Althoug most fans will only be aware of two, Rome actually has three professional soccer teams, called (AS) Roma, Lazio (Roma) and CISCO. Most soccer (or football) loving tourists will however mostly be interested in the first two, since they are the ones playing in the Serie A.
Football in Rome
Roma and Lazio
Both teams play their home matches at the Olympic Stadium. The highlights of the year are the so-called derbies, when Roma and Lazio play each other, one of the two teams being the official “home” team. Weeks in advance the derby will be the talk of the town and fans (tifosi) and even the players themselves engage in (sometimes good-natured, sometimes not) taunts and insults.
It is virtually impossible to find tickets for the derby and often, since many matches are qualified as “high-risk”, impossible to visit even minor matches. Tickets have to be ordered by name and identification is obligatory, so it is not recommended to buy your tickets from touts.
Generally the people from inside Rome are fans (tifosi) of Roma, the ones from the outskirts of Lazio.
In the 2021/2022 championship neither Roma nor Lazio performed particularly well, although Roma did manage to win the Conference Cup.
Roma‘s most famous players throughout the years have been Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi. Lazio’s best-known players have been Alessandro Nesta and Roberto Mancini (the present coach of the Italian national team).
Tickets
If you want to go and see a match, it is best to book beforehand. Remember to take an official document (passport for non-EU citizens, passport or ID card for EU citizens) with you to the stadium. Note that it is often not possible to buy tickets for the cheaper seats on matchdays.