Roma, 13 days as top team. Now it's time for the Supercup

Sassuolo, Slavia Praga, Como, Sankt Polten and Inter: five matches in thirteen days without doing anything but winning. Since Roma Women faced and beat the Black and Green in an away match on October 16th thanks to a goal by Bartoli in the 92nd minute, the Giallorosse have faced the most intense period in their young history. They came out of this period with clear evidence that they have made a great leap forward in terms of mentality, with the lone leadership in the league and with their first-place placement in the Champions League round after the first two games. After their win against Inter, they had their first two days off of the last two very intense weeks before getting back to work ahead of the Nov. 5 Italian Supercup in Parma against Montemurro's Juventus for the first trophy of the season.

Just a comparison with the performance of the Bianconere over the same period can be helpful in understanding the importance of Roma's feat, although some factors must be taken into consideration. On Oct. 16, Juve won 4-0 at home to Samp, then beat Zurich away from home in the Champions League, then lost in a crunch 4-3 to Milan, drew with super Lyon in Europe and finally won against Fiorentina last sunday. The calendar, especially the European one, has put the Bianconere in front of more complex challenges than Roma's, but it is undeniable that, at the Turin club's disposal, there is a wider squad used to managing between two competitions. Despite this, they have not succeeded in the clear path completed by Roma. Spugna's group, however, has basically ignored the fact that they have never sustained so many close competitions, going beyond fatigue, travel, and a series of absences that have prevented them from fully carrying out the classic "rotations" that are necessary at times like these. These were five victories, all by a narrow margin, in which the team lacked cynicism and slowly blamed fatigue, but pulled out character, defensive solidity and world-class maturity.

It started in the 92nd minute in Sassuolo, breaking down the wall built by Piovani that seemed destined to hold until captain Bartoli scored her first goal of the season. Then there was the night of October 20th at the Francioni Stadium in Latina, where Roma was able to adapt tactically to a difficult pitch and a very physical opponent, suffering in the first half but changing form and pace in the second half. Valentina Giacinti scored the winning goal that night after a great move by Haavi, and the number 9 repeated herself three days later at the Tre Fontane against Como. She is the best scorer of this period and of the Roma season: the offensive reference Roma has always lacked.

The Norwegian also shined in this intense period certifying that she is an indispensable resource for quality and continuity. In the thrilling 4-3 win in Austria against St. Polten (45' of domination, then trailing by two goals and coming back in 15' to then close on 4-3 with goals by Linari, Giacinti, Giugliano and Lazaro), her name is not among the scorers but her push on both sides wore down the opponent's defense. Haavi scored the game-winning goal in the 2-1 win over Inter after Serturini's lead (her first signing of the season) taking advantage of a splendid assist from Greggi, who is one of the emblems of this Roma's growth: present, continuous, tireless and consistently winning.