Sussex World reporters Mark Dunford and Sam Morton are in Rome ahead of Brighton's Europa League round of 16 first leg clash with Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
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00:00 We're delighted to be joined today by Sussex World reporters Mark Dunford and Sam Morton
00:06 who are in Rome ahead of Brighton's Europa League round of 16 clash against Roma at the
00:13 Stadio Olimpico. Mark, can you give us a flavour of how the atmosphere is over there and how
00:21 it's building up?
00:22 Yes, we're currently on the Spanish steps as you can see. It's a great atmosphere here
00:28 but it's funny because we've bumped into quite a few Brighton supporters but they've been
00:37 advised by police not to wear colours and stuff so they don't draw attention. We've
00:43 managed to spot a couple, they're wearing their football shirts just coming out of their
00:47 hoodies a little bit at the bottom, untucked. So we've managed to follow them and track
00:51 them down. So there isn't that sort of group, you can't hear groups of fans cheering for
00:56 Brighton at the moment. There's supposed to be 3,500 coming here. On our live blog we've
01:04 been sharing tweets of fans on their way, fans in Rome and that. So there's plenty about
01:10 but we're going to try and hunt some more down later aren't we Sam?
01:12 Yes, absolutely. As Mark was saying, it's quite funny really. At the Coliseum earlier
01:16 trying to see if we can spot some fans and it really was a case of seeing if you can
01:19 hear an English accent and just guess that they might be Brighton fans. We have pretty
01:23 much struck gold every time we try haven't we? So we've had some good interviews with
01:28 them and they're all really excited. It's just a real sense of, as it has been in all
01:34 of the trips to Europe, a sense of belief that they're even here. I think there's not
01:40 so much confidence they're going to get a result as there has been, especially when
01:43 I was in Amsterdam there was a lot of confidence that Brighton were going to win on the day
01:46 and obviously they did. This time around there's some nervous fans around wondering what the
01:52 results will be but I think there definitely has been a sense of people not being too worried
01:57 about the result and just enjoying the experience of being in Rome and really just savouring
02:01 that opportunity that they have. I think that's fantastic that that's the kind of attitude
02:08 they've got. So I think that's definitely a plus.
02:12 Brilliant. I saw on the Sussex World website some of your videos with the fans and you're
02:19 right, they are a bit cautious. Do you think that is down to their iffy results lately
02:24 or because Roma are such a strong team under De Rossi?
02:28 Yeah I think it's a bit of both. I think Brighton obviously haven't been in the best of form
02:31 of late, most recently losing 3-0 at Fulham. So they really are struggling for consistency
02:38 really. I think they have a good result, then they lose, then they win again, then they
02:42 lose again. So they haven't been able to put a run of form together but that's no surprise
02:46 when you consider the players they have unavailable. None more so than obviously Karim Atoma and
02:50 João Pedro, they are just two such influential players. Especially Pedro in Europe, who is
02:55 obviously the top scorer and it really is gutting that he's not here for this one. That's
02:59 one question I've been asking fans really is what player needs to step up in João Pedro's
03:03 absence and Evan Ferguson and Danny Woelbeck have been mentioned. There's some hope that
03:08 Valentin Barco as well could maybe come in, although he's obviously quite early in his
03:12 Barca career, he's still a young lad as well. So yeah, I think obviously Ante Fatih, from
03:16 my opinion, I think Ante Fatih really needs to step up. He has been probably better in
03:20 Europe than in the league, so hopefully we can see more of that from him and really show
03:25 why he was so highly rated at Barcelona. There would be no better occasion to do it than
03:31 in Rome.
03:32 Roma are a strong side, they've had some good results now with Daniel De Rossi, Lukaku,
03:51 we're going there later for the press conference with De Serbi. It will be interesting to see
04:08 what he's got to say about coming back to his home country.
04:19 I think all the clubs who are reportedly interested in him will be interested to see how they
04:24 do get on. If he can beat Roma over two legs, get a result here, a draw would be a good
04:30 result here, wouldn't it Sam? Get a draw here with a little bit of a tactical masterclass,
04:35 as it were, then that just puts his stock even higher, doesn't it? I know the reports
04:39 are all about Man United today, aren't they? We've heard lots of different, Real Madrid,
04:44 we've heard lots of different rumours with De Serbi. This is a real test for him, given
04:50 how bad it's been, well not how bad it's been, but the last result, the last performance.
04:54 Has he put all his eggs in one basket with this game, picking a slightly weaker side
04:58 for Fulham? It's a real test for him. If he can get a result here, obviously, like you
05:06 say, his stock gets higher. Even bigger clubs will become interested. We'll see.
05:11 What sort of sense did you get from the fans with their travel, Sam? Was it an easy trip
05:21 over? I know you flew into Milan and then got the train down to Rome. How have some
05:27 of the other Brighton fans tackled their journeys?
05:30 It definitely sounds like we had one of the longest trips over here, didn't it? I think
05:35 they've come over in the last few days. Someone came over on Monday, they've really made a
05:39 week out of it. So that's good to hear. But I think there have been some delays from Gatwick
05:43 Airport. Mark, first thing in the morning, was doing his daily Gatwick flight update.
05:48 I think there were a few delays from Gatwick to Rome. So I think there may be some disruption
05:55 for fans. So hopefully they can get here on time for the match. But the ones we've spoken
05:59 to seem to have had a smooth journey, which is good. So yeah, hopefully more will continue
06:04 to arrive over the next few hours and into tomorrow.
06:06 Yeah, yeah. It looks a lovely, lovely day where you are at the moment. Can you give
06:11 us a little bit of a feel as to what's going on over there and what you've been up to?
06:17 Well, we have been to all the major attractions today. McDonald's, where we sat for two hours
06:23 and did some work. I mean, as you can see, I've got to bring you over here. It's quite
06:28 busy at the bottom of the Spanish Steps there. We've been to the Coliseum, we went to the
06:32 Trevi Fountain. Yeah, and it is a glorious day. There was a huge hailstorm first thing,
06:37 wasn't there? When we were in the hotel room, made a hell of a racket on the roof. But then,
06:42 yeah, it's been absolutely lovely. And I think tomorrow's forecast is really good as well.
06:46 So yeah, it's a really nice atmosphere. There's loads of school groups around, on tours, guided
06:51 tours, et cetera. Around the Coliseum was absolutely rammed, wasn't it? And the Trevi
06:55 Fountain. So yeah, we've seen a couple of Brighton fans in different places as well.
07:01 They're all obviously doing the same thing. But yeah, so we're hoping to catch up with
07:06 more Brighton fans later this evening after the press conference and have a catch up,
07:10 see where they're drinking. But like we say, it's not going to be like lots of blue and
07:14 white shirts singing Sussex by the Sea, because they don't want to be drawing their attention
07:19 to themselves. And then tomorrow, yeah, they've been, there's lots of travel advice. I put
07:24 it all on our live blog about how to get from the centre of Rome to the stadium. Because
07:30 yeah, there's like most major cities, there's pickpockets. There's obviously the Roma ultras
07:36 and that. I'm not saying they're going to do anything, but it could be quite intimidating.
07:39 So there's shuttle buses ready to go, free shuttle buses for the fans to go to the stadium.
07:44 And the fans are advised to follow the rules. Otherwise they could find themselves in a
07:48 bit of trouble.
07:49 Yeah. Yeah. But it's a magical moment for the fans, isn't it? Like you say, this season
07:54 they've been to Amsterdam, they've been to Athens and Marseille as well. And it's just
08:00 almost, it's such a journey that they've been on, Sam.
08:03 Yeah, it's incredible. I think what I've been speaking to the fans about today really is
08:07 just how lucky they've been to get such historical clubs, such huge names in European football.
08:15 I don't think you could, if you were to pick some of the teams at the beginning of the
08:18 competition you'd like to face, I think Ajax, Marseille, Athens and Rome would be right
08:25 up there, if not the top four. So it really is incredible how fortunate Brighton have
08:31 been to get some of these clubs. And yeah, long may it continue. Hopefully if they get
08:36 through this double leg tie, then maybe even another bigger team might be waiting around
08:41 the corner. So it really is brilliant. And if it is a one-off for Brighton, obviously
08:47 hopefully they get European football again next season. But if they don't, this is such
08:51 an amazing memory to have and they definitely will be relishing it for as long as it continues.
08:56 I hope they get to go to Karabag next round if they go through Azerbaijan. Fancy a trip
09:00 there.
09:01 I'll be ready for that one. I'll be ready for that one. But no, that sounds great. I'll
09:07 let you guys get on and head across to the press conference. But before you go, I'm just
09:12 going to have to ask you for a quick score prediction for tomorrow night, Mark.
09:17 Tough one. I'm going for a 2-1 win to Brighton. I said it earlier, so I'll stick with it.
09:24 I think there's some kind of, as I say, a bit of cautiousness about it. But I'm going
09:28 for the kill and say a 2-1 Brighton. And I think, I think he will score. I think Pascal
09:35 Brose will be on the score sheet and Idingra will get the other one. And Paulo Dybala will
09:40 score for Roma.
09:41 Fair enough. I am unfortunately going to go for a 0-0 draw. I think it's going to be,
09:46 yeah, they're going to try and shut him out. And I think they'll do a good job. Lewis Dunk
09:49 will be massive. I assume he's playing, is he, Dunk?
09:52 Yeah, yeah.
09:53 Yeah, Dunk's playing. Yeah, I think he's going to be massive for them tomorrow night, not
09:57 just as a defender, but as captain and leading them. So the real gladiatorial performance
10:02 from Lewis Dunk, I think. And I'm going to go for a 0-0, which I think will be an absolute
10:06 cracking result for Brighton.
10:07 I agree. Yeah, I think that would be a great result. I'm going to be, I'm going to go for
10:12 a 2-0 for Brighton. I think it's going to be one of the, one of the performances to,
10:17 to remember. So fingers crossed.
10:19 Good stuff.
10:20 But, but no, thanks. Thanks guys. Really appreciate your time over there. Thanks for joining us
10:26 and keep an eye on the Sussex World website and the live blog that Mark and Sam have got
10:31 running to keep up to date with everything that's going to go on with Brighton and all
10:35 the supporters over in Rome.