District by district, the mapped rivalry of Rome’s tifosis
Si, for a long time now, in the Serie A hierarchy, Lazio and the Rome have to settle for supporting roles (both deprived of a scudetto for more than twenty years), the rivalry between the two teams in the Italian capital has lost none of its ferocity. Impossible for any good self-respecting Roman to escape the eternal question: “Per chi tifi? », Italian version of « You are for whom? « . In the Eternal City, everyone is called upon to confess which side their footballing heart swings on.
A rivalry anchored even in the geography of the city and in particular that of its districts, labeled by the Roman supporters – with more or less precision – according to their membership, sometimes giallorossa (Rome), sometimes biancoceleste (Lazio). And if, very often, a wall fresco or myriads of insulting graffiti are enough to remind us which team is « mistress of the place », two researchers have decided to find out for sure. Filippo Celata, professor of economic geography, and Gabriele Pinto, doctoral student in social sciences at the Roman university La Sapienza, thus had the idea of mapping the density of tifosis by residential area (based on data relating to the preferences of social network users).
“There is no area where eagles outnumber wolves”
Unsurprisingly: the study confirms the overwhelming supremacy of the “yellow and red” tifoseria over its rival. The capital would thus have three Roma supporters for a single laziale. A stranglehold which, judging by the map of the two academics, would extend over the whole of the city center and its former working-class neighborhoods (traditional strongholds of the Louve club), before extending south and east. is to the outskirts of the city of the Tiber. « This confirms what we already knew », gargles a bar owner, a pure and hard giallorosso. « Lazio may be the oldest team here, but Roma, it’s the real club in town. She has the name and she has the colors. »
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On the side of the Laziali, the study is not tender: in Rome, “there is no area where eagles are more numerous than wolves”, underline the researchers. Even in the historic district of Prati and around Liberty Square where Societa Sportiva Lazio was born 122 years ago, Ciro Immobile supporters are in the minority. A supremacy which however tends to reduce as one moves away from the city center to reach the suburbs of the capital and beyond. Thus, in the other municipalities of the Rome region, Latium (Lazio, in Italian), the ratio drops drastically: 1.7 Roma supporters for 1 laziale. Enough to cultivate the reputation of burini for many years to come (the “country people” in Roman dialect, those who live beyond the ring road) that the supporters of La Louve sometimes like to lend to their neighbors.
Evolutions
A footballing carving of the Eternal City which has partly evolved over time, underlines Filippo Celata. « Before, we defined the clubs as follows: the Romanisti were people from the central areas of Rome and the Laziali, more of a form of bourgeoisie, scattered around the city and in the region », recalls the researcher. And to continue: “This geography has endured, but the social characteristic is felt less. “Proof of this is, according to him, an area like San Lorenzo, a former working-class district in the center, now fully gentrified “but which has maintained its Romanista culture « . Or on the contrary San Basilio, one of the poorest suburbs of the city, marked by the presence of the tifoseria laziale.
Even if the investigation of the two academics devotes a little more the domination of the Roma (already more successful in the league and winner of the greatest number of derbies) on the capital’s football scene, some giallorossi fans are crying foul. Unthinkable and intolerable for some to see their neighborhood on the map in the colors of “sky and blue”. Like in Ostia on the coast where, according to researchers, the fans of the eagles would make resistance – all relative – with a report of 42 supporters of Lazio for 100 romanisti. “Like pandas, they are rare, but there are still some Laziali also here », recognizes a resident on social networks. “But Ostia is Roma, a point that’s all, ”slices another.
Same affront in Monte Sacro where tifosis of the Wolf plan to launch a petition to reaffirm the allegiance of the district to the team of José Mourinho, reports The Republica. Widely beaten on numbers, Lazio supporters, them, claim to favor quality over quantity, without forgetting to tackle their Romanist enemy brothers in passing : » It’s like small change: there’s a lot of it, it makes noise… but it’s worth nothing. »
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