Roma’s return to the championship could be shaped by an occasion far from Trigoria: Lionel Messi’s Argentina farewell in Buenos Aires, arranged to mark the 2022 World Cup triumph, has placed several Giallorossi players on an unusually demanding international itinerary.
The coach and the club
Gian Piero Gasperini has given Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina permission to travel to Argentina for the celebration, while demanding full commitment in training on both sides of the trip. The club, however, is taking a more guarded view as it considers the physical consequences of such a long journey immediately before an important Serie A fixture.
Dybala and Molina have been invited by the Argentine Football Association together with their families as World Cup winners. For Dybala, a central figure in Gasperini’s plans, the occasion carries considerable personal meaning, but Roma must also assess his readiness for the away match against Como at the Stadio Sinigaglia on 11 October.
The round trip to South America involves more than 22,000 kilometres of travel, over 26 hours in the air and the adjustment to a major time-zone change. Their arrival back in Italy is expected between 8 October and the morning of 9 October, leaving little time to recover before the league resumes.
A crowded Argentine call-up
Roma are the Italian club with the largest presence around the event, with five players involved. Matías Soulé, Santiago Castro and Leonardo Balerdi are with Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina squad, while Dybala and Molina have received separate invitations for the Messi tribute and World Cup celebration.
Molina is serving a lengthy suspension with the national team, yet has still travelled to Argentina to spend several days on holiday. Soulé, Balerdi and Castro face their own demands through direct international duty, broadening the issue beyond the two special guests at the Buenos Aires occasion.
- Dybala and Molina depart for Argentina after receiving clearance from Gasperini.
- The Argentina event honours Messi’s final appearance and the country’s 2022 World Cup success.
- Players are due back in Italy from 8 October into the morning of 9 October.
- Roma then prepare for their 11 October trip to Como.
Roma will make its final decision in the coming days following discussions between the club, the coaching staff and the players. The matter is not simply one of permission for a ceremony: it is about how much freshness Gasperini can expect from key members of his group when the championship returns.
