Roma and Inter arrive at their meeting carrying different burdens: one has the obligation that comes with a deep squad and recent history, the other the momentum of a project that has caught the capital’s imagination. From Nagoya, where he is preparing Saudi Arabia Under-23 for an Asian Games opener against Qatar, Gigi Di Biagio sees the match as a personal crossroads as well as a major moment in the Serie A season.
Roma-Inter, between duty and belief
SEO Title: Roma-Inter: Di Biagio on Chivu, Gasperini and the Scudetto race
SEO Description: Gigi Di Biagio reflects on Roma-Inter, assessing the Scudetto ambitions of Cristian Chivu’s Inter and Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma.
Di Biagio spent four years with Roma and another four with Inter, and says neither attachment has faded. For him, the fixture will always involve two clubs that shaped his life.
He expects an entertaining contest between sides committed to attacking and pursuing victory, rather than becoming trapped in excessive caution. Yet he does not regard this single afternoon as the match that will settle the title race.
Inter, in his view, must win the Scudetto. Their personnel and the standards set in recent seasons place that responsibility on Cristian Chivu’s group. Roma’s position is different: they have emerged through a process of growth and have become one of the campaign’s most welcome surprises.
The coach and the club
Di Biagio believes Inter have occasionally left too much space at the back, but he does not see it as a reason for Chivu to abandon his approach. He attributes those problems to individual focus and a side still developing its collective habits.
Chivu’s Inter now press higher and try to close opponents down quickly, a choice that can expose them at times, as happened against Udinese. But Di Biagio feels the coach is right to protect the team’s identity. In a match of this importance, he expects concentration to rise naturally.
Inter should not be judged fully before March, he added, when the season will offer a clearer picture. By then, the club must be in position to claim something substantial, whether in Serie A or the Champions League.
Roma, meanwhile, have become a serious challenger under Gian Piero Gasperini. Di Biagio had already considered them capable of surprising people in last season’s Champions League chase, and now sees them as potential Scudetto contenders too. Inter still possess greater numerical depth and more options from the bench, but Gasperini’s work can make Roma a difficult opponent for anyone.
The decisive test may come when Roma have to balance league commitments with Champions League football. How they respond to that double demand will reveal much about the durability of their challenge.
Gasperini’s new Roma
Di Biagio sees a Roma rebuilt around Gasperini’s requirements. The club’s recruitment, he said, has produced players suited to the coach, with no clear mistake among the additions.
Donyell Malen has been particularly important, but the transformation goes beyond one forward. Di Biagio pointed to Paulo Dybala’s improved continuity, linking it to Gasperini’s demanding work and the broader physical level of the side. Roma now play with greater intensity and a different mentality, always looking to move forward and win matches.
He also highlighted Roma’s midfield balance. Bryan Cristante has developed into a player who can support the first phase of possession, while he and Manu Koné often drop towards the defenders, allowing the wide players to advance. Di Biagio described the resulting movement as a characteristic Gasperini mechanism, one worth examining closely.
Koné’s continued presence was important to Gasperini, while Inter travel without Hakan Çalhanoğlu and are expected to use Piotr Zielinski in the deeper role. Di Biagio also named Curtis Jones among the midfielders he admires, describing him as a player capable of doing many jobs.
Modern midfield football, he argued, has blurred traditional positions. Zielinski was not originally a deep-lying playmaker, but has the ability to perform there. Rotations and positional changes can remove reference points for opponents, especially in Inter’s game.
Both squads have strong midfield departments. Inter may have the wider range of alternatives, but Roma can also call upon Niccolò Pisilli from the bench.
Forwards, goalkeepers and the pressure of the day
At the front, Di Biagio declined to separate Malen and Lautaro Martinez. Malen, he said, can operate almost as a department on his own, becoming the central point around which Dybala, Matías Soulé, the wide players and midfielders move. His runs behind defences and influence in the final 30 metres have made him highly decisive.
Lautaro’s task is different, particularly alongside Marcus Thuram. The Inter captain moves more widely, drops away from goal to connect play and then attacks the penalty area. Both forwards can determine games, Di Biagio said, and the standard in this duel is extremely high.
The goalkeeper comparison brings another storyline. Josep Martinez has recently made some visible errors, whereas Mile Svilar has become a dependable presence for Roma. Di Biagio believes Chivu is right to support Martinez rather than weaken him publicly.
Martinez may have taken too many risks with the ball at his feet in Madrid, but Di Biagio does not consider the situation alarming. He considers the Inter goalkeeper modern and interesting, and believes the essential factor is the confidence offered by the coach and his teammates.
Roma’s enthusiasm is also part of the contest. Di Biagio does not see the mood in the city as a danger or a weight. For a player or coach, he said, that energy is only an advantage: it can make a team feel as though it is flying.
A fixture that remains personal
One Roma-Inter encounter has stayed with Di Biagio above the others. After leaving Roma, his first away match for Inter came at the Olimpico in September 1999. Returning so soon to face the club he had represented made it the most difficult match of his playing life.
The atmosphere was hostile because Roma supporters had been hurt by his departure. Time, however, changed the relationship. Di Biagio says he now has an excellent bond with Roma fans, as well as with Inter supporters.
Nagoya and a different football education
While Serie A’s leading pair prepare for a match with title implications, Di Biagio is immersed in another international chapter. Saudi Arabia Under-23 are at the Asian Games in Japan, competing with players born between 2005 and 2008. Their campaign begins against Qatar in Nagoya.
Saudi Arabia have already won the Gulf Cup under his leadership and his contract has been extended by two years. In 2025, he spent 250 days in the country and says he now feels more abroad than in Italy.
The next major target comes in December, when Saudi Arabia will play the Asian Cup with Olympic qualification at stake. Di Biagio says the experience has expanded his understanding of football and life through a new culture, religion and way of living.
For now, he has no plans to return to Italy. The world beyond home, he has discovered, has its own appeal.
