Dan Friedkin’s mood in Copenhagen reflected a changing moment for Roma: a club leading the Serie A table, encouraged by its showing against champions Inter, and moving closer to a defining step in the long-running stadium project at Pietralata.
At the European Football Clubs general assembly at the Bella Center, Roma’s owner was more visible than his usual guarded public manner would suggest. In a dark suit and blue tie, Friedkin arrived shortly after 9am, exchanging voice messages through his headphones before greeting fellow executives. The conversations soon returned to Roma’s season.
“Between the stadium and first place, this is a very important time for us,” Friedkin told colleagues. Within the club’s senior ranks, there is growing belief that a Scudetto challenge is no longer an unrealistic thought after Gian Piero Gasperini’s side proved capable of competing with Inter.
A warmer presence around European football
Friedkin has generally preferred discretion, making public appearances sparingly and leaving much of Roma’s daily running to his son Ryan. But the confidence generated by the team and by progress around Pietralata has brought him back into more regular contact with the wider football world.
Ferran Soriano, Manchester City’s chief executive, jokingly asked Friedkin whether he intended to win the title this season, while directing a glance towards Inter chief executive Giuseppe Marotta. Nasser Al-Khelaifi also looked ahead to Roma’s European calendar, telling Friedkin they would meet in the Champions League.
Roma will face Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on 25 November, a fixture that will offer another measure of the Giallorossi’s growing standing. PSG arrive as two-time European champions.
Friedkin’s involvement in the EFC is not new. He attended the organisation’s gathering in Rome a year ago, when Roma were also top of the league, and praised Gasperini’s work. That occasion, however, was his last visit to the city for a period as responsibility increasingly shifted towards Ryan Friedkin.
Roma’s place in the EFC discussions
The first executive to greet Friedkin in Copenhagen was Dariusz Mioduski, owner of Legia Warsaw, the former club of Roma player Jan Ziolkowski. Mioduski congratulated him on Gasperini’s team before the two discussed the strained relationship between UEFA and FIFA.
Friedkin’s position is understood to be closer to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin in the debate over FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s expanding influence. Martina Pavlová of Sparta Prague later joined them; all three sit on the EFC executive committee.
The EFC remains the European club association in which Friedkin is actively involved. The gathering also came as Al-Khelaifi has helped restore relations with Real Madrid and Barcelona, two of the former Super League breakaway clubs.
Delegation in Rome, ambition beyond it
Roma’s ownership structure has changed since Friedkin’s previous EFC appearance in the capital. The arrival of chief executive Galantic has given the family greater scope to step back from routine operational matters, while Ryan Friedkin has taken on wider responsibilities.
That delegation was not always possible. Last season’s Ranieri situation, along with disagreements between the coach and sporting director Massara, demanded close attention from the Friedkin family across the Atlantic and made a more constant presence at the Fulvio Bernardini training centre necessary.
Now the atmosphere is different. On 8 October last year, Friedkin said the owners could not have been happier. In Copenhagen, he again appeared willing to discuss events at Trigoria openly and with a smile.
For Roma, the latest movement on Pietralata may carry even greater long-term weight than the league position itself. With the club approaching its centenary, the proposed new stadium represents a major stage in the Friedkins’ project. The team’s rise under Gasperini has given that wider plan an added sense of momentum.
