Tottenham Hotspur hosts AS Roma for their next game in the Europa League. Let’s take a look at the previous matches between the two teams and why the upcoming fixture is so significant.
Roma and Tottenham Hotspur have only ever played each other on four occasions. Each of these meetings has occurred as either a friendly match or as part of an arranged pre-season tournament.
The results are split with the two sides each earning two wins apiece from these four games. However, considering these matches were friendlies, there is understandably less significance to the results.
Results
Tottenham 0-1 Roma (2022)
Tottenham 4-1 Roma (2018)
Tottenham 2-3 Roma (2017)
Tottenham 5-0 Roma (2008)
What makes the upcoming Europa League match so significant, is that it will be the first time the two sides have ever played against one another in a competitive fixture. With no defeats to be avenged or grudges to be settled, it is a clean slate and an opportunity for both teams to share in the history of the moment.
While there is no competitive history to bind Tottenham and Roma, there are a handful of players who have worn both shirts during their careers.
Mido: The Egyptian striker joined Tottenham on an 18-month loan from Roma in January 2005. Mido managed to score 19 goals for Spurs across three seasons after joining permanently and was a valuable player under Martin Jol.
Federico Fazio: Fazio joined Spurs from Sevilla during the summer of 2014 in Mauricio Pochettino’s first year. He made 31 appearances that season as Spurs searched for someone to partner Jan Vertonghen. Fazio returned to Sevilla on loan in February 2016 before eventually moving to Roma where he played for 5 seasons.
Erik Lamela: Signed from Roma as one of ‘the magnificent seven’ (seven players signed with money generated from the sale of Gareth Bale). Bale’s boots were always too large to fill on the right wing. Nevertheless, Lamela’s tenacity, skill and sporadic rabonas made him a fan favourite during some of Tottenham’s most successful years in the Premier League era.
Bonus: Some may also remember Pau Lopez, Iago Falque and Rodrigo Defendi were all additionally employed by both clubs.
A ‘new manager bounce’ is an intangible threat in football. Claudio Ranieri has returned to Roma and has a history of haunting Tottenham. As a manager, the only English team that Ranieri has had more wins against than Tottenham, is Everton. Although, many of those wins came as manager of Chelsea in the early 2000s.
Additionally, while many could argue that Spurs were never really in the title race, it was Ranieri’s Leicester, who impeded Tottenham in their hunt for the Premier League title in 2016.
Tottenham are a very different side now and even with an array of injuries, Ange Postecoglou’s team should put up a stern challenge for the visiting team.
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