Roma president James Pallotta dives into Piazza del Popolo fountain to celebrate Champions League victory
The 60-year-old joined Roma supporters in the city centre to celebrate the fascinating 3-0 victory over Barcelona that sent the club through to the semi-finals
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Your support makes all the difference.Roma’s incredible Champions League comeback against Barcelona on Tuesday night triggered wild celebrations across the Italian capital as the city revelled in one of the club’s most famous victories that booked their place in the semi-finals for the first time in 34 years.
The 3-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico secured the 4-4 aggregate result that they needed to go through to the last four on away goals, having scored at the Nou Camp last week, and eliminate Barcelona at the quarter-final stage for their third consecutive season.
Goals from Edin Dzeko and Daniele De Rossi lifted hopes that the seemingly impossible could be achieved, and when defender Kostas Manolas headed in the eventual winning goal in the 82nd minute, the stadium exploded into a cacophony of noise as the home supporters dared to dream.
When the full-time whistle sounded, the reality of what had just happened hit home as fans wildly cheered their side, and even those in the press box celebrated, having witnessed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in Champions League history.
But perhaps the best celebration was that of the club’s president, James Pallotta, who decided that the only way he could cap off the night was to jump into the fountain at the Piazza del Popolo – the ‘People’s Square’.
The 60-year-old American businessman was seen on video making his way through the crowds that had gathered to celebrate the triumphant victory, before launching himself into the fountain to huge celebrations.
The win sees Roma just 180 minutes away from a potential first European Cup final since the 1983/84 season, and after scoring the opening goal to get the Italian side on their way towards the historic win, he admitted that the momentum from his early strike helped the team believe they could turn the tie around.
"It is difficult to believe but we did it and did it in style,” Dzeko said. "Nobody believed in us before the game - they gave us a five per cent chance of winning - but against such a team like Barcelona, you expect that after losing the first game 4-1.
"We had to be concentrated not to concede a goal. We remembered the first game where they scored four goals from three shots on target as we scored two own goals.
"We believed even more after the first goal - it pushed us and in the end I am so proud.
"The win is difficult to describe. We lost against Fiorentina in the league three days ago but we played an amazing game today and had even more chances to score. It was great teamwork from the first to the last minute. It is the first time in history to knock out Barcelona 3-0 and that makes it even more special.”
Dzeko also had a message for Liverpool – who reached the semi-finals with an incredible 5-1 aggregate victory over Manchester City – as well as the two clubs who emerge from Wednesday’s quarter-finals that are likely to be Real Madrid and either Sevilla or Bayern Munich.
He said: "We will enjoy the semi-finals - I do not fear anyone. They are all top teams. I am just happy to see my team in the draw."
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