The Roma-Greco Connection

The Roma-Greco connection:

By: Antonios Theodosis

The connection between Rome and Greece is one that stems back thousands of years into the ancient world, today that connection still reigns true in the realm of football. Italian giants A.S Roma have had their pickings of Greek talents come in through the ranks as well as the supporters section, Curva Sud forming an alliance with Athenian based club Panathinaikos. This blog will be delving into some of the notable Greeks that have played for the Giallorossi and the connection the Curva Sud has with Panathinaikos’ Gate Thirteen in Greece.

Traianos Dellas: Perhaps one of the most notable Greeks to have played in the Italian capital is Traianos Dellas. The gifted center back moved to Roma in 2002 after a successful stint with Perugia. Dubbed “The Colossus of Rhodes” by Greek national team coach Otto Rehagel, Dellas spent three years at Roma appearing forty-four times and scoring twice for the club. His time at the club was one of personal struggle however as Dellas wrestled with injuries during the three years he was in Rome. When fit, Dellas turned heads and was one of the favorites amongst the fans whom along with Francesco Totti, was spared from the jeering of the Roma faithful during the teams underwhelming performances in the 2004-2005 season. Dellas eventually left Roma in 2005 due to his personal struggles with injuries, although he did not taste success at Roma the club and fans have not forgotten the veteran Greek defender.

Kostas Manolas: Arguably the most notable Greek to have played for Roma is Kostas Manolas, who played for Roma for five years from 2014 to 2019. Like Dellas, Manolas impressed with his performances leading Roma’s backline during his stint with the Giallorossi. In total, Manolas made one hundred fifty six appearances for the Italian giants, scoring five goals in the Serie A and three in Europe. One of if not his best goals was the famous header that knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League with commentators dubbing him the “Greek god in Rome” cementing one of the club’s most iconic moments. His perfectly executed header against Barcelona made him a viral sensation across the world and in Rome with thousands of Roma fans parading the streets in excitement. Along with his sensational goal his solid, impactful performances during his time with Roma attracted interest from some of Europe’s most respected coaches such as Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger. Although he never won any silverware with Roma he did achieve the personal feat of being voted amongst UEFA’s top fifty players during his stint in the capital.
 

Vasilis Torosidis: Yet another notable Greek to have played for Roma is Vasilis Torosidis. The veteran right-back signed with Roma in January of 2013 and quickly established himself as a solid option making seventy-seven appearances and scoring seven times. Torosidis had arrived six months before fellow Greek national teammate Jose Holebas and Roma’s back four would eventually be majority Greek with Manolas, Holebas, and Torosidis linking the play in the back. Overall, Torosidis’ contributions to the Roman club are consistent with that of the other Greeks on this list. He was versatile, reliable, and did his job well. He played so well in fact that numerous Spanish and English teams had been interested in the experienced defender. His stay at the club came to an end in 2016 when coach Luciano Spaletti announced the Greek defender was no longer in his plans. His stay at the club was positive on a personal level, but also with the team helping them finish second in Serie A behind a dominant Juventus side twice and finishing third in his final season. 

Connection with Greek club Panathinaikos: Along with some of the Greek players that have played for Roma the club’s ultras fan section Curva Sud also have a friendship formed with Athens based club Panathinaikos ultras, Gate Thirteen. Both teams hail from the capital city within their respective countries and the brotherhood is one that is reminiscent of the days of the ancient world. As is the case with most of the workings of ultras groups in Europe, the partnership between the two fanbases is quite complicated due to the politics surrounding the groups. Roma’s Curva Sud possess more left leaning views in recent times, but have also had right leaning ideas in the past. Panathinaikos’ Gate Thirteen group has adopted a “no politica” stance though the club has a mix of left leaning and right leaning fans who share similar views with Curva Sud. Along with this, Lazio, Roma’s biggest rival is typically not liked amongst the modern sect of Gate Thirteen who had a run in with Lazio ultras in 2013 when the two clubs faced each other in the Europa league. The cultural and political ideologies that the club’s ultras groups seem to share, along with the rivalry with Lazio has helped formulate the partnership we see today. 

Conclusion and Honorable Mentions: 

As we see the Roma-Greco connection is one that is alive and well today, thousands of years after the initial connection both cultures had in the ancient world. Today that connection lives on in the football world and is propagated not only by the players that have played for the club, but with the passionate fans who have established a partnership with fellow Mediterranean giants in Greece. The Italian giants have seen other Greeks dawn the Giallorossi such as Panagiotis Tachtsidis, Jose Holebas, and Lambros Choutos, players that had short stints with the club, but nonetheless tried their best to give it their all during their spells. 

With history repeating itself it is only a matter of time before a Greek is playing in the Italian capital once again, perhaps helping them reach glory with the glamorous Serie A title Roma has been striving for.

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Photo credits: Images used from commons.wikimedia.org, wikipedia.org, and pxfuel.com who have labeled the photos for reuse.