Olimpico, 5 matches in 8 days between cups, Serie A and Six Nations

It will be a week of fire for the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. From 5 to 12 March, the stadium in the capital will host 5 matches: two in Serie A, one in the Europa League, one in the Conference League and one in rugby. Here they are in detail:

– Roma-Juventus Sunday 5 March at 8.45pm

– Lazio-Az Alkmaar Tuesday 7 March at 18.45

– Roma-Real Sociedad Thursday 9 March at 21.00

– Italy-Wales Saturday 11 March at 3.15pm

– Rome-Sassuolo Sunday 12 March at 18.00

The main cause of such an intense calendar is the European qualification of the two Roman teams, which present themselves in the round of 16 as unseeded players and for this reason both are forced to play the first leg at home.

TEST OF THE NINE

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The special observation will be the pitch, in the past already subject to criticism by the current coaches of Rome and Lazio. That’s why during the break of the World Sport and Health, the company that manages the Foro Italico facility, arranged to fix the turf. The lawn has been reseeded and strengthened, and the course has undergone extensive maintenance. A concentration of events like the one planned for March would put a strain on any type of playing field. For the Olimpico, even more so, it will be the litmus test.

THE COMPLAINTS

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The first to complain this season about the conditions of the Olimpico lawn was José Mourinho. Exactly one group ago, in the post match between Roma and Cremonese, the Giallorossi coach didn’t mince words: “The lawn was in good condition for 20 minutes, then it became a potato field”. His colleague Maurizio Sarri followed suit a few weeks later. Here are his words in October, at the end of the match between Lazio and Udinese: “The conditioning on the pitch is enormous. I don’t know what Lotito will do, if this is the terrain he has to get another coach. We can’t play here, we’ll go elsewhere. I let teams play with 700 passes on the ground, so the conditions aren’t right for me.”