy. The country experienced a lot of political terror and battles between far-right fascists and far-left communists. In the midst of these battles, many of the Italian ultras groups were born and founded and they brought the political battles into the stadium. The legacy of this was felt through the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s, where political messages (both from the extreme right and left) were strongly present in Italian stadiums and the two Roman clubs were especially known for demonstrating these messages. Today, these political battles have largely been eradicated and political messages are banned in stadiums.

Lazio’s fan are often associated with fascism, particularly the ultras group Irriducibili. Irriducibili was founded in 1987 but it has now been disbanded. The group was world-famous for their extreme right-wing views, which they displayed in the stadium in the form of banners, flags, songs and tifos.

Today, flags with swastikas and Celtic crosses are prohibited in the stadium but in the 00’s these type of flags and banners where commonplace on Curva Nord. However, one should not be mistaken and think that Lazio no longer has fascist fans. It is not unusual to see Lazio fans doing the “saluto romano” (the Roman salute – which is the Italian version of greeting with an outstretched right arm), as well as hearing the anti-communist song; “Avanti ragazzi du Buda” (an Italian support song for the Hungarian uprising against the Soviet occupying forces in 1956). A song which today is strongly associated with fascism and which has absolutely nothing to do with football.

The point is that Italy has never seriously distanced itself from its far-right history and thus it has remained socially acceptable in many circles to sympathize with fascism. Especially in Rome, where in certain groups these types of political views blends well with the history of the Roman Empire and the eternal city’s heyday. And Lazio’s fans in particular are known for bringing these types of views into the stadium.

Famous Derbies

2004: The “dead” boy’s derby / the aborted derby

On March 21, 2004, one of the most famous Rome derbies was played. The derby became famous because it was never finished. In the beginning of the 00’s, Rome derbies – and matches in general in Italy – were often marked by spectator unrest. As was the case with this particular Rome derby. There had been small disturbances before the match. During the first half of the game, rumors began to circulate – at Roma’s Curva Sud – that a boy had been run over and killed by the police during these disturbances. It later turned out that the boy was not dead. But the rumors sparked an unusual unrest among the fans and especially Roma’s ultras interfered in progress of the football match.

It is worth mentioning, that during this time period, both Roma’s and Lazio’s ultras groups were extremely numerous and very powerful, and tensions between fans and police were at their absolute highest. As the second half started, three representatives from Roma’s ultras groups entered the field and demanded to speak to Roma’s captain, Francesco Totti. This lead to a long discussion between the three representatives, Totti and several other Roma players, during which the match was interrupted. The representatives demanded that the match was to be cancelled entirely because of the dead boy, and they threatened with even more riots if the game was to be continued.

As all this is happening, both Lazio’s and Roma’s fans are very inflamed and they begin setting off large amounts of fireworks inside the stadium and some begin setting fire to the seats. Under normal circumstances, the two fan groups are arch-enemies, but on this particular occasion the police became their common enemy. It all ends with Totti running back towards the center of the field to talk to the referee, as well as with the security and the police who have arrived by this time. As he passes by Roma’s bench, he shouts the famous words to his coach, Fabio Capello: “If we keep playing, they will kill us”. The match was cancelled. The Roman ultras had collectively demonstrated their power.

There are clips from the interruption of the match here: youtube.com/watch?v=35kXqfiV0vE

2008: Gabriele Sandri’s derby

On March 19, 2008, Lazio beat Roma 3-2. But this derby was also to be remembered for something else than the battle on the field. It was the first derby after the 28-year-old Lazio fan, Gabriele Sandri, was shot and killed by the police in November 2007. Gabriele Sandri had been on the way to a Lazio away game together with other Lazio fans. At a rest stop in Tuscany, they accidentally encountered some Juventus fans and the two fan groups began fighting each other. The police arrived and shot Gabriele Sandri, who died. The policeman who fired the shot was later convicted and imprisoned for murder.

The Rome derby in March 2008 was therefore the first time the two clubs played each other after the death of Gabriele Sandri. What happened this day brings another layer to the understanding of the Rome derby and football in Italy in general. Football fans are well known for their animosity towards other fans, especially their rivals. But on this particular day, the hatchet was buried between the two fan groups and the Roma fans showed a remarkable solidarity with their usual enemies.

Before the match, Roma’s fans and the club – represented by Totti – chose to show respect for the late Lazio fan. A group consisting of Totti, Gabriele Sandri’s brother and representatives from the Roma ultras, walked along the running track from the Curva Sud to the front of Lazio’s Curva Nord with flowers and a banner in honor of Gabriele Sandri. They layed out the flowers in front of a large picture of Gabriele Sandri and then spread out a banner with the inscription (translated): “Tears know no colors. Gabriele is one of us. Curva Sud”. This was followed by a big applause from all Lazio fans.

The entire stage can be seen here: youtube.com/watch?v=XARWVjnBfcI

Today, there is a memorial for Gabriele Sandri at the rest stop in Tuscany (near the city of Arezzo) and at Lazio matches flags with his image can still be seen.