All roads lead to Rome… for biggest night in Brighton season so far

Growing up as a kid in the 1990s, Football Italia was mandatory Sunday viewing for my parents. James Richardson sat outside a café, reading a newspaper with a shot of espresso ahead of a Serie A game featuring the likes of AC Milan, Juventus, Inter and Roma was a different world and something of an escape from homeless, broke Brighton & Hove Albion fighting to survive in the fourth tier of English football.

Saturday afternoon at the Goldstone. Sunday afternoon watching the action beamed in from the San Siro, Delle Alpi or that ridiculously cool stadium belonging to Genoa with brick towers in every corner. Chalk and cheese.

To see the Seagulls stepping out at the Stadio Olimpico, facing the mighty Roma, backed by 3,5000 Albion supporters who have travelled to the Eternal City via all manner of weird and whacky routes… it’s another of those pinch yourself moments, isn’t it?

All roads lead to Rome, to coin a phrase which has now appeared on WAB around 275 times since the Europa League round of 16 draw was made under two weeks ago.

Those roads come from Milan. Florence. Pisa. Naples. Nice. Barcelona. You name a major city within 1500km or a direct train or flight to Rome and chances are, a Brighton fan has passed through.

This is what supporting your club in Europe is all about; different places, word of the good ship Albion spreading across the continent before divergence on Holy Rome.

To visit the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Sistine Chappell before a game is certainly different to the Rochdale Clock, Diana Vickers’ old school in Blackburn, a Cleethorpes fish factory and Mr Sizzle’s Walsall burger van.

And that is no disrespect to the Rochdale Clock, which was a mighty impressive building the last time Brighton visited Spotland in April 2011.

Or Mr Sizzle, whose finest cheeseburger in the West Midlands was the perfect accompaniment to winning the League One title at the Banks Stadium.

Whilst Brighton fans rightly marvel at the journey to Rome from Rochdale, Rotheham and Rushden, it is also important to not become too fixated on the past. In the present, the upcoming 90 minutes in the Stadio Olimpico is perhaps the biggest night of the season so far.

The last week or so has been testing for Roberto De Zerbi and his players. A 95th minute Lewis Dunk header scraped a 1-1 draw against an Everton side winless in eight matches.

Wolves then dumped Brighton out of the FA Cup before a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Fulham. A never-ending injury list and only five Premier League victories in 20 games leaves another top seven finish and European football next season looking pretty far away right now.

All of which means elimination from the Europa League combined with falling back into mid table could see the Albion’s season pretty much over by the end of March.

Premier League form may turn around yet of course, leaving plenty to play for through the final two months. But at this moment, the only certainty comes from Europe. The Albion need to topple the Roma Empire.

Easier said than done. Although Group B of the Europa League was billed the group of death, Roma are a step up on an Ajax side who were hovering above the Eredivisie relegation zone at one point and Marseille who have already rattled through three managers this season.

Since Daniele De Rossi replaced Jose Mourinho as manager, I Giallorossi have won six, drawn two and lost two of their subsequent 10 matches.

They sit fifth in Serie A, a much stronger league than the French, Dutch or Greek top divisions which provided the Albion with their group opponents.

And Roma have significant European experience and players who have been there and done it on the European stage. Mourinho led them to the inaugural Europa Conference in 2022, followed by a run all the way to the Europa League final last season.

Before the round of 16 draw was made, De Rossi spoke of the three teams he did not want to face. He talked of Liverpool killing people, a turn of phrase which could be laced with alternative meaning given the Red half of Merseysides previous in European ties with Italian clubs.

The other two teams De Rossi was wary of? The Albion and our German friends in Leverkusen. “Because of their physical condition and style of play, Brighton and Leverkusen will be the teams that are most uncomfortable to play against,” said the Roma head coach.

Mister De Rossi, the feeling is mutual. I Giallorossi are one of the toughest draws the Albion could have been given, other than the aforementioned Bundesliga leaders.

Liverpool were out of the equation as clubs from the same country could not draw each other. That changes from the quarter finals onwards.

But in amongst the pizza, Peroni and Aperol Spritz, there are reasons to be confident Brighton will have left their patchy domestic form at the Gatwick Airport (or wherever they fly from) departure gate on route to Rome.

Disappointing Premier League results have been followed by memorable nights in Europe so far this season. Five days before the 2-2 comeback draw in Marseille and the Albion were hammered 6-1 at Aston Villa.

Two victories over Ajax were preceded by defeat at Manchester City and a draw with Everton. The Amex win against Marseille which secured top spot came after Brighton found themselves held 1-1 at home by Burnley.

Then there is De Zerbi’s prioritising of the Europa League. The Albion head coach had said before Saturday’s trip to Fulham that he would pick a side to win at Craven Cottage and then focus on what needed to be done at Stadio Olimpico.

This was plainly total bollocks. Seven changes for the clash with the Cottagers. Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck on the bench. Lewis Dunk hauled after an hour. Starts for the lesser spotted Adam Webster, Adam Lallana and Carlos Baleba.

De Zerbi clearly had at least one eye on Roma, maybe even one-and-a-half. The resting of key players must give the Albion a better chance of conquering the city of seven hills.

Last but by no means least comes the De Zerbi factor. His achievements with Brighton have not gone unnoticed back in his native Italy and De Zerbi himself has publicly said in recent weeks he would love a crack at a big Serie A job at some point, such as AC Milan.

De Zerbi getting a result against Roma in Rome could be seen as stage one of his job interview for one of Italy’s most famous clubs.

With a portion of the Albion’s success undoubtedly down to his infectious personality, do not underestimate the difference a fully fired up De Zerbi with even greater reason to win than normal can make.

And so in one of the city’s from which modern civilisation was born, the Albion aim to keep their season alive. Beats a trip to Rochdale, whichever way you look at it.