Football in Rome

The 2008/09 UEFA Champions League final venue hosts one of fiercest rivalries in world football, with AS Roma and S.S. Lazio both sharing the Stadio Olimpico.

'No comparison'
With only five Italian titles between them, Roma and Lazio have not always been Scudetto contenders. This has served to focus more attention on their derby meetings, with both sides' whole seasons often hinging on beating their city rivals. "I have played several derbies, in Milan, in Madrid and in London, but the Rome one has no comparison in the world in terms of its intensity," said defender Christian Panucci, who played for AC Milan, Real Madrid CF, FC Internazionale Milano and Chelsea FC before joining Roma in 2001.

Class divide
The two clubs traditionally represent opposite ends of the social spectrum in the Italian capital. Lazio, founded on 9 January 1900, are seen as the team of the bourgeoisie, with their initial training base at Rondinella lying in the well-heeled Parioli district of northern Rome. Roma, by contrast, started life 27 years after their rivals in the less salubrious Testaccio district and their choice of club colours and crest further differentiates them from Lazio.

Popular legend
The Biancocelesti took their white and blue colours from the Greek flag, a nod to the country that staged the first Olympic Games, while their badge boasts the eagle of ancient Rome. Such classical allusions did not wash with the more earthy Roma fans, who took their colours from the city's traditional gonfalone flag – "the yellow of the sun and the red of the heart" – with their badge depicting the she-wolf who suckled city founder Romulus in the popular legend.

Trophy hauls
Roma were the first capital side to win a major honour, taking the title in 1941/42, something Lazio did not manage until 1973/74. The Giallorossi's three titles, nine Italian Cups and two Super Cups eclipse Lazio's domestic haul of two Scudettos, four cups and two Super Cups, but they hold the upper hand in European terms, winning the final edition of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1998/99 and the UEFA Super Cup. Roma's only continental triumph came in the 1960/61 Inter Cities Fairs Cup - the precursor to the modern UEFA Cup.