Pierluigi Gollini’s return to Roma’s starting side arrives at the point where a season can change its supporting characters. Mile Svilar’s injury has opened the door for the 31-year-old goalkeeper, who answered his first Serie A start of the campaign with a clean sheet at Como and now prepares to face Real Madrid at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.
Key takeaways
- Svilar has fractured the fifth toe of his foot in training and is expected to be unavailable for at least a month.
- Gollini kept Roma level in a 0-0 draw at Como despite Donyell Malen’s dismissal.
- Gian Piero Gasperini has backed Gollini, with whom he worked during the goalkeeper’s most consistent spell at Atalanta.
- The former Italy international had played only eight matches across the previous two seasons before this opportunity.
- Gollini, who records music as Gollorius, released a track called “Champions Dream” in 2022.
A familiar coach and a long-awaited responsibility
Roma signed Gollini from Atalanta in January 2025, after a career that had increasingly placed him in reserve roles. He had spent time on loan at four clubs and, in Rome, operated behind Svilar until the Serbian’s injury disrupted the established order.
Svilar’s absence gives Gollini a run of matches rather than a single emergency appearance. Gasperini said his goalkeeper will need at least a month to recover, while making clear that the replacement is not being handed an unfamiliar burden.
“Perhaps the only coach under whom Gollini has played regularly in his career is me,” Gasperini said before the trip to Como. “He is certainly an excellent second goalkeeper, but now he has the chance to play consistently. He has trained well in recent months and everyone must trust him: this is not an inexperienced goalkeeper. He now has the chance to show his consistency.”
Their shared history matters. Under Gasperini at Atalanta, Gollini found his longest spell as a regular starter, played in the Champions League and earned his Italy debut in November 2019. His path had previously taken in Manchester United’s academy, through a Serie A debut with Verona and a period at Aston Villa. After Atalanta came Tottenham, Fiorentina, Napoli and Genoa before his move to the capital. He had already accumulated 139 Serie A appearances by the time he joined Roma.
At Como, the first response was composed. Roma had to protect the draw after Malen was sent off, and Gollini made several important saves to preserve a scoreless result. Gasperini praised his accuracy and his ability to begin moves with both his hands and feet.
Gollini later said he had prepared himself mentally for the match, acknowledging that the tension was different after such a prolonged wait. Svilar offered him support, while Gollini urged calm around his teammate’s recovery.
From “Champions Dream” to Real Madrid
The coming European night carries an unusual personal connection for Gollini. Away from football, he performs as Gollorius, and his music has often drawn on the route from his hometown of Poggio Renatico, in the province of Ferrara, to the highest level of the game.
In June 2018, on the day Atalanta completed his permanent signing, he released “Rapper coi guanti” — “Rapper with Gloves”. The song reflected on his beginnings, his ambitions and the family and friends left behind as he pursued professional football. Its proceeds were intended to help restore the pitches where he played as a boy, linking his progress in the game with the community that formed him.
Four years later, Gollini released “Champions Dream” with rapper Vegas Jones. Part of the video was filmed at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where he had played on loan from Atalanta the previous season. The track followed the same thread: the climb from local fields to Champions League football and the work required to reach that stage.
Now its title takes on a more immediate meaning. Gollini will face Real Madrid with Roma after passing his first domestic test. He has met the Spanish side before: in February 2021, playing for Atalanta, he saved a Casemiro header but was beaten by Ferland Mendy’s 86th-minute strike as Gasperini’s team’s resistance ended.
Roma’s draw at Como did not settle every question around a goalkeeper who has spent so much recent time waiting. It did, however, give Gasperini a clean sheet, a measure of confidence and a goalkeeper with experience of major evenings. Against Kylian Mbappé and Real Madrid, Gollini will have the chance to turn a song about Europe into the next chapter of his season.
