Northern and Southern Italy had been divided for much of their history.
Historically, Greece was the earliest civilization to set foot in Italy, settling in the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the remnants of Roman and Greek powers occupied central and southern Italy for a long time, and some Arab elements also made their way into the region.
Various Germanic tribes, meanwhile, occupied northern Italy for centuries; it later became part of the Holy Roman Empire.
Roma lay right in the vague border zone between northern and southern Italy.
The people of Roma considered themselves northerners, while traditional northern cities like Milan, Turin, and Florence saw the people of Roma as southerners. This clash of identities had long made Roma a melting pot of northern and southern cultures.
For decades now, Milan and Roma had been unable to stand one another.
Milan saw itself as the fashion capital of Italy, even of Europe, with a refined lifestyle and an air of style in every gesture. The people of Roma were southerners, and all southern Italians were bumpkins!
Roma, on the other hand, considered itself northern, just like Milan and Turin. What gave you the right to look down on us?
Besides, our city was the capital, and home to the richest trove of historical sites in all of Europe.
Even the Colosseum alone, with its two thousand years of cultural heritage, could crush anything Milan had to offer.
You could dress well and wear perfume, but did that make you representatives of Italy?
The cultural and geographical conflict naturally found its way into football, too.
All three of Italy's traditional powerhouses—Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus—were based in the north.
They had monopolized almost every league title.
The only team capable of challenging the northern trio was Roma.
The city of Roma had two Serie A clubs, AS Roma and Lazio. Together, they had won only five league titles, but since the start of the twenty-first century, they were the only teams to have snatched a league title away from the northern trio!
"For the glory of the capital!"
That was the slogan Totti had shouted in the locker room.
"Whoever defends Roma's colors is our hero!"
That was the enormous TIFO displayed by 68,000 Roma fans at the Stadio Olimpico!
Tang Long was once again on the bench for this match.
Mancini hadn't named him in the starting lineup.
But what really got people speculating was this:
Guarin still wasn't playing!
He wasn't even in the matchday squad.
The official announcement said the Colombian star needed to rest because of a thigh injury, and that "his return date would depend on further assessment by the team doctor."
But in reality, he was perfectly fine. He'd been benched not for technical reasons, but because Mancini was deliberately targeting him.
The Brazilian star Hernanes took Guarin's place.
At first, when the stadium DJ announced the starting lineups, the Roma home fans greeted Hernanes's name with a thunderous chorus of boos that went on and on.
Once the match began, Tang Long noticed that whenever the ball reached Hernanes, the boos suddenly erupted. The moment the ball left his feet, they instantly stopped.
Tang Long asked Berni, who was sitting beside him and sorting the towels.
"Roma's fans seem to be targeting Hernanes. Why only him?"
"You don't know? Hernanes transferred to Inter from Lazio. Lazio and Roma are bitter local rivals. The Brazilian played for Lazio for four years and gave Roma plenty of trouble in the derbies, so the fans hold a grudge!"
"I hope all that noise doesn't affect him."
"I doubt it. The louder they boo, the better he plays!"
Just as Berni had said, Hernanes was thriving on the pitch.
Perhaps he thought the Stadio Olimpico, with its running track and lack of a proper football ground, was too open for the crowd's noise to carry. Their boos couldn't reach him anyway.
Or perhaps, since Roma and Lazio shared the stadium and Hernanes had spent four years playing for Lazio, he knew the ground as well as his own home pitch.
Playing in the "1" position of the 4-3-1-2 formation, Hernanes was easily the brightest star on the pitch in the first half!
First, in the eighteenth minute, he played a through ball to Palacio, who helped his team open the scoring.
Then, in the thirty-ninth minute, he blasted a direct free kick into the net from thirty meters out, scoring a worldie!
The moment he struck the ball, he knew it was going in.
The Roma home fans were completely stunned. Watching Hernanes, wearing number 88, celebrate with his trademark backflip before sprinting straight toward the south stand and sliding to his knees in front of them, they were left speechless.
His slide carved a line more than ten meters long into the turf, like a deep wound cut into the hearts of Roma's fans!
"I love scoring against Roma!" he shouted, pumping his fist.
Berni leaped up from the bench and swung his towel so hard it whooshed through the air, cheering Hernanes on. "Haha! Take that, southerners!"
Tang Long even thought that if Berni spun the towel above his head a little faster, he could take off like a helicopter~
"Tang, guess Hernanes's nickname."
"No idea. What is it?"
"The Prophet! Brazilians call him that because he can always predict beforehand whether he's going to score!"
"He told you before the game that he was going to score?"
"Yeah. He said God would guide him to score on this pitch and punish Roma. And he did!"
It had to be said: Roma had talked a big game before kickoff.
But their tactics were too aggressive, and that was the main reason they got off to such a poor start.
Manager Rudi Garcia set his team up in a 4-3-3, while both fullbacks kept pushing forward to join the attack.
They had practically started out in a 2-5-3!
It was obvious they planned to attack relentlessly at home, relying on a few early blows to finish the game in the first half.
But after losing 3–0 away to Sampdoria in his debut, Mancini had already learned his lesson.
No matter who they faced, he absolutely wouldn't get into a shootout with the opposition away from home!
He'd just sit back and let them attack.
Who would've thought that by sitting back, they'd end up repeatedly scoring on the counter and go into halftime with a 2–0 lead?
When the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, some Roma players even lingered on the pitch, seemingly reluctant to head off with the scoreline as it stood.
The 38-year-old "Wolf King," Totti, looked especially frustrated and angry.
It was clear from the first half that it felt like they'd thrown a heavy punch only to hit a cushion!
Attack after attack had come to nothing against the defense, anchored by Ranocchia.
The Inter Milan players, after their forty-five minutes, looked relaxed and pleased with themselves.
Everything was going smoothly, and they had carried out Mancio's tactics to perfection.
But Tang Long noticed one detail.
Everyone was smiling and chatting.
But the young Icardi looked glum.
He only drank water, then lowered his head and headed straight for the locker room.
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