Saturday’s meeting between Roma and Inter at a full Stadio Olimpico may place two very different left-sided stories in the same frame. Federico Dimarco, already a two-time Italian champion and an established Italy international, could find himself opposite Emanuele Lulli, the 19-year-old Roma player who has started every match so far under Gian Piero Gasperini. The pair are separated by a decade, yet both carry the imprint of major Italian academies and of long routes back towards the centre of the game.
A young Roma player given his moment
Lulli’s rise has come quickly in a Roma side level at the top with Inter. With Rensch unavailable and Molina short of his best condition in August, Gasperini turned to the Primavera graduate rather than seeking a temporary solution elsewhere.
- Lulli, known as “Lele”, is 19 and comes from Palestrina, roughly an hour from Rome.
- He began with Palestrina Calcio before spending two seasons at Tor Tre Teste.
- Bruno Conti brought him into Roma’s system in 2021, when he was 14.
- Working under Gianluca Falsini, he later won the Under-16 title with Roma, beating Fiorentina in the final.
- Fiorentina were also the opposition for his Serie A debut.
Palestrina, once known as Praeneste, has a historical association with Fortuna, the Roman goddess of chance. There is an obvious symbolism in Lulli’s present opportunity: a player from the Via Prenestina area has been handed a starting place at the moment Roma are competing at the summit of the championship.
Those who coached him as a child had seen the signs early. Stefano Versari, one of his first coaches at Palestrina, recalled that Lulli was already “covering the entire flank” at the age of seven. He described a youngster who was quick technically, understood both passing choices and opponents’ movements, and knew how to shield the ball by using his body.
There was also a detail of character after training. While many children hurried away, Lulli stayed to help collect cones and bibs. Versari used him as an example to the others.
The Palestrina group that made an impression
Before Roma took him, Lulli was part of an unusually strong group of players born in 2007 at Palestrina. During summer tournaments they regularly beat Lazio and Roma sides heavily, earning the nickname “the damned ones” because opponents tended to leave disappointed.
That background makes Saturday more than a routine test for a young player. Lulli could spend much of the afternoon on the same side as Dimarco, the reigning Serie A assist leader and one of Inter’s most recognisable performers. It would be a demanding examination, but also a meeting between a player beginning his senior journey and one who has completed the difficult part of his own.
Dimarco’s long road back to Inter
Dimarco has been linked to Inter since childhood. He joined the Nerazzurri in 2004 after two seasons at Calvairate, having entered their academy at the age of seven. His father Gianni, who ran a fruit and vegetable shop in the Porta Romana district where Federico grew up, is said to have approached Calvairate politely one foggy day to ask if his son could play.
Inter noticed him during one of the traditional Christmas tournaments, watched by numerous scouts. Silvio Vecchio, then responsible for Calvairate’s youth sector, contacted his Inter counterpart Giuliano Rusca to recommend the boy. Rusca’s response underlined the speed of the development: Inter had only just become affiliated with Calvairate, yet there was already a standout prospect to consider.
- Dimarco’s route to becoming an Inter regular included loans at Ascoli, Sampdoria and Parma.
- At Parma, he scored his first Serie A goal against Inter, the club he supported and wanted to represent.
- He also spent a season at Sion in Switzerland.
- During that period, he trained with the French army and slept in a tent.
- He recalled waking at 6am, walking five kilometres and eating tinned food warmed on a small stove.
- A productive spell at Verona, where he scored five Serie A goals, helped secure his return to Inter.
From Porta Romana to two Scudetti won with the club he supported as a boy, Dimarco has become a symbol of the bond between Inter and its own supporters. His journey was not straightforward, but it has made his place in the side more meaningful.
Two academy paths, one championship afternoon
Dimarco arrives in Rome with the stature of a player who has won major honours and settled into the national side. Lulli comes from a different point on the curve, carrying the freshness of a player who has moved from youth football into a Roma team entrusted with a leading role in the table.
The Saturday contest at the Olimpico may therefore offer more than the immediate contest between two title rivals. On one flank, it could bring together Inter’s long-serving academy product and Roma’s newest young starter: Dimarco, who took years and several detours to become a Nerazzurri reference point, and Lulli, whose climb from Palestrina has only just reached Serie A.
