The Bluebirds welcome Italian giants AS Roma to Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, to conclude our series of pre-season friendly fixtures.
Cardiff City vs. AS Roma
Saturday, 1st August 2026
3pm KO
Cardiff City Stadium
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KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | CLUB PROFILE
One of Italy's biggest teams, AS Roma share a unique connection with Cardiff City, with the year 1927 having a special significance to both clubs. Of course, the Bluebirds lifted the FA Cup after beating Arsenal at Wembley in April '27, whilst AS Roma were officially formed a few months later by the merger of three older clubs from the city of Rome: Roman FC, SS Alba-Audace and Fortitudo-Pro Roma SGS.
Competing against the established giants of northern Italy, it took a while for Roma to win their first scudetto, which they achieved during the 1941/42 wartime season. The early 1960's also brought success, as I Giallorossi defeated Birmingham City to win the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1961 and beat Torino to lift the Coppa Italia in 1964.
After a 41-year wait, Roma won their second Italian league title in 1982/83, and also reached the European Cup Final in 1984, losing on penalties to Liverpool. The turn of the millennium saw a third scudetto, spearheaded by heroic striker Francesco Totti, who would later go on to become the club's all time record appearance holder and top scorer.
Roma's most recent major honour was the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League. I Giallorossi were the inaugural winners of the competition, defeating Feyenoord in the final. In doing so, then manager José Mourinho became the first and only manager to win all three major European club honours: the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
Roma play their home matches at the 70,634 capacity Stadio Olimpico, which has been their home ground since 1953/54. Roma share their stadium with arch-rivals SS Lazio - the two teams contest the Derby della Capitale - and the Italian national football and rugby teams. The stadium was renovated and renamed for the 1960 Summer Olympic Games, and has since hosted two European Championships Finals, four European Cup/Champions League Finals and the 1990 World Cup Final.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | ON THE TOUCHLINE
A Serie A veteran, Gian Piero Gasperini was appointed as Roma manager in June 2025.
A midfielder in his playing days, Turin-born Gasperini began his career with Juventus, and featured for the likes of Palermo and Pescara during the 1980s.
He began his senior managerial career with Crotone in 2003, taking them from the third tier into Serie B, and then led Genoa from Serie B to Serie A in 2007. A fifth place finish in 2008/09 achieved Europa League football for Genoa, and caught the eye of Inter Milan, who appointed Gasperini in 2011.
However, his time at the San Siro was brief - sacked in September after four losses in his opening five league games. A stint with former club Palmero followed, before a three-year return to Genoa.
It was with Alatana where Gasperini achieved his best spell of sustained success. Appointed in 2016, he transformed the frequently relegation-threatened club into a top-end outfit, with La Dea finishing 4th in 2016/17 and competing in European competition for the first time in 26 years. 2018/19 saw Atalanta finish third in Serie A, their best ever league season, and play in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.
Gasperini achieved European qualification in eight of the nine seasons he spent in Bergamo, and also brought the club a major trophy. He led Atalanta to the UEFA Europa League Final in 2024, where they defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 to win their first ever European honour.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | SEASON REVIEW
2025/26 was a successful season at the Stadio Olimpico, with Gasperini returning Roma to the UEFA Champions League during his first season at the helm. Roma's last participation in Europe's premium club competition was 2018/19, when they reached the Round of 16 phase.
Gasperini was appointed to replace club legend Claudio Ranieri, who famously led Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2016. Ranieri, a former Roma player and three-time manager, announced his retirement from coaching at the end of 2024/25 and instead moved into an advisory role. Gasperini hit the ground running in the Italian capital, as his new side won nine of their opening 12 Serie A games.
A winter wobble threatened to undo Roma's strong start, but it was a strong run of form in the second half of the season which cemented their Champions League spot. They lost only one of their last nine games, winning six, including five straight victories to end the campaign and seal third place, their highest Serie A finish since 2017/18.
Former Aston Villa man Donyell Malen was Roma's main attacking threat, scoring 15 goals in 20 appearances after arriving in Italy during the January transfer window. Ukrainian Artem Dovbyk was unable to hit the lofty heights he achieved in his first season as a Roma player - the forward scored 17 goals in 2024/25, but just three last term.
Much of Roma's success last season was based on a strong defensive record. Serbian goalkeeper Mile Svilar has been named as the best stopper in Serie A for the past two seasons running, achieving a stellar 77% save rate during the 2025/26 campaign - stopping 104 out of the 135 shots he faced.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | FAMILIAR FACE
Very few Italian players have featured for the Bluebirds, but the most recent one was born in Rome. Federico Macheda came through the youth ranks of Lazio before being snapped up by Manchester United in 2007. It wasn't long before the striker would make his mark at Old Trafford; on debut, and with the Premier League title in the balance, Macheda came off the bench to score a curling winner against Aston Villa.
Macheda returned to Italy on loan with Sampdoria in 2011, and later had other loan spells with Queens Park Rangers, VfB Stuttgart, Doncaster Rovers and Birmingham City. Departing Old Trafford permanently in 2014, Macheda was snapped up by City boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who had been the Italian's reserve-team manager at United.
Macheda scored twice on his Bluebirds debut, a 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Port Vale, and went on to make 21 Championship appearances during the 2014/15 season. Kiko scored six league goals that term, including a prolific October/November run in which he netted three goals in four games. He had a similar hot streak in March 2015, scoring three in three, but was sent off after scoring in an away win at Brentford, and missed the rest of the campaign.
Opportunities for Macheda were limited during the 2015/16 season, and he departed South Wales to join Nottingham Forest on loan. He left Cardiff permanently to return to Italy in 2016, joining Novara, and later played for Panathinaikos, Ankaragücü, APOEL Nicosia and currently Asteras Tripolis in Greece.