The Divided Italy of North and South, a Confrontation Between Two Cities!

The north and south of Italy have been divided for a long time throughout history.

From a historical perspective, Greece was the earliest civilization to set foot in the Italian region, settling in the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the remnants of Roman and Greek forces occupied the central and southern parts of Italy for a long time, while also absorbing some Arab elements.

Various Germanic tribes occupied northern Italy for a long time, eventually becoming part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Rome happens to be located in the blurred zone that serves as the dividing line between northern and southern Italy.

Romans consider themselves northerners, while the traditional northern cities of Milan, Turin, and Florence consider Rome to be southern. This sense of identity confrontation has kept Rome in a state of being a hybrid of northern and southern cultures for a long time.

In recent decades, Milan and Rome have looked down on each other.

Milan considers itself the fashion capital of Italy, and even Europe, with an exquisite lifestyle where every gesture exudes a sense of style; they view Rome as southern, and all southern Italians as bumpkins!

Rome, however, believes that like Milan and Turin, they are northerners, so what right do you have to look down on us?

Furthermore, we are the capital city, possessing the richest treasure trove of ancient monuments in all of Europe.

The Colosseum alone, with its two thousand years of cultural heritage, is enough to crush your Milan.

Can you represent Italy just by knowing how to dress and spray perfume?

This cultural and geographical conflict is naturally reflected in football as well.

All three of Italy's traditional giants—Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus—are located in the north.

They have almost monopolized every league title.

The only ones capable of contending with the northern trio are the teams from Rome.

In the city of Rome, there are two Serie A teams: AS Roma and SS Lazio. Although they have only won a combined total of 5 league titles, they are the only teams since the 21st century to have snatched a league title away from the northern trio!

"For the glory of the capital!"

This was the slogan Totti shouted in the locker room.

"Whoever defends the colors of Rome is our hero!"

This was the massive TIFO displayed by 68,000 Roma fans at the Stadio Olimpico.

For this match, Tang Long was once again on the bench.

Mancini did not include him in the starting lineup.

However, what was thought-provoking was that Guarin still did not play!

He didn't even make the matchday squad.

The official announcement stated that the Colombian star needed to rest due to a thigh injury, and "the return date requires further confirmation from the team doctor."

But in reality, he was perfectly fine; his being benched was not for technical reasons, but due to deliberate suppression by Mancini.

Replacing Guarin was the Brazilian star Hernanes.

Initially, when the stadium DJ announced the starting lineups and mentioned Hernanes, the home fans at Rome responded with sky-high boos that lasted for a long time.

Once the match began, Tang Long noticed that whenever the ball reached Hernanes' feet, the booing would erupt suddenly; the moment the ball left his feet, the booing would instantly vanish.

Tang Long asked Berni, who was sitting next to him organizing towels.

"The Roma fans seem to be targeting Hernanes. Why only him?"

"You don't understand, do you? Hernanes transferred to Inter Milan from SS Lazio. SS Lazio and AS Roma are bitter cross-town rivals. This Brazilian played for SS Lazio for four years and did plenty of damage to AS Roma in the derbies, so the fans are holding a grudge!"

"I hope this noise doesn't affect him."

"I don't think it will. The louder the noise, the more fired up he plays!"

Just as Berni said, Hernanes was playing like a fish in water on the pitch.

Perhaps in his eyes, the Stadio Olimpico, which has a track and is not a football-specific stadium, was too empty and the acoustics were too poor; the boos simply couldn't reach him.

Or perhaps, because AS Roma and SS Lazio share the same stadium and Hernanes played at SS Lazio for four years, he was as familiar with this venue as if he were playing at home.

Occupying the '1' position in the 4-3-1-2 formation, Hernanes was simply the brightest star on the pitch in the first half!

In the 18th minute, he played a through ball to Palacio, who helped the team open the scoring;

Then, in the 39th minute, from thirty meters out, he blasted a world-class direct free kick into the net!

The moment he struck this long-range beauty, he knew it was in.

The home fans in Rome were completely stunned, watching Hernanes, wearing the number 88 jersey, perform his signature backflip celebration before sprinting wildly and sliding on his knees passionately toward the south stand of Rome!

The slide carved a ten-meter-long line into the ground, as if it were a deep gash carved into the hearts of the Roma fans!

"I just love beating Rome!" he shouted, punching the air.

Berni jumped up from the bench, waving his towel vigorously, creating a gust of wind to cheer for Hernanes, "Haha, kill these southerners!"

Tang Long even felt that if Berni waved the towel over his head any faster, he could take off like a helicopter~

"Tang, guess what Hernanes' nickname is?"

"Can't guess, what is it?"

"The Prophet! The Brazilians call him the Prophet, believing he can always foresee whether or not he will score!"

"Did he tell you before the match that he was going to score?"

"Yeah, he said God would guide him to score on this pitch and strike a blow to Roma, and he did it!"

It must be said that although Roma shouted loudly before the match.

Their tactical over-aggression was the direct cause of their poor start.

Head coach Rudi Garcia deployed a 4-3-3 formation, while both full-backs kept pushing up to assist the attack.

They were practically playing a 2-5-3 at the start!

It was clear they were relying on a "three-axe" blitz, attempting to storm their home pitch and settle the match in the first half.

It was just a pity that after losing 0-3 away to Sampdoria in his debut, Mancini had learned his lesson.

That lesson was: no matter who the opponent is, never engage in an open attacking game away from home!

I'll just play it safe, and if you want to attack, go ahead.

Who would have thought that by playing it safe, they would frequently bloom on the counter-attack, taking a 2-0 lead by halftime.

When the referee blew the whistle for halftime, the Roma players were even dragging their feet, seemingly unwilling to leave the pitch and start the second half with this scoreline.

Especially the 38-year-old Wolf King Totti, who wore a look of unwillingness and anger.

Clearly, looking at the first half, it was the feeling of throwing a heavy punch into a pile of cotton!

Countless attacks returned empty-handed in front of a defensive line anchored by Ranocchia.

Meanwhile, the Inter Milan players looked relaxed and at ease after playing 45 minutes.

They played smoothly, and their execution of Mancio's tactics was spot on.

However, Tang Long noticed a detail.

Everyone's faces were filled with smiles, chatting and laughing.

But the young Icardi looked sullen.

He just focused on drinking water and walked toward the locker room with his head down.