Culture Rivalry
According to locals, the Derby della Capitale is "much more than just a game" and symbolises an unseen division that exists within the city as a result of the country's colourful political history. Roma was founded as a result of a merger between three teams: Roman, Alba-Audace and Fortitudo, initiated by Italo Foschi. It was the intention of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini to create a unified and powerful Roman club to challenge the dominance of Northern clubs. Thanks to the influence of Fascist general, Giorgio Vaccaro, Lazio were the only major team from Rome to resist the merger, thus a kind of rivalry emerged from the very early years of the coexistence in the same city. The first game, won by Roma, was held on December 8, 1929 and the rivalry quickly grew between the teams.
Lazio was founded in the neighborhood of Prati and initially trained and played at the Rondinella field. Roma began playing at the Motovelodromo Appio and subsequently, when the new stadium was built after only two years, moved to the rione of Testaccio. Thus, Lazio's ultras traditionally occupy the northern one (Curva Nord) and Roma's the southern end (Curva Sud) of the Stadio Olimpico. Making ironic remarks, known as sfottò, focused on the origins of both sets of fans, is a traditional way of teasing between the supporters of Lazio and Roma; laziali are regarded as outsiders because they allegedly come from outside Rome, while they reply asserting that they brought football to the city as Lazio was founded in 1900, much earlier than Roma's foundation in 1927.
The devout regionalism, that is perceived throughout the country, is one of the reasons that make the derby more heated, as the fans view it as a battle between two clubs fighting for the right to represent the city in the rest of the country and local bragging rights. This is partly fueled by the fact that Italian football has mostly been dominated by the biggest clubs in Northern Italy – namely Juventus, Milan and Inter.
The Roman derby has been the scene of several actions related to the political views of the fan bases. Lazio's ultras often use swastikas and fascist symbols on their banners and they have displayed racist behaviour in several occasions during the derbies. Most notably at a derby of the season 1998–99 when laziali unfurled a 50-metre banner around the Curva Nord that read, "Auschwitz is your town, the ovens are your houses". Black players of Roma have often been receivers of racist and offensive behaviour; a banner that Lazio's ultras had once displayed claimed that Roma is a "Team of blacks followed by Jews" in response to "Team of sheep followed by shepherds" displayed by Roma's ultras. In 2000 Lazio fans showed their support for Serbian nationalist and war criminal Arkan. Officially, the club has distanced itself from these fans, who make up a minority, and fights to combat these kind of actions. As a result Roma fans are sometimes incorrectly depicted as left wing, when in fact both clubs' ultras have right wing ideologies. Roma fans have also been known to hold up racist banners from time to time.
Read more about this topic: Derby Della Capitale
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