Is the party over or have the celebrations merely been postponed by a week? That is the question Roma fans have been asking themselves following Sunday's dramatic, penultimate day in the Italian championship which saw the league leaders drop a "match point" when held to a 2-2 draw away by relegation battling Napoli.
This is sure to be a long, hot and nervous week for Roma and their fans, and not just because we find ourselves in the unusual situation of playing Serie A football at a time of year when the players might normally expect to be sunning themselves on a Sardinian beach. Climate, both meteorological and metaphorical, is likely to be the key word in the build-up to Sunday's last day of the season when Roma must win their home game against Parma to be certain of winning their first Italian title since 1983.
Quite clearly, Roma are beginning to feel the heat, in every sense. Having set the championship pace since the season's belated opening in October, Roma now look a tired side. They have struggled in recent games, drawing four of their last six matches.
Against Napoli, in a game played at a temperature of 30 degrees, not only did they fail to hold on to a 2-1 lead, conceding an 82nd minute equaliser, but signs of inevitable "in-house" tension were all too obvious. A key moment in the match came seven minutes from the end when Roma coach Fabio Capello opted to bring on substitute striker Vincenzo Montella, a man who has proved himself a regular match-winner when coming on this spring. Frustrated at having been kept on the bench for so long, the bould Montella first angrily kicked a plastic bottle in the direction of Capello before showing the Roma coach his middle finger in an unmistakeable, non-parliamentary gesture which was accompanied with the less than diplomatic words, "piece of s***".
A rather different peace, namely peace of mind, will be called for as Roma prepare this last, longest week of the season. Roma go into Sunday's game on 72 points, two clear of second-placed Juventus, who are at home to Atalanta and three clear of third-placed Lazio, away to Lecce.
To be certain of lifting the title, Roma must win against Parma. If Roma draw and Juventus win, both will end up on 73 points. On the other hand, if both Roma and Juventus lose, whilst Lazio win, then Roma and Lazio will end up joint top of the table on 72 points. Either way, there would be a two-leg play-off
In theory, Roma should have no problems. Parma have nothing to play for, having already qualified for next season's Champions League by finishing fourth behind the big three. Furthermore, Parma may well be still feeling the effects of tomorrow's Italian Cup final in which they take a 0-1 losing scoreline into the second leg against Fiorentina in Florence.
Football, however, as Bill Shankley would have said, is not theory. Roma nerves, already stretched, were not helped by the behaviour of 2000 of their fans who left a trail of devastation in their wake not just outside the San Paolo stadium on Sunday evening but also at train stations in Naples and Formia and at auto-strada cafes between Rome and Naples The afternoon's "entertainment" left us with a final "riot bulletin" that read: 48 people injured (23 fans and 25 policemen); 18 arrested; eight knived, three cars burned out; two ambulances badly damaged; two train stations and three motorway cafes vandalised. Not surprisingly, Roma are now worried about a disciplinary sanction that could yet see them forced to play that final, all-important game against Parma at a neutral venue.
Not for nothing, shares in AS Roma Calcio dropped 5 per cent in early trading on the Milan stock market yesterday. If Roma were to win on Sunday, however, those shares are sure to shoot up again. In the meantime, however, it is going to be a long, hot and nervous week.
