Peter Horne

Review of Stadio della Roma

Impressive stadium but starting to show its age. ...

Impressive stadium but starting to show its age. I went for the Lazio v Napoli match (1-2) with about 35,000 in attendance. As the stadium holds 80,000 the gaps were noticable. We sat in the curva nord which is where the hard core Lazio fans sit. Atmosphere was OK but as Lazio lost it got quiet at times. Interesting comparision with UK stadiums is that the Olimpico is much dirtier. We had to sit on a newspaper as the seat was dirty. It also smelt greasy and smoking is still allowed in the stadium. Also as it was designed for the Olympics the pitch is a long way away (like West Ham - who Lazio appeared to be twinned with). These factors were enough for me to only give three stars. My premier league club's ground is always spotless at the start of a matchday. Anyway, I still recommend going and I'd love to see the Rome derby. That could be a bit tasty.