AS Roma and the Living Path of Roman Gladiators

AS Roma Gladiator (Bola.com/Adreanus Titus)

His name is growing everlasting in our ears. In the city of 3.9 million, it is not solely filled with the romance of young travelers, but also many beautiful stories, ranging from romantic history, power struggles for property, to the affairs of football that until now became an idol.

Rome is not just an ordinary city. Rome is the "center of the world," where law, liberal arts, and science spread throughout the Roman empire, whose name is so legendary.

One of the proofs, recorded history, the recognition of the people's sovereignty had appeared in Rome, in 450 BC. At that time it was also known the terms judge and senate as a member of the legislature which later became the forerunner to the practice of democratic government in the world.

Thus, it is only natural that Rome is called the "Eternal City". It is there that the river of history flows endlessly, without ever being stopped for the sake of a regime's authorization, for a particular interest. Look at the Colosseum, the famous ancient Roman monument, now a symbol of immortality.

After all, Venerable Bede, a British traveler, once said, "As long as the Colosseum stands still, so long as Rome stands: when the Colosseum collapses, Rome collapses, when Rome falls, the world will collapse."

Yes, from the Colosseum, too, we can witness the human struggle to reach the big dream. Although most are slaves or prisoners, the so-called gladiators are volunteers who risk social life and life for the purpose of love and wealth.



The Spirit of Abstinence

Centuries after the gladiatorial battle at the Colosseum was no longer held, another battle took place in the City of Rome, precisely Stadio Olimpico. Italian capital's pride club, AS Roma, is trying to escape the death of European soccer giants Barcelona.

In the dressing room of the home team Stadio Olimpico, Eusebio Di Francesco gave instructions before the game, the penggawa AS Roma look fiery when entering the field. I do not know what was said by Di Francesco at that time, but Daniele De Rossi and his friends entered the Olimpico ready to face death.

In fact, Wolves Capital Mother carrying the mission is almost impossible to qualify for the Champions League semifinals 2017-2018. How not, they subdue 1-4 when they travel to Barcelona headquarters at Camp Nou Stadium one week before.

Based on UEFA records, a 1-4 defeat at home versus first leg match occurred in 48 occasions. Of these, only eight of them are able to rise up and turn things around.

However, the AS Roma penggawa do not care about the record. Although rare, yet the record proves there are eight who can turn things around. In addition, they are aware of the possibility of winning the trophy only in the Champions League because in Serie A lags far behind Juventus and Napoli.

The result, the three Scudetto clutch is able to appear violent since the first minute. Attack after attack they lancarkan to Barcelona goalkeeper who kept Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Lost winning rear affairs, which is important try first.

The match only runs six minutes when Edin Dzeko made the Stadio Olimpico rumble. The player who was rumored to be moving to Chelsea in January then saw a gap in the back line of Barcelona and successfully menceploskan ball into the goal that kept Ter Stegen.

The bustle at the Stadio Olimpico slightly lessened when the first half was over because the home side did not go back to adding numbers. Whatever was in Romanisti's mind then, between believers can get rid of Barcelona and pessimistic score 1-0 will last until the fight is over, while AS Roma need a 3-0 victory to qualify for the semifinals.

Either what's spoken In Francesco or De Rossi during the break, AS Roma again playing aggressively at the beginning of the second half. About 10 minutes after the break, Dzeko was dropped in the forbidden box.

Captain and son of the original City of Rome, De Rossi, advanced as executor. De Rossi who became a prisoner after scoring an own goal at Camp Nou successfully pay off his sins after listing his name on the scoreboard.

Toward the end of the game, AS Roma supporters who are present at the Stadio Olimpico continue to glance at their respective watches while hoping an additional goal is created. Understandably, they only need one goal to qualify for the Champions League semi-final for the first time since the format change.

Entering the 82nd minute, Cengiz Under penetrate from the left side of the Barcelona defense. Seeing many of his team-mates in the opponent's penalty box, Under sends a cross that is actually intended for Dzeko.

However, fate says otherwise. Another assembly in the first leg match, Kostas Manolas, became decisive breakthrough I Giallorossi. Manolas headed the Under bait ball into Barcelona's goal and scored the name on the scoreboard.

Stadio Olimpico thundered when the referee blew the whistle the game mark ended eight minutes later. AS Roma who had been a prisoner in European competition was able to lift their social caste by removing Iberian butterflies, Barcelona.

Gladiator AS Roma

Italian football has a remarkable history when it is in a pinched state. Several times they are capable of achievement when they are in a tragedy.

For example, the Italian national team won the World Cup in 1982 and 2006 when it was in a scandal-setting scandal. AC Milan were able to win the 2006-2007 Champions League while serving a penalty due to the Calciopoli case.

In this 2017-2018 season, Juventus are almost eliminated from the last 16 of the Champions League able to show grinta (or the spirit of typical Italian fights) when getting rid of Tottenham Hotspur. The Bianconeri are not the only Italian teams to show in Europe this season.

AS Roma proves to the world, Italian football is not Juventus alone. Eusebio's squad Di Francesco is able to do what Juventus can not do, get rid of the European giants and qualify for the Champions League semi-finals 2017-2018.

One of Europe's leading soccer journalists, Emmet Gates, writes, AS Roma qualified for the semi-finals in a very Italian style, achieving pinned conditions. In his column, Gates compared the achievement of I Lupi with the success of the Italian national team won the World Cup in 1982 and 2006.

Grinta or spirit typical of Italy AS Roma can be seen from his goal scorer. Two of the three goals I Giallorossi created not by a famous player good at processing the ball, but footballers who often appear with high spirits.

True, when talking about individual skills, Daniele De Rossi and Kostas Manolas are not on the same level as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, they are still under players like Cengiz Under or Edin Dzeko.

However, their grant is another AS Roma weapon. They prove, just the ability of the sport is not a guarantee for victory.

On the other hand, AS Roma is not a 'slave' or 'prisoner' who every season plays in the Champions League and eyeing the championship trophy like Barcelona or Real Madrid. They are more like a volunteer gladiator who sacrifices domestic competition for the glory of Europe.

Already in the semi-final phase, of course AS Roma does not want to go home empty-handed. They are almost impossible to win titles from domestic competition. Moreover, they live within 270 minutes of the success of embracing the first Champions League trophy since its establishment in 1927.

Interesting to see, did AS Roma successfully advance to NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine on 26 May 2018 and bring home the Champions League trophy for beloved family, resident of Rome City?