CHAPTER 180: COPPA ITALIA FINAL AGAINST AS ROMA (2)

The Stadio Olimpico in Rome was a cauldron of noise, a hostile fortress of yellow and red....

Despite the monumental pressure, the pre-game atmosphere was classic Inter.

The players went through their rituals, a symphony of nervous energy and familiar banter.

Julián Álvarez, while meticulously adjusting his socks, looked over at the imposing figure of Romelu Lukaku warming up on the big screen.

"Okay, I have a question," he said to the room at large. "Lukaku is very big and strong, right? Like a bull. So if our defender, who is also very strong, tackles him, does that count as an agricultural dispute?"

Lautaro Martínez, who was trying to get into his captain’s zone, just closed his eyes and massaged his temples. "Julián," he said, his voice a long, suffering sigh. "Please. For my sanity. Just for today. Can we not?"

"It’s a valid tactical point!" Julián insisted. "If it’s an agricultural dispute, the referee should bring out a farmer, not a yellow card!"

Cole Palmer, taping his wrists with practiced calm, didn’t even look up. "In England, we’d just call it a ’robust challenge’ and let them get on with it," he said dryly. "Less paperwork than getting a farmer’s union involved."

The room chuckled, the familiar absurdity a welcome release valve for the building tension.

Leon, however, was in his own world.

He stood in front of his locker, his iconic Number 10 jersey held in his hands.

The fabric felt heavier today. This was a final.

A chance to win a trophy, the first tangible reward for a season of blood, sweat, and tactical revelations.

He looked at the number on the back of the shirt.

It was a number worn by legends, by players who decided big games.

The weight of that legacy, of his own potential, and of his coach’s mysterious scrutiny settled on his shoulders.

He felt a surge of fierce, unshakeable resolve. He wasn’t just going to play today.

He was going to leave his mark. Today, he thought, his grip tightening on the jersey, I have to be the difference. I MUST.

The ten-minute bell rang. The laughter and chatter died instantly, replaced by a sharp, unified focus. The door opened and Coach Cristian Chivu walked in, his black suit looking more like a general’s uniform.

He didn’t need to yell today.

The fire he had stoked in them all season was already a raging inferno.

His voice was low, calm, and resonated with a power that went straight to their bones.

"Look around this room," he began, his eyes moving from player to player. "Look at the man next to you. Today, he is more than your teammate. He is your brother. Today, you fight for him. You run for him. You win for him."

He paused, letting the silence hang heavy in the air.

"Trophies are not given. They are taken. They are earned in the mud and the noise. They are forged in moments of pain and moments of brilliance. Roma wants this cup. They are hungry. They are in their city, in their stadium."

He leaned forward, a predatory glint in his eyes. "Good. Let them be hungry. We will be starving. Let them have their city. We will have the cup. Go out there and take what is ours."

That was it. No complex tactics. No long-winded speech. Just a raw, primal call to arms.

Lined up in the narrow, echoing tunnel, the roar of 70,000 Roma fans was a physical force, a wave of pure hostility that washed over them.

The Giallorossi players stood opposite, their faces grim, their eyes burning with the fire of gladiators ready for battle.

The teams walked out into the Roman night, the air thick with the smoke from flares and the deafening sound of whistles and chants.

"WELCOME TO THE ETERNAL CITY for the final of the Coppa Italia!" he screamed. "It is a clash of empires! The black and blue of Inter, the leaders of the north, marching into the lion’s den to face the yellow and red of AS Roma, the pride of the capital! It is Dybala’s magic against Lautaro’s fire! It is Lukaku’s power against Barella’s heart! It is a final for the ages, and it is here! NOW!"

The whistle blew. The final began.

The first ten minutes were a breathtaking, brutal ballet of controlled violence. Roma, feeding off the energy of their home crowd, came out like a team possessed.

In the 3rd minute, their captain, Lorenzo Pellegrini, clattered into Nicolò Barella in the midfield, a statement tackle that left both men on the floor and set the tone for the match.

Inter responded not with aggression, but with composure. In the 6th minute, they put together a flowing move, the ball moving from Palmer to Dimarco and then inside to Leon.

He took one touch and sprayed a beautiful diagonal pass to Denzel Dumfries, whose first-time cross was desperately headed away for a corner.

The danger, however, was ever-present. In the 9th minute, the ball was played into Paulo Dybala’s feet. The Argentine genius, surrounded by three Inter players, seemed trapped.

But with a shimmy of the hips and an impossible, delicate drag-back, he was suddenly free. He looked up and slid a perfect pass into the path of Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian striker used his immense strength to hold off Bastoni and got a shot away, forcing a sharp, low save from Yann Sommer.

The stadium roared, a mix of appreciation for their star and frustration at the missed chance.

On the sideline, the two coaches were already living every moment, screaming, gesturing, kicking the air. The game was perfectly, beautifully, terrifyingly balanced.

Both teams had landed a punch. Both teams had shown their teeth.

The clock ticked over to 10:00.

On the sideline, Coach Chivu was in a heated, one-sided argument with his own water bottle carrier. "They’re leaving too much space between the lines!" he hissed, gesturing wildly at the pitch. "It’s a motorway! Dybala could drive a Fiat through there!"

His counterpart on the Roma bench was no calmer, screaming at his defenders every time an Inter player so much as looked at the ball.