• 8 months ago
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.
Transcript
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.

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